Refugee Dies Before He Can Arrive in L.A.

The last time Sanije Ymeri spoke to her older brother from her Hollywood home, all he could say was “I’m hungry sister, so very hungry.”

Soon after in April, 61-year-old Kemajl Ymeri, his wife, Azize, and their seven children were purged from their home in the Kosovo city of Mitrovica by Serbian police.

For 35 anguishing days, the family walked and walked, pushing their father’s frail body in a wheelbarrow, his lung cancer worsening every day. They stopped sometimes for scraps of food and other times when the relentless rains had filled the wheelbarrow with so much water the family feared that if they didn’t drain the cart, Kemajl Ymeri would freeze. When they finally arrived at the refugee camp in Albania, the family began processing paperwork to be reunited with their relatives in Los Angeles.

But the day before the family was to leave on June 13, Kemajl Ymeri died. His body was transported from Albania to his mother and his five siblings in Los Angeles. His widow and children remain stranded in Albania awaiting evacuation, wondering how they will survive without a father.

At a Saturday afternoon service at the Islamic cemetery at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier, Fatima buried her firstborn son.

Ymeri’s brother Frank, 51, mourned with family and friends, unsure whether to feel sadness over the loss or anger that his brother had not made it to America alive. In an emotional eulogy, he remembered his brother as “the man who escaped, the man who came dead to America.”

“I’m sorry,” he said looking down at roses on the wooden casket. “I’m sorry you were not able to enjoy your freedom. I’m sorry you were not able to see Mom one last time. But you are in safe hands now.

“No more torture! No more killing!” he yelled. “You are at peace, my brother.”

Under a simmering sun veiled by wisps of clouds, a small gathering of about 20 family members and friends gathered for the burial service. Since Ymeri’s wife and children are still in Albania, a friend videotaped the service so they could watch it when they arrive as refugees in Los Angeles.

Ahdelmagid Elbialy of the Islamic Center of Southern California performed the traditional Muslim burial rite, the Janazah prayer, and reflected on Ymeri’s suffering.

“He had no time to live a life in America,” he said. “Departure is painful.”

The miserable journey that Ymeri and his family made from Kosovo to Albania was the same as those undertaken by thousands of other refugee families. At one point, Serbs halted the family and took one of the daughters captive, 18-year-old Alten, who is still missing.

Frank Ymeri said that when the family reached the refugee camp, his brother said his only wish was to come to America.

At least 10,000 Albanians may have been killed during the ethnic cleansing carried out by the Serbs, officials have said. Although Ymeri died as a result of complications due to lung cancer, starvation and fatigue, family members blame the hatred bred by Serbians during the war.

“We may forgive them, but we will never forget what they did to the Albanian people,” Frank Ymeri said in his eulogy.

Sanije Ymeri, 47, chose to reflect on her brother’s courage as he came close to death.

“He was so brave. He never complained about being in pain. His only concern was getting his family to safety,” she said.

Bekim Hasani, director of American Relief for Albanians, said he is hopeful that Ymeri’s children will be allowed into Los Angeles within the next week.

“He was supposed to come as a refugee like everyone else,” said Hasani. “He came so close to coming alive. But at least he made it.”