Shadow Behind the Sun

Shadow Behind The Sun is perhaps the first substantial book to emerge from the wave of new Scots who have arrived here in the last decade from war zones across the world - from Iraq and Afghanistan. from Sudan and Zimbabwe, and of course from former Yugoslavia, in this case from Kosova. In this book, written with the help of Robert Davidson of Sandstone Press, Remzije Sherifi intercuts her story of the conflict in Kosova - the history of the region, the conflict which developed in the 1990's, and the reasons why she and her family finally had to leave - with her experiences today, working as an adviser to other refugees and asylum seekers in a drop-in centre in Glasgow. And between these two poles of experience, she produces a remarkable memoir. It's an angry book, but also a profoundly thoughtful one about the way in which this kind of ethnic conflict can flare up within months, or a few short years, in what previously seemed a peaceful and harmonious society, and about her experience of working with others who have faced similar crises. Sherifi is a woman younger than me, who has already seen more suffering and trauma than anyone should have to see in a lifetime. But she is still learning, growing and changing here in Scotland, building a new life which is not the same as the old one, but which still brings new challenges and fulfilments. And while there is never any room for complacency on these issues, I think that's something in which we can take some small amount of pride. Joyce McMillan: Saltire Awards Ceremony. 30 November 2007.

Remzije Sherifi worked as a journalist with Radio Gjilan in Kosova. She lost her job, and almost her life, as the Milosevic regime steadily tightened its grip on the Albanian people who lived there.

In Shadow Behind The Sun she recounts her family’s history, shining a new light on the terrible events of the 1990s.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE SALTIRE SOCIETY FIRST BOOK OF THE YEAR

Remzije Sherifi worked as a journalist with Radio Gjilan in Kosova. She lost her job, and almost her life, as the Milosevic regime steadily tightened its grip on the Albanian people who lived there.

In Shadow Behind The Sun she recounts her family’s history, shining a new light on the terrible events of the 1990s. Beside the history of the Kosovar people she describes the plight of Asylum Seekers in the here and now. The shadow of past events stands behind the sunrise of every new constitutional or social development. Can they be forgotten? Should they be forgotten? Now a British citizen Remzije has made her commitment to Asylum Seekers and other refugees, working with the Maryhill Integration Network in Glasgow. Through her story, Remzije Sherifi is revealed as a compassionate and visionary presence in difficult and changing times.