A Kosovar refugee’s journey to the Royal Marines
By: Valon Xoxa February 20, 2014
Arben Islami’s story is nothing short but movie-like. As a 12 year old boy, Islami watched the British Royal Marines march into Kosovo following the 1999 conflict, it was then and there, Islami had found his life goal. In 1999, Islami had left Kosovo for United Kingdom in search of relatives and in July 2012, granted citizenship and full rights to join the marines. “I wanted to join up and give something back to the country that helped me so much” said Marine Islami.
As a child, Islami had witnessed the Royal Marines enter Kosovo in 1999 and at that point, he realized that he wanted to become one of them. After arriving in the United Kingdom, Islami was placed on a foster home in Birmingham, where he went to school and learned English. Currently, Islami is married and has a family to take care of, thus he also practices the profession of a bricklayer, however, this did not keep him from completing the 10 week long Commando training at Lympstine and becoming a Marine Reservist.
‘It is a huge privilege, particularly coming from another country, to join the Royal Marines because they are one of the best forces in the world.’ claims Marine Islami (Mailonline).
Marine Islami is excited for future deployments and commitment to the Marines, he continues to train with the Reservists and also working his day job of a bricklayer.
The original article was posted at Dailymail.co.uk . Click here to read the original article.
Valon Xoxa
Valon Xoxa is a staff member of Kosovodiaspora.org. He holds a bachelor degree from Westminster College (MO) in Cultural Anthropology and Sociology. Currently resides in Prishtina, and is a freelance contributor and editor at KosovoDiaspora.org. With an interest in contemporary culture, he seeks to find and incorporate articles from the Kosovar Diaspora that would shed light upon the interesting characteristics of this important global community. He has published a research article through UNDP’s School on Human Development titled “Mobility and Public Participation: A Case Study of the Kosovar Diaspora”, where a rather interesting Andersonian perspective is taken at understanding the Internet as a national identity creation medium.
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