Kosovo through the lens, interview with the photojournalist of 1999

Thomas Sjorup, an international photojournalist who closely documented the tragic events of the Kosovo War in 1999, has recently published his testimonies from the war. Through photography, he has preserved painful but vital memories for the history of our country.

During an interview for The Geopost, Thomas shares his personal and professional experiences of that time, including the emotional challenges he experienced and the efforts to maintain objectivity in extreme circumstances.
In his book “Kosovo at War,” which he promoted on Wednesday in Pristina, Sjorup shows the crimes committed by the Serbian state against Albanians.

Full interview below:

The Geopost: Thank you very much for this interview with The Geopost.

I would like to talk to you about your experience as a reporter during the Kosovo War in 1999. How did you manage to remain objective while taking these photos?

Thomas: Well, as a photojournalist, you need to first put aside your own emotions. This is a hard thing to do, but if you want to work as a professional photographer and journalist, you have to put your own emotions aside and only focus on the people in front of you and in front of the camera. That’s the most important thing in these situations.

The Geopost: You made a book about the Kosovo War and your photographic documentation.

How did you select the photographs for the book? What criteria did you use to select the photos for this book?

Thomas: Well, some of the photos, of course, have a value because they are beautiful photos,

even though they are of a time that was bad. And some of the photos are more historical documents. And regarding the historical documents, I have a lot of photos that has never been published, because you can only publish this much pictures and you take a lot of pictures as a photographer. And I have this saying that there are no pictures that shouldn’t be taken. There are pictures that should not be published. And that’s what I’ve been working from my whole life. So actually, I have a lot of pictures with the dead people and all kind of bad things that has never been published, because it didn’t make any sense or value to the news coverage. But as a historical document, it gives sense. So that’s why some of the pictures in the book has never been published before, but I publish now, because they are important as a historical document.

The Geopost: How did the family react to seeing all these photos in the book, and what was the impact. What challenges did they face?

Thomas: The families has had no impact on my selection of the photos for the book. I have made the selections myself. It has been a long process with selecting the photos, making the book. And it’s also been kind of theoretical for me to go through all this material again and to see all the pictures again.

The Geopost: How did you feel when you came to Kosovo after the situation from 1999 to 2025? How do you always see the evolution of our society?

Thomas: Well, I just came home from Pristina yesterday, and Pristina has grown a lot.

I think the city is now four times the size that it was in 1999, and new houses.

It’s good to see that Kosovo is growing and prosperous.

The Geopost: What message does this send to the people and society of Kosovo? You have experienced war and witnessed terrible things and massacres. What is your final message?

Thomas: Well, this job comes with a price. And it has also come with a price for me. I am diagnosed with PTSD, and I have done this job for quite some years. And it’s not free of charge.

And that’s something that you should be aware of if you want to do this kind of job, that it comes with a price. But I wouldn’t have done anything else. I’m proud of what I did, and it made sense, and it still makes sense. I’ve just come home from Kosovo last night, and I had the great opportunity to actually go out and meet some of the people that I photographed during the war and that are in the book. And to me, that was a fantastic opportunity to see these people again. And it was really fantastic. And something that really helps me in getting on with my life. And also, if I can just say a thing here, I have the front cover of the book. I have this man on the cover, and I’m thinking, because this is during fighting, and everything is fast. And I just stopped and I took a picture of him, and he went one way and I went another way. And I don’t know who he is. I don’t even have his name. And maybe, I don’t know if he’s alive still, or if he died during the war.

So for me, it could be fantastic to maybe get in contact with some of his family, or him, if hopefully, if he’s alive.

/The Geopost