Culture

"The Museum of Children in War" opens its doors to artifacts of memory and fear

Children's War Museum

Entering this space is a confrontation with the experiences of children of the last war. It is easy to see that the events of the last two years of the last century were seen as a game by some children, by others there was a lot of fear, and for all of them, trauma is inevitable.

Inaugurated on Wednesday evening with the first exhibition “Interrupted Childhood”, founded by the Kosovo branch of the Youth Initiative for Human Rights, what has been called the “Museum of Children in War” brings together exhibits and stories. The doors have been opened there to artifacts of memory, escape, hiding and fear. Although still far from a proper institution, it is at least an example of the documentation and archiving of collective memory.

Fleeing from home during the war years of 1998 and 1999 was a scene of mobilization and fear. While parents were put into action to get a piece of bread and some clothes, depending on the time they had, the situation could be completely surreal for children. And, also a bit of a game. Ardita Sylaj from Suhareka was 4 years old during the last war in Kosovo. Her memories of that period are dim. When her family was forcibly leaving home to flee, Sylaj as a child had taken the doll in her hand. Her mother would take it out of her hand and leave it on the refrigerator. Instead, she would give her a blanket. But as soon as she got on the tractor, Sylaj would start to oil the doll that her aunt had brought from Germany. Then her mother would give her permission to go and take that too. 

The doll, along with this story, now takes its place in what has been called the "Children's War Museum" in Pristina. 

Inaugurated on Wednesday evening with the first exhibition "Interrupted Childhood", founded by the Kosovo branch of the organization Youth Initiative for Human Rights, brings together exhibits and stories of children in war. Exhibits such as photographs, videos, installations and even drawings dominate. Entering this space is a confrontation with the experiences of children of the last war. It is easy to see that the events of the last two years of the last century were seen as a game by some children, by others there was a lot of fear, and by all together traumas are inevitable. 

Curated by Bjeshkë Guri, the exhibition brings together different sensations. On one side, toys dominate, ending with “The Anger of the Expelled”, an installation with a tent. It is a typical tent of refugees or returnees whose houses were burned down and who have received a blue tarpaulin from humanitarian aid to turn into a tent. Inside it is a television showing a documentary by Radio Television of Kosovo about the expulsion from Kosovo. “The Museum...” puts children first and does so from different perspectives. 

The exhibition "Interrupted Childhood" shows many cases where play was interrupted. Memories are revealed that subsequent traumas must have had a great impact on. And what is formally a Museum has this goal: to document the experiences of children of the last war.

The project is inspired by the War Childhood Museum in Sarajevo, but it is far from this institution in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The so-called War Children's Museum – since Kosovo still does not have legislation regulating the establishment of a museum by public or private institutions – can be taken as an example of documenting and archiving the memory of children in war. No institutional representative was present at the opening. According to the founders, despite insisting for five years, the institutions have not made room for the "Museum..." in a public space and it had to be temporarily located in a private space. Preserving the memory of the war and documenting those years in Kosovo is a major improvisation. And in this general improvisation, regardless of its substantive side, a new museum is now entering.

There are also nine drawings of children in the war. In 1999, when about a million Albanians were forcibly expelled from Kosovo by Serbian forces, the artist from Lezha, Ymer Metalia, would organize drawing workshops in several refugee camps, with which he would open an exhibition in his city. He had conceived of those workshops as a kind of psychological treatment or release for children. At that time, he would give first place in the exhibition to the one who is today the most famous Albanian artist in the world of contemporary art, Petrit Halilaj. A work by Halilaj is there, as is that of his sister Blerina Halilaj. The burning house, the surrounding tanks and the killed people were what the 13-year-old Halilaj had in his head at the time and had put it on paper. Halilaj himself was present at the opening of the museum. 

"It has been very important for us to express ourselves through drawing and to share our war experiences since then. It has been the beginning of a very important spiritual healing. When you have such war experiences, when you have the opportunity to share them, it is a very good thing. I am happy for these steps that Kosovo is taking because through them we remember and share the experiences that have made us who we are today," he said. 

