And if it had not been a boy, I would have had five girls, or as many as necessary until I could name a boy Tonibler. Others did a lot. He did the most. The family settled in Pristina after the war and now live in a block of flats in a densely populated district called Sunny Hill. Sadete is a nurse in a neighbourhood clinic.
Naser, who survived the war hiding in the woods, teaches physics. Tonibler Gashi sits by his parents listening patiently, no doubt for the umpteenth time, to the rendition of his creation story, the Just So tale of how he came by his unusual name. He will be 13 this October and is tall for his age — he looks at least a year older — fresh-faced and bright-eyed, with thick, brown hair.
He is the youngest child and the only one at home since his elder sisters are out at after-school English classes. His mother rushes back from work to talk about her favourite subject. He is even starting to look like Tony Blair! Tonibler himself is getting used to the burden of history placed on him at birth, although it has taken some time.
That hot June day in , British troops were festooned with flowers, kissed and hugged along the road from the Macedonian border to Pristina.
But less than yards from the long line of Warrior armoured cars baking in the sun were reminders of why they had come. Scattered among the villages were hundreds of freshly dug graves for victims of atrocities committed by Serbian paramilitaries. More than 10, people were killed. Milosevic had ordered many of the bodies to be dug up and taken away by the departing Serbs in a clumsy attempt at a cover-up of his crimes.
The bones are still being unearthed in Serbia today. In retrospect, that bright shining day in June, with Kosovan children thronging around smiling, sunburned squaddies, was the high point for humanitarian intervention. A year after the Kosovo intervention, British troops staged a minor-key reprise in Sierra Leone, where they helped the national army stop the rebels of the Revolutionary United Front from entering the capital, Freetown, where they would almost certainly have massacred the inhabitants.
It is the one other place on Earth where there are boys named after Tony Blair. On closer scrutiny, the Kosovo mission itself was far from clearcut. Western leaders, including Blair, made their plans on the mistaken assumption that a few days of aerial bombardment would convince Milosevic to call off his plan to drive both the KLA and the Kosovans out of the province.
But there was much more at stake. Serbs saw Kosovo as the cradle of the nation. Few of them wanted actually to live there, among the despised Albanians, but they were prepared to fight bitterly not to lose it. When Nato bombed, Milosevic stepped up his operation.
Three-quarters of the prewar population of 1. Half a million found shelter inside Kosovo's borders, hiding in the woods or in abandoned homes; , ended up in refugee camps in Albania and Macedonia.
With no plan B, Nato dithered. The bombing campaign was expanded to the rest of Serbia including the capital, Belgrade, but dropping high explosives from high altitude is a blunt instrument. About civilians were killed, half of them Serbian and half Kosovan, "collateral damage" as a result of mistakes and poor intelligence.
On 14 April, Nato planes bombed refugee convoys in south-east Kosovo in the belief that they were military columns, leaving 75 dead. On 1 May, they bombed a bridge near Pristane, killing 39 on a civilian bus, and 12 days later killed between 48 and 87 civilians in a bombing raid on supposed military targets in the village of Korisha.
The television centre in Belgrade was destroyed, as was the Chinese embassy, with the deaths of three Chinese citizens. The war crimes tribunal in The Hague investigated but ultimately opted not to prosecute. In the face of these incidents, Tony Blair flew to Washington on 21 April to try to convince President Clinton to lead a ground invasion of Kosovo. Before the president's resolve could be put to the test, however, Milosevic abruptly capitulated.
On 3 June , he accepted a peace plan allowing a Nato-led Kosovo Force, K-For, to garrison the territory and safeguard the return of the refugees.
Salvation had come at the darkest hour, but it would be hard to describe the ensuing 15 years as a happy-ever-after. Those who can remember the Milosevic era are grateful simply to be living in peace in their home villages and towns, but even for them the discontents of freedom are beginning to weigh heavier.
With every passing year, life seems less like a miracle and more like a challenge. The varied childhoods of the Toniblers and Blers tell the story of Kosovo in all its joys and disappointments. But for their generation, just being alive and free will no longer be enough. A few minutes' drive from Tonibler Sahiti's home is a constant reminder of the truncated nature of Kosovo's independence. The town of Mitrovica is divided between Serb and Kosovan quarters by the river Ibar.
