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After fleeing Kosovo because of the war and arriving in Macedonia in 1999, Latif Kacuri and his family were approved to fly to Nova Scotia, where they could start their lives as Canadians, in a place where no war would ever make them leave.
It was amazing news for the Kacuri family, however they had to say goodbye to one of the most important people in their lives before leaving for Canada. Kacuri’s sister and her family ended up wanting to stay in Europe and didn’t follow the rest of the family to Canada. The sister's family stayed at the refugee camp for a while longer before being approved to live in Denmark, where they still are to this day.
For Kacuri, it was very hard saying goodbye to his sister but he knew she would be happier in Denmark and that she would have a good life there, just as he would have in Canada.
After packing up and saying their goodbyes, Kacuri and his brother’s family, his father, and his step-mom boarded on an airplane and headed on a 13 hour adventure to their new home with more than 5,000 other refugees.
The family arrived in Nova Scotia in May and were greeted by politicians and different organizations, but communication was hard because Kacuri could not speak any English. Care packages full of clothing were provided for the refugees, but Kacuri had a hard time taking one. He felt guilty having to take something from someone, because all throughout his life he had been able to provide for himself.
“They provided packages of clothing and told us to take several shirts, shoes, and pants, but I took only one pair of everything, just to change.”
Kacuri also had a hard time taking these items because he felt homesick and being in a new country was all too much for him.
“I hoped that the conflicts would end soon and I could return back to Kosovo.”
The man however would not return to Kosovo and he would slowly make his way across Canada to where he would come to love and adore the country he fled to, but first he had to experience the east coast of Canada.
Kacuri didn’t stay in Nova Scotia for very long. After different screening took place in the province, they did x-rays, interviewed the refugees about their previous jobs, and asked them if they wanted to become a landed immigrant, they packed up again and travelled to another province.
More than 1,200 refugees piled into buses and travelled to Gagetown, New Brunswick.
It was in New Brunswick where Kacuri received his first English dictionary and started to learn the very tough language. It was also in New Brunswick where Kacuri started to run every day, play soccer, meet friends, and it's where he started to fall in love with Canada.
“My life changed for the better,” Kacuri said with the biggest smile on his face.
Three weeks into living in Gagetown the conflicts back in Kosovo ended, and Kacuri remembered distinctively calling one of his family members who was still there to ask about their home.
“After three weeks when the day came when the conflicts ended, military, NATO, and the Serbian military decided to end the conflict. When military left Kosovo our houses were burnt down,” Kacuri explained.
When the conflict ended on June 10, 1999, Serbian military left Kosovo after burning many homes, properties, and companies. Even though many homes were no longer there thousands of Kosovar refugees returned home.
Since there was absolutely nothing left to go back for, Kacuri decided he would stay in Canada and start his life over.
“It was very hard to start a life over. Especially when you don’t speak English. I’m willing to do anything though and somehow I don’t feel that it is impossible to achieve what you want. Fortunately I am able to achieve quite a lot of what I planned, I am very optimistic.”
After the Kacuri family decided they would stay in Canada, immigration officers then began to work on finding sponsors for the family. It wasn’t long until the Kacuri family would be approved to travel from one coast to the other and create a new life in the Okanagan Valley.
This is a multi-part series by KelownaNow.com. Be sure to check back every Wednesday to learn more about Kacuri's story.
To read the first article in the series, click here.
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