
After 12 years of being kidnapped by her father and left alone in the infamous Al Hol camp in Syria, Eva Dumani has returned to Albania to be with her mother and brother. Her repatriation was made possible thanks to the continuous efforts of her family.
Eva was initially illegally removed from Syrian territory to Turkey with the help of her uncle, Xhetan Ndergjoni, and then her return to Albania was carried out through a structured security operation.
In a connection for the show "Në Kohë Reale", Eva's uncle and security expert from Kosovo, Bedri Elezi, shared details of the difficult repatriation operation.
Elezi said that the operation was filled with extraordinary challenges, emphasizing that Eva had cooperated at every step and had implemented all recommendations until the moment of arrival in Turkey.
"After much struggle, I was among those lucky people to be at the helm of the operation to repatriate Eva, who we can say is now considered calm and safe. A woman whose story will speak for itself based on two issues, the first being that she was a woman who was never challenged by her efforts to consider her uncle's commitments for her repatriation, and the second being how she cooperated with us and implemented all the recommendations we gave her until the moment she arrived in Turkey," the expert said.
Meanwhile, her uncle, Xhetan Ndergjoni, shared the emotions of the reunion after more than a decade of relentless efforts. He confessed that not a single day had passed without thinking and crying about his niece.
"I feel great and I'm excited. A special thank you to Bderiu who never gave up on me for 12 years of trying to get Eva back. Bedriu was the negotiator of everything until we reached our goal until Eva came. The greatest hope was when Eva made up her mind to come back because I have never shared my hopes.
He had been asking me for more than 2 years and said: "When are you going to get me out of this hell? Take me. I want security". And it was a big dilemma that I decided to go there myself but it was impossible to go to Syria. With the help of some friends we managed to get Eva inside Turkey.
For 12 years, there has not been a day that I have not cried for Eva. I have not stopped asking for her in all forms. She always told me: "only you, uncle, and I will never forget your number." At first, I was stunned and Eva was stunned, she was on my neck, holding me with her hands and saying: uncle, uncle. I had the promise to be the first to return it one day, sister, and with the help of many people, it was fulfilled and I have never tired," said Ndergjoni.
According to expert Elezi, Eva's departure from the camp was carried out in extremely dangerous conditions. She and several of her friends walked for about four hours in the desert, seeking help in a village near the border with Turkey. Then, with the help of the Albanian community in the area and the coordination of the authorities, it became possible for her to cross into Turkish territory and then return to Albania.
"We have both of them at the same time with Gjetani and I can say that Gjetani jumped towards Eva and it was a hug that would never end, a moment of joy, tears and all together. The most difficult problem was Eva herself because she wanted absolute security because her life and death were separated by a hair's breadth, it was a very big risk. She was an extraordinary collaborator because she was in an area that was very difficult to move and to get to the car from where she would move towards the border and then to cross the border, they were extraordinary challenges. The camp was out of control and many women and children had left, Eva together with some of her friends had set off into the desert and somewhere 4 hours and had managed to stop in a village and there they sought the help of the residents and then they came to a town that is close to the border with Turkey where there is an Albanian community that lives there until we successfully bring her to the territory of Turkey", said Elezi.