Sulimani was a preschooler at the time the horrendous crime took place against her mother; a memory that has shattered her life. “My mother was sexually tortured when I was 4 years old. Though I don’t remember the details of this specific event, the fear it instilled in me, the profound sense of vulnerability, has stayed with me—deeply, and painfully” Sulimani would begin struggling with her mental health and would struggle socially and even being part of extra-curricular activities that she enjoys like soccer and basketball. By the time she became a teenager her health severely declined where she was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. Sulimani says she worried about what others would think of her as her family was already facing stigma and isolation as a result of her mother’s bravery in going public with allegations of war rape against Serbian forces during the war.

“For many years, actually leading up to 2023 I did not tell anyone what I was going through. I hid it from the world, I built a prison for myself and threw away the key. For 14 years I stayed in and out of hospitals because I no longer cared about my own survival, I did not feel worthy to get help or to get better.” Looking at some images of Sulimani during her illness, she looks frail and her future grim, we’ve decided to withhold these images from publishing due to the severity. Looking at those soul-crushing images, it’s not hard to understand why she had to quit medical education, a passion Sulimani hopes one day she will heal enough to resume. But Sulimani would prevail and recover and for the first time since the war, she is standing up and sharing her story in hopes of helping other secondary survivors. Last month she spoke for the first time sharing her story in Bogota, Colombia to world leaders.

“It felt like I was speaking to family, to those open to the idea of change, the idea that we must address second generational trauma in order to create lasting change “ Sulimani acknowledges the weight her family carried with their trauma for over two decades due to the stigma that lies within the Albanian community in Kosovo and in Canada as well “In terms of support I have to sadly say that once my mother gained the strength to voice the tragedy she experienced in the war, not many people supported her decision in doing so” According to Kosovo Rehabilitation Centre for Torture Victims (KRTC) from over 20,000 that were raped during the Kosovo war, only 1,000 have gone forward at the centre to seek assistance and rehabilitation services. Thousands still live in similar fears or worse as have the Sulimani’s.

From the staggering number of over 20,000 only two women have come public with the story; Sulimani’s mother and Vasfije Krasniqi Goodman from United States. Despite the push and support for the victims of sexual assault in conflict from Kosovo’s President, Vjosa Osmani who has appointed Sulimani’s mother and Vasfije Krasniqi Goodman positions within her office to advocate for survivors, there are no survivors from Kosovo that have gone public with their story. “During this time my mother was still fighting for justice. Remembering the culture back home in Kosovo I was consumed with anxiety. I feared the judgment of others back home due to cultural stigma around the topic of sexual violence. I feared how our family would be perceived because my mother opened the door that thousands keep shut.”