In a powerful public testimony, Ramadan Nishori, a survivor of sexual violence during the war in Kosovo, shared the harrowing experience that forever changed his life.
He recalled the end of September 1998, a moment etched into his memory.
“Two policemen in uniform came and forced me into a bathroom, where the worst thing that can happen to a human being took place. I never thought it could happen to me. One of them raped me, and as the second prepared to do the same, my screams drew the attention of an Albanian man nearby, who intervened and pulled me out,” Nishori recounted.
Nishori also spoke about the mistreatment he endured in the Prishtina and Lipjan prisons, emphasizing the deep scars left by the violence and abuse.
Originally from Drenica, Nishori said he never wanted people to look at him with pity. Life after the war was extremely difficult, as he struggled to reclaim his sense of normalcy.
“I was released from prison on March 16, 2001. At that time, I was engaged, and two weeks later, I got married. I lived with my parents and brothers in the village. After getting married, I told myself, ‘I will start a new life, I will build a family.’ But that was impossible because every night I was haunted by what had happened to me. I lived in fear that someone would find out. After a year, we moved to an apartment in Fushë Kosovë. There, I felt a little freer, but still, I remained trapped in a prison within myself,” Nishori explained.
Today, he is determined to be seen for his strength, not his victimhood.
“I am a man trying to build a normal life. I want people to see me as someone who fought hard, someone who fell many times but always stood back up. I don’t want to be looked at with pity. I want to be seen with respect. I am here today not because I have forgotten what happened to me,” he said firmly.
Reflecting on the deep trauma he endured after being raped in a police station in 1998, Nishori spoke openly about the internal battles he faced.
“I kept telling myself: ‘I am a man, and no one should know what I experienced because they would despise me and bully me.’ I was completely closed off. I wanted to cry, to scream out loud. Many nights, I would run away from home, go outside, cry, and let it all out. The shame felt heavier than the pain,” Nishori confessed.
His courageous testimony sheds light on the untold suffering endured by male survivors of sexual violence during conflict — and serves as a powerful reminder that the burden of shame belongs to the perpetrators, not the victims.