A Serb enclave between the town and the Serbian border has never recognised Kosovo's declaration of independence, and continues to look towards Belgrade. It remains one of Europe's most volatile flashpoints, driving away trade and allowing distrust to fester in its place. We thought there would be more work and we thought that the international community would do more to reunite Mitrovica.
Because it is so divided, it has the lowest investment of anywhere in Kosovo. There are about , Serbs left in Kosovo, alongside 2 million Kosovan Albanians. Most live in enclaves south of Mitrovica, where some have been victims of reprisals, and Serbian Orthodox churches have been destroyed or vandalised.
Such attacks have now tapered off and the southern enclaves have gone some way towards integration with the rest of Kosovo. Last year, the EU brokered a deal between Belgrade and Pristina in which the northern Serbs would have their own police and courts under a Kosovo state umbrella. But the deal did not go as far as Serbian recognition of Kosovo's sovereignty. Kosovo was allowed to play its first international friendly football match in March this year, against Haiti. It was a cathartic moment, celebrated inside the country with the fervour of a World Cup final, but it did not bring Kosovo any closer to membership of Fifa.
That is the sovereignty deficit that is of most concern to the most sporting of the Blair boys. Last year, Bler Thaqi was named the best under player in Kosovo, and in January he went to a training camp hosted by the Turkish team Galatasaray. But Bler's dreams of kicking a ball for a living depend very much on recognition.
Maybe there would be greater opportunity if a foreign trainer came here to check for talent. Privacy Policy Feedback. The Blair rich project: Tony Blair made millions in some of the shadiest corners of the world.
Share or comment on this article: The Blair rich project: The millions made by Tony Blair and his wife and children e-mail Comments Share what you think. View all. Bing Site Web Enter search term: Search. Bindi Irwin shares an adorable picture of daughter Grace Warrior, seven months, eating mango with her pet dog Stella the pug Lucifer star Lesley-Ann Brandt had an abortion because she 'wasn't ready' to be a parent and 'that's good enough' Love you bro' Videos show Travis Scott stopping his Astroworld performance to call for help after fan 'passes out' in the crowd Anne Robinson makes low-key exit from Countdown studios after Rachel Riley said of co-star 'no one would describe her as cuddly' in wake of feud Anthea Turner, 61, wows in throwback bikini snaps in Cyprus as star prepares for operation on her fibroids Gossip Girl part two trailer teases the aftermath of Julien and Obie's hook-up Chris Evans steps out for coffee after being overlooked for Sexiest Man of the Year Howard Stern vows to run for president if Donald Trump makes White House bid and says his popularity among listeners means he'd win contest against his former friend Rust electrician who held dying Halyna Hutchins in his arms reveals 'scene did not call for Alec Baldwin to shoot the revolver' as he sues for 'emotional distress' Billie Eilish dances seductively and shows some skin in dreamy new ad for her eponymous perfume Footballer lends his voice to Aldi's Scrooge-themed Christmas ad 'I don't believe in good guys and bad guys': Emily Ratajkowski doesn't want to 'cancel' Robin Thicke and is sure he has 'lots of wonderful things about him' Terrence J 'had his car shot at as he escaped attempted follow-home robbery in Sherman Oaks' Katey Sagal limps around on crutches as she emerges for first time since she was hit by a car while crossing street Nicole Kidman reenacts famous grape smashing scene from I Love Lucy as she embodies Lucille Ball in new trailer for Amazon's Being The Ricardos MAFS UK's Megan Wolfe reveals she received five-page emails explaining why she 'deserved to be dead' after 'cheating' on husband Bob 'We'll still be going!
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They were wed at the All Saints Parish Church in Wooton Underwood, Buckinghamshire before heading to a reception at the beautiful 17th century Blair family mansion closeby. Blair senior is also behind his son, according to the Times. View Iframe URL. Read More. Not registered? Register here. By quite a way.
So how has he done it? Demand for his apprenticeship-led programme has spiked during the pandemic. From his Downing Street