Families in Kosovo wait to see returnees

VRANIDOLL, Kosovo — Kosovo families waited Monday outside a shelter, trying to talk with relatives who have been repatriated from Syria and are eager to get home.

On Saturday, 110 Kosovar citizens — four alleged foreign fighters, 32 women and 74 children — were returned home with the assistance of the United States.

The return of such a big group is a first for Europe. Experts say getting the families reintegrated into the society will be a hard challenge for Kosovo authorities and the families themselves.

Hidajete Delia waited for hours Monday morning to meet up with her sister Dafina, 23, and her sister’s two little children at the camp in Vranidoll, 6 miles from Pristina, the capital. She says her sister calls the six years she spent in Syria “hell.”

“When she was 17, my sister was deceived to go there. She has a daughter and a son,” said Delia. “She is back and we are so happy. I do not know how to describe our happiness.”

She would not discuss Dafina’s husband, except to say that she knew he was killed.

Other people waiting at the main entrance to the camp were not ready to talk Monday.

The four alleged foreign fighters have been arrested and sent to a high-security prison. They are charged with joining war zone conflicts and are awaiting trial.

Authorities say the women and children will be released from the camp in the next few days.

Inside the camp, which was guarded by special police forces, medical personnel were seen intensively working with the returnees, while groups of children played behind the wire fences. Nine of the children from Syria are orphans.

Prosecutors say so far they have charged 119 people from Kosovo with joining extremist groups in Syria and Iraq as foreign fighters, which means they could face up to 15 years in jail.

Justice Minister Abelard Tahiri, head of a task force handling the operation, said authorities plan to rehabilitate and reintegrate the returnees into society.