Photojournalist Ron Haviv showed the world the horrors of the war in Kosovo, Bosnia and Croatia

The last moments of the life of Hajrush Ziberi, the Albanian killed by the Serbian paramilitary forces during the war in Bosnia, were documented through the photograph taken by the war photojournalist, Ron Haviv.

“He was working in a pizzeria in Bosnia, Serbian paramilitaries took his ID card and started shouting ‘Kosova, Kosova’. They were frustrated. At that time, I was not very clear about what Kosovo meant for the Serbs, but the fact that Hajrushi was Albanian meant for them that he was a fighter”, said Haviv.

The photo of Hajrush Ziberi is one of the hundreds of photos that Ron Haviv has taken during his career as a photojournalist in about 25 conflicts in the world, including Serbian crimes in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo.

He returned to Kosovo 25 years after the war, to recount the events behind some of the photographs that had covered the front pages of foreign media.

“In the US and around the world, people learn in school about the Holocaust and say never again, this will never happen again, these crimes will never happen again, but I have documented three genocides in my career and there have been many others. Photography and journalism hold people accountable. During the Second World War, they said we did not know what happened, now this is not possible, now you have the images”, said Haviv.

Speaking about the war in Kosovo, Haviv said that access to places where crimes were being committed was not always easy.

“Sometimes we only saw where there was smoke, where there was smoke there was conflict. When we were driving and we saw a Serb checkpoint that we couldn’t pass, we walked around until we found a way to enter that place to witness what was happening to the Kosovars,” said Haviv.

He also talked about the famous photo of Serbian criminal Arkan with a tiger in his hand, which he said the notorious character had agreed to be shot, but later put Havivi on the list for execution.

“He was proud of that picture, he wanted to present himself as a powerful Serbian warrior, but some people see the picture and think he looked like a fool. After the pictures of his (Arkan’s) men executing civilians, he got into trouble with Belgrade, not because of the executions, but because those executions were photographed, so he put me on a kill list. Later, a reporter who looked like me was arrested in Sarajevo, and then for 8 years I avoided meeting him”, said Haviv.

The war photojournalist said that returning to Kosovo 25 years after the war is a fantastic feeling, as the country seems to have moved forward.

“It’s fantastic. Kosovo seems to be in the right direction, especially when you compare it with Bosnia where it seems that people have not left the 90s. Here it seems that Kosovo has moved forward. This means that in a way, the sacrifices that have been made… the victims can feel that the country has benefited, it is now a state that is recognized by many countries of the world. This is something very positive”, said Haviv.