Andrea and Riva, can you tell us something about your lives before the troubles started? |
| Andrea: |
We live in a small town just outside of Novi Pazar. We go to school nearby with around 40 other kids. I love football and teasing my sister. |
| Riva: |
Near Novi Pazar, a small villiage town. It was a gentle life. I had just started school, it was a small school with no more than 30/40 kids. I liked playing with my friends and I had just started school. |
| When and how did things start to change and did you understand what the problems were? |
| Andrea: |
Things started to change when we were sent home from school, we weren’t allowed out and people stopped talking to us. I had some idea of what happened and was happening. |
| Riva: |
I had to stop going to school, I wasn’t allowed to see my friends and people stopped talking to us. No I didn’t understand what had happened, I was too young. We moved out of our flat at night and had to stay in, we had no visitors. |
| How about people who were your friends – didn’t they try to help you? |
| Andrea: |
My friends eventually stopped speaking to us but that was due to their parents. Some of our parents friends helped for a while and of course Uncle Stefan helped up to a point. |
| Riva: |
My friends were too young to understand, but friends stopped speaking to us. My parent’s friends helped but our friends kept away. Uncle Stephan helped. |
| You mention a little bit about your journey to England – how did you get here? Did you know anything about Britain and what did you think it would be like? |
| Andrea: |
We walked, hitched and stowed away on trains and finally the jerry on a wagon. There were others leaving to on the same path but we kept getting moved on from where we bedded down for the night. In Britain people will help you and give you somewhere to live and food. |
| Riva: |
We walked, hitched, stowed away through Europe. We often had to move on whenever we tried to settle. We didn’t travel alone but in a big group of people escaping/leaving the country. I only heard
what people have said on-route, “People will help you in Britain. There will be a place to live.” etc |
| How did your first day of school here feel? |
| Andrea: |
Scary cause I can’t speak the language and everyone dresses different (I don’t have the uniform yet). I don’t know where I’m going either. |
| Riva: |
Scary. It looked different and I had no uniform. I arrived mid term and it felt like everyone knew everyone. I didn’t know the language to ask questions, make friends or fit in. |
| Andrea, did you want to play football with Leo? Why did you decide not to and was it a hard decision? |
| Andrea: |
Yes I did want to play football with Leo. I didn’t because he’s a horrible person and doesn’t like me or people from different countries. No it wasn’t a hard decision. |
| Riva, you decided that the hospital could keep the doll for its charity fair. Why did you let it go? |
| Riva: |
I was too embarrassed to ask for it back and I thought it would be more appreciated at the hospital. I’m too old for a doll now. It will be better used there. |
| Where is home? |
| Andrea: |
Home will always be in our little town near Novi Pazar but this is my second home (Sheffield). |
| Riva: |
Wherever Mum and Andrea are. |
| What do you miss about your old life? |
| Andrea: |
Friends, Dad helping with homework and taking us for picnics on Sundays. |
| Riva: |
Friends. Dad reading me bedtime stories. Picnics with Mum and Dad. The language, I have to think about my words, there it was easy. |
| What are your hopes for the future? |
| Andrea: |
I want to play football for AC Milan and me and mum and Riva are ok. |
| Riva: |
That we all fit in and have a happy life here – if we stay. |
| Thinking back to a time before any troubles began, what three wishes would you have made? |
| Andrea: |
To play for AC Milan, to be a millionaire, to fly. |
| Riva: |
To have lots of money. To live forever. To fly |
| How about just before you went into hiding when things were getting bad? |
| Andrea: |
To see my friends more, to move back to our flat, for everything to be normal. |
| Riva: |
To have my friends back. For everything to be normal. To live in our house again. |
| And how about now, in a strange country, a different home and a new school? |
| Andrea: |
To make friends like the ones I had back home that me, mum and Riva are always ok to play for AC Milan. |
| Riva: |
To make lots of friends. For mum to be happy. To fit in. |