On one side, toys dominate, ending with "Expelled Anger," a tent installation.

He also shared a story with those present. As a refugee, he had caught the eye for his drawings and the accompanying team of Kofi Annan, then Secretary-General of the United Nations. He had been told that the high-ranking official wanted to see a drawing of his. He would prepare it on a large cardboard. 

"As a child, I thought that drawing would stop the war. When you are in war, you lose everything, even your home. The drawing was so important to me, and when he asked me to give it to him, I decided not to give it to Annan. Each object here brings a very important story and context of the war," said Halilaj, who is now a kind of art refugee in the most famous museums around the world. 

Bjeshkë Guri, a curator who holds the position of director of “Muzeu...”, said that it is an alternative space of memory that speaks of children and the interruption of their childhood in the unjust vortex of war. According to her, “Muzeu...” as such emphasizes marginalized experiences of war as a way to remember the past with dignity and to bring symbolic justice by recognizing these experiences. 

"The first exhibition takes us back to the lives of children who survived the war. An exhibition that will take you to escape, fear, hiding, play and complex emotions that only war can bring. Every object and story in this exhibition invites you to confront with a critical mind and an open heart the truths of war and the past that we must never allow to become the present," said Guri. According to her, the exhibition "The Interrupted Game" addresses childhoods violently interrupted by war and invites critical reflection not only on the past in Kosovo, but also on the present in the world. 

“This museum is a symbolic effort that condemns war as a tool of domination and structural violence while advocating for social justice and sustainable peace in Kosovo and everywhere in the world,” she said. She added that the “Children of War Museum” invites the public to recognize, reflect and engage in building a future where every child can live a full childhood free from violence and oppression. 

Meanwhile, Marigona Shabiu, who leads the branch of the Youth Initiative for Human Rights in Kosovo, said that this “Museum...” is not simply a physical space, but an attempt to build bridges between the past and the future. According to her, it is a space to hear voices that are often forgotten, to understand the pain of the past and to learn from it. She mentioned that in the last war in Kosovo, 1024 children were killed and 109 others continue to remain missing. 

“For child survivors, the war is not just a past, but a legacy that continues to shape their lives and our entire society. This exhibition unfolds a journey of hiding, fleeing in extreme conditions, traumatic coping with loss and death, and the immediate aftermath of the war,” she said. She described the museum as a testament to the power of collective memory and an opportunity to ensure that these stories are documented, protected, remembered, and central to shaping reconciliation policies. 

A work by the prominent artist Petrit Halilaj is among the exhibits, as is one by his sister Blerina Halilaj. The burning house, the surrounding tanks and the people killed were what the then 13-year-old Halilaj, a refugee in Albania, had in his mind and had written down on paper.

A Serbian soldier may have felt some remorse for going to an act that speaks little about reconciliation when, in the village of Gllogjan in Peja in 1999, he saw Antigona Krasniqi, who was then 7 years old. In the Krasniqi family yard, he would fall to his knees and open his arms to embrace the little girl. He would take a pendant out of his pocket and give it to her. 

"For years now, I've been begging for the girl whose pendant the soldier took. I want to give it back, the pendant is hers," Krasniqi told the "Museum..." team. At the time, all of this might have been a game for Krasniqi. And poet Ervinë Halili, who has a poem in the museum and helped curate it, said that children perceive everything through play. According to her, the most lively museum and the most lively archive is the memory of children. 

"Children need a long time to move from play to reality. Up to a certain age, children experience reality as a game. I am glad that one of my first poems is in the museum. It was written in 1997 about the student protests where I experienced that reality as part of the game. The poem also sees the reality of the protests in the form of white clouds that at the time seemed very surreal to me without yet understanding that that game is very serious," said Halili.

The exhibition "Interrupted Childhood" shows many cases where play was interrupted. Memories are revealed that subsequent traumas must have had great impact. And what is formally a Museum has this goal: to document the experiences of children of the last war. To reveal them and take them as an example of what a war brings to the most innocent category. To children.