Kids Section

Once upon a time, there was a little boy named Gent. Genti lived together with his big family. His family was made up of mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, uncle Faton, aunt Kimet, aunt Emine, and his two sisters, Jehona and Besa. 

Genti was no ordinary boy. He was the best student in his class, so you can assume that Genti loved going to school and being praised by all the teachers for his good work. On school days he would wake up in the morning, drink hot milk with all the grownups, get ready for school, and walk the streets of Prishtina full of joy. 

One day, Genti got the news that schools were going to be closed for a while, but he just couldn’t agree with it! He had seen some people getting beaten on the streets and had heard a few gunshots here and there, but that was just what life was like in Kosovo. Genti was so bored at home. He couldn’t even play with his friends from the neighborhood because he wasn’t allowed to go outside. He felt like a trapped bird inside a very stuffy house. He couldn’t talk about school anymore and didn’t take his daily dose of praise from his teachers. Life just wasn’t fair to him. On the other hand, his sisters were having a blast, mainly because they were too little to understand what was going on. Genti could see that all his family members were so concerned and quiet all the time, so he tried his best to cheer everyone up. 

After a few months, Genti got the best news ever. He is going back to school! Except for this time schools were not going to be ordinary. All the students would be informed about the whereabouts of the school. The location would change every once in a while, and all the students should hide from the police officers. Genti thought this was the coolest thing ever and couldn’t wait to see his friends again.

The day finally came and Genti got up early in the morning, and had some hot milk with his family. This time his mom ordered Genti to be very careful outside and to never share the location of his school with anyone because it was a secret. When he was getting ready for school, he could only take one notebook and one pencil and he had to hide them underneath his clothes so that nobody knew he was going to school. 

A couple of weeks go by, and one morning, while skipping his way to school, Genti was stopped by two police officers. “Hey boy, where are you going?” asked one of the officers. “Why are you smiling?” asked the other officer. Genti was frozen. He had never talked to police officers by himself. “I am running errands for my mother,” said Genti, “She told me to buy some flour.” The police officer replied, “Okay, we will accompany you then.” Genti had no money with him so he couldn’t buy flour and go back home. He can’t risk exposing the school location. Despite all that he still decided to go to the store. The police officers were speaking in a language that Genti didn’t understand, but he had his plan laid out. He was going to walk into the store and tell the store owner what was going on so maybe can borrow some flour and bring the money later. And it worked! The police officers waited outside the store and Genti had more than enough time to explain the situation to the store owner. However, a terrified look covered the store owner’s face and it seemed like he was trembling in fear. The store owner grabbed Genti and sided him around the flour aisle. “Son, you are very smart and very brave. It’s a very good thing that you brought them here. I will give you the flour, no need to pay me. I need you to tell me the name of your teacher, and where your house is. Go straight home and tell your parents what happened. Don’t say a thing to the officers, do you understand?” Genti was still processing what was going on, but he knew he could trust this very kind store owner so he nodded and told him his teacher's name. Genti walked out of the store with flour, gave a nasty look to the police officers and said “Here, I got the flour, can I go home now?”. The police officers looked at each other disappointed, and told him to go. 

Genti got back home with flour in his hand, and when his mother saw him she was surprised. Genti wouldn’t miss school even when he was sick, this was very unusual. She rushed to check on him and Genti told her what happened right away. She gasped and ran to talk to Genti’s father. After what it seemed like 10 minutes, Genti’s father went running outside the house. That whole day he was outside and Genti was waiting at the window. His mother wouldn’t speak because she was stressed, the other family members were busy doing housework, his father was outside, and so Genti was left under the shadow all day and the store owner’s words kept replaying in his head. Genti felt good about the praise but he couldn't help but feel scared. 

Nighttime falls and finally Genti’s father together with Genti’s teacher and the store owner that Genti met, all showed up at his house. “Oh no, am I in trouble? I’m so sorry!” Genti yelled. Everyone started laughing. “My son, you have no idea how brave you are. You saved the entire school today, do you know that?” said his father. Apparently what happened was that the two police officers had located in what house the school was located and were planning on bombing it. They waited for kids to show up and follow them, so they came across Genti. Luckily he had told the store owner about his encounter so the store owner warned the teachers and everyone at the school was evacuated safely. 

That day Genti learned that his country is slowly being occupied by some bad guys and that’s why the school was closed for months. He also decided that he wants to be a teacher when he grows up so that he teaches kids to be smart just like himself. That night Genti dreamed about a free Kosovo where schools would welcome everyone, a Kosovo where you don’t have to hide your wishes and can be yourself. Genti believes his dreams will come true one day.