Appreciating our education system

Like today’s students who have a chance to study and write on their school desks, this opportunity wasn’t the same for Kosovo’s students in the '90s. After being banned from their schools, teachers had to find a solution for their students. What better way to save the education system, other than turn houses into schools? After learning about the parallel system, we were assigned to visit one of the schoolhouses of Kosovo, the Hertica schoolhouse, and let us tell you, it was more than just a visit. For this article, we talked to our peers, students of the University of Prishtina such as Enkela Musliu, Mirela Kastrati, Erbline Krasniqi, and Anisa Rushiti. So, this is Hertica through their eyes, as students of the Faculty of Philology, from the Practical English Course.

When asked if the students had ever heard of the parallel system, their answers were somewhat the same. They had heard about it from their parents or teachers, but it was never fully explained to them. Mirela says that she heard about the parallel system through her father and his stories, whereas Anisa adds: “There were also a few times in high school that the teachers mentioned it, but again shortly. My knowledge of the parallel system was expanded when this subject was discussed in university.” By these statements, we notice a lack of recognition toward the parallel system. Kids are mostly informed about the war between Kosovo and Serbia, but a part of it was also this system. One way to keep our children motivated is to inform them how Kosovar students in the '90s even sacrificed their lives in order to get an education.

Visiting Hertica awakened all sorts of emotions in today’s students. Mirela tells us that she felt a very unique feeling, she remembers feeling different emotions at once. She was feeling proud because of the resistance and because the house is still there, the anger at what students had to go through in order to get educated, and sadness because of the story that the house has. Enkela on the other hand, compared the school to a mosque or church, meaning Hertica felt like a sacred place to her. Erblina feels sort of the same, she says: ” I can’t believe I never was in the Hertica school before, even without the videos or people talking about it, the burned desks, chairs, the hanged shoes, the remains of the writings in the blackboards were enough to live a little of that time.”Speaking of our thoughts and emotions on Hertica, we also had the honor to talk to the owner’s daughter, Mrs. Azemine, who made our journey even more interesting. Enkela describes her best: “Azemine is the heroine that no one knows. She is one of those figures that history forgets. But to the ones who have had the good fortune to know her, she is unforgettable” she says. Furthermore, both Mirela and Anisa agree that Mrs. Azemine told the story so well, they were able to empathize and feel as if they were teleported into those moments.

Oftentimes us, humans, we tend to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes and try to see how we feel things from their perspective. Being students, we can’t help but imagine ourselves as the students at Hertica in the '90s. When asked if they would fit in there, this is what students at the University of Prishtina had to say. Enkela doesn’t believe that she could have been a part of this school house. “I don't think that I would fit in the school. I think I'm used to my comfortable and safe life and I honestly think that I wouldn't survive the horrors that these people faced.” Whereas Anisa provided us with the opposite. She definitely sees herself as a student at Hertica and this is why: “Learning how bonded and united the people at Hertica were makes me happy, and it makes me feel like I would have fit in there, knowing that everyone grew to like family to one another.” Next, we have students like Mirela who have ambiguities when it comes to this question. She states: “Of course, I would fit in the school and I would be super thankful to attend and it would be sacred for me, but it is very difficult for the brain to imagine that you are threatened each minute of your life.”

 It was sad to hear about all the struggles that the students had to go through but beautiful to know that they were willing to risk their lives, in order to get an education. It made us realize how we have everything ready on a silver plate, all we have to do is get up and study, so now you can never catch us taking education for granted.