Three-year-old Milica Rakić is the symbol of suffering during the NATO bombing. Her childhood was forever cut short by bombs on April 17, 1999, as she was getting ready for bed.
Milica Rakić, a three-year-old girl from Batajnica, became the symbol of children’s suffering in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the NATO aggression. Had her life not been taken by the bombs, she would have turned 29 years old on April 17.
Little Milica died in her home in Batajnica. On the day of her death, she had drawn tulips and stuck them on the wall. That fatal April 17, at around 9:00 PM, the air raid alarm sounded over Belgrade, signaling that NATO planes were once again arriving for their genocidal mission of killing and destruction.
At 9:45 PM, the building where the Rakić family lived was hit. At that moment, little Milica was in the bathroom, sitting on her potty, while her mother Dušica had stepped into the room to prepare Milica’s bed for sleep. The bathroom door was open. A deafening explosion was heard, followed by the sound of shattering glass, bathroom tiles, and the building’s facade.
Milica’s father, Žarko, ran to the bathroom and saw a horrifying scene. His child lay on the floor, and there was blood everywhere. Hoping she was still alive, he picked her up, rushed down the stairs, and drove her to the Zemun hospital. At midnight, doctors delivered the tragic news to Žarko’s brother-in-law.
A monument to little Milica was erected in Tašmajdan Park in Belgrade. The statue features Milica’s bust, with a short yet heartbreaking inscription: “We were just children…”
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Alongside Milica Rakić, NATO killed 78 other children during the bombing.
Colonel Ljubinko Đurković, commander of the defense at Košare, spoke to Kurir about the heroic battle of our soldiers, who fought tirelessly to protect the lives of the weak—children, women, and the elderly—while the aggressors relentlessly pursued the destruction of everything Serbian.
“The fact is that the soldiers of the Yugoslav Army fought to preserve peace. They believed that their struggle would stop the killing of innocent children across Serbia. We, who fought against the aggressors, managed to save some lives. Some of them had only just started breathing, knew nothing of sin, and yet they were murdered—guilty of nothing. NATO showed no mercy in achieving its goal. These ruthless forces targeted our freedom, our sovereignty, and everything sacred to us. Even the lives of children were not sacred to them, as evidenced by all our innocent little ones who were killed,” Đurković said.
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Source: Kurir/Suzana Trajković Foto: Privatna arhiva