Today marks 27 years since the exodus of Kosovo Albanians, when during the 1998-1999 war, around a million Albanians were forced by Serbian paramilitary forces to move to Albania and Macedonia.

In addition to those displaced to Albania and Macedonia, thousands of Albanians also crossed the border into Montenegro, while hundreds of thousands were displaced from their homes to find refuge in the mountains of Kosovo, KosovaPress reports.

They were children, women and the elderly, violated, tortured and massacred. On every anniversary of the 1999 exodus, which took on biblical proportions, Kukës commemorates, and in the last two years also symbolically because of the pandemic, this drama of suffering from the most terrible that the people of this land have experienced.
The exodus, or the violent expulsion of Albanians from their homelands, reached its peak after the beginning of the NATO bombings against the military and police points of the former Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), reports KosovaPress.

On March 27, at 13:20 p.m., at the Vërmica/Morina customs checkpoint, the first 187 refugees from Kosovo, most of whom were children and women, who were in a deplorable physical and mental state and were injured by means of violence, crossed into Kukës. hard as: rifle butts, rubber sticks, etc. Immediate measures were taken for their transportation by means of civilian and military transport by the Heads of Kukës Prefecture. They were mainly residents of the villages of Prizren, Krushë e Madhe and Zym. At first, these refugees were sheltered in the "Hasan Prishtina" palace of culture.
Until midnight on 24.00, 27.03.1999 Kosovars arrived in Kuka. The first food aid came from the Ministry of Agriculture of Albania, where on March 12.721, contingents of food (oil, flour, sugar, pasta, rice, soap, etc.) were sent to Kukës for 27 people per month.
On March 28, the flow of Kosovars continued towards Kukës, forcibly expelled from the lands by the Serbian invaders. Their number was 13.000 inhabitants. Kosovar refugees entered Kukës from the Vërmica/Morin crossing where they were raped, tortured, massacred and stripped by Serbian policemen, taking their money, jewelry and any valuables they had.

Their temporary residence was the "Hasan Prishtina" Palace of Culture. After that, the local government in Kukës opened the doors of several schools, nurseries, kindergartens, warehouses and warehouses for housing the deportees. The other refugees were sheltered in Kuksian families where they welcomed them. On average, each family in the city of Kukes had about 14 Kosovars. They slept in every part of the house.

At the beginning of the week, the second caravan of deportees with about 70.000 Kosovars arrived in Kukës. Of these, 40.000 were arranged with citizen families, 10.000 in various public areas of the city, 6.000 in the municipalities of Bicaj, Kolsh, Tërthore and Shtiqën, 12.000 in the city of Kruma and 300 in the municipality of Golaj. 16 vehicles arrived in Kukës to evacuate a part of Kosovars to other cities. Day by day the number of deportees increased. Despite sheltering in the homes of Kuksi residents, a large number of Kosovars were housed in camps

April 16 is the date when Exodus Day is marked in Kukës, as a sign of thanks and respect for all those who open their doors to welcome their Albanian brothers from Kosovo.
One of the main symbols of April 16 is the Obelisk. The tower was built as a sign of thanks to the Albanian people. It was built in the place where the tents that housed the Kosovar population were placed. The tower is 23.5 meters tall and is filled with photos depicting the events of that time. The tower is one of the most visited tourist spots in Kukës. During April 16, the tower is the most visited point.

To remember the days of violent displacement of Albanians from their homes and their sufferings from the Serbian regime in the "Bllaca '99" Memorial Center in Han te Elezit stands the "Wall of Remembrance" monument as well as the "Hasan Prishtina" park.
The "Wall of Remembrance" monument is a mosaic that symbolizes the sacrifice of the Albanian mother, together with the names of some of the prominent world personalities who contributed to the liberation of Kosovo, an artistic-monumental work that best expresses the memory and respect for all those who brought long awaited freedom and independence.