Kosovar refugee Fiknete Delijaj was 23 when she came to Ireland with her parents, sister and brother, leaving two sisters and another brother behind.

Fiknete says she was treated like a queen by everyone she met here, but she admits they didn't know anything about Irish people or Ireland before they came.

She and her family members had run from war-torn Kosovo to a camp in Macedonia where they were offered the opportunity to travel to Ireland as programme refugees.

That was 1999, and came after the Irish government responded to an international outcry and agreed to accept 1,000 Kosovar refugees.

Kosovo, a disputed territory, had descended into war after conflict in Bosnia.

NATO began bombing Yugoslavia in order to force Serbian troops from Kosovo.

The Delijaj family were among 716,000 Kosovar refugees spread across the Balkans.

Fiknete (38), who now works with Grafton Barbers in Arnotts, says it all feels so far behind her now she had to stop and remind herself that she too used to be a refugee when she found herself sympathising with today's Syrian refugees.

The government last week said they would accept 4,000 refugees from the current crisis - more family members could follow once the initial group is settled.

Fiknete says she was glad to hear of the government's decision: “It's very difficult for the people, I feel really sorry for them, but it used to be me. I was happy when I came here.”

The Delijaj family never really considered their move to Ireland would be long-term. It was simply that their home place in Kosovo was not safe and they needed a place of temporary refuge.

In truth, they knew little about the country, and only one of them spoke English, it was just that the opportunity presented itself and they had heard Irish people were good people – quiet people.

That most have been important to a family fleeing war.

“We thought we came here for a short period."

"NATO was bombing in Serbia. We thought the war would be all finished."

"We weren’t making a decision to come here forever, or even for a long time.  It was choosing life.”

"We never thought that someone would come to help us and support us. Then when the organisations came to take people to Germany, Switzerland and America it was a very quick process."

Iman Sheikh Hussein Halaw, Spiritual Leader of the Muslim Community in Dublin, and Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Liz O Donnell TD, greet the first group of Kosovar Refugees to arrive at Dublin airport in 1999. Photo: RollingNews.ie

A new home

Flights were laid on to Shannon, and on arrival the family were bussed to Waterford.

As programme refugees they did not have to enter Direct Provision because they had automatic refugee rights.

They were put up in a convent - all the families were given their own room, though they had to share kitchens and bathrooms.

Fiknete says it was a very nice place with good facilities.

In particular, she remembers the staff. "They helped us and they were very very nice. Sometimes it is difficult to find the words to say thank you, sometimes there are no words.

"I am lucky to be here."

Courses were laid on for the younger Kosovars and Fiknete was able to train as a hairdresser, taking her first job here.

Home wasn’t home anymore

In 2000, just one year after they were brought to Ireland, the government gave the Kosovars a choice – stay, or go home with some money in their pockets to rebuild their lives.

Fiknete says many took the offer and returned home, including her family. Her parents had never settled in Waterford and they still thought of Kosovo as home.

But when the Delijajs returned to Kosovo, nothing was as they had imagined.

"It was very hard and it still wasn't safe.  NATO was still there but it wasn't safe enough."

They stayed for two years, but Fiknete, her older sister and her younger brother decided to take some Irish friends up on their offer to sponsor a visa and returned in 2002. Many of the other Kosovars who had been in Ireland and returned home made the same decision.

Her parents and two sisters followed in 2005 and 2007.

The three young Delijajs come back to Ireland on a three month tourist visa. That meant they needed to quickly find an employer who would sponsor a work visa.

Fiknete was offered a trial at Waterford City's The Jolly Barber. She got the job, but then had to explain to her new boss that she needed him to sponsor her if she was to stay in the country - luckily for her, he agreed.

Since then, the Delijaj family have been reunited in Ireland, where Fiknete's nieces and nephews go to school and call themselves Irish.

An Irish citizen

After five years Fiknete became an Irish citizen, for which she is very grateful.

“I have to say very many, many thanks to the Irish people."

"I got a good education here, and the children (nieces) are getting a good education."

She says the whole process of coming to Ireland, and of returning later wasn't difficult for her, but admits it was more difficult for those who married when they went back home.

Leaving Waterford

Fiknete, who is single, moved to Dublin four years ago.

"This is a happy home for me now. You still miss your country. But when you have everyone here and your friends are here, you feel kind of at home. I miss Waterford more than I miss Kosovo."

"You wouldn't be happy all the time, but Irish people share everything. Sometimes when you are down they try to bring you up."

Message to Syrians

Fiknete says her message to any Syrians who might come here over the coming months would be that they will be made very very welcome. "They are going  to meet such nice people and I'm sure they will be treated very well."

She hopes they too will find a "better life" here, one that is safe.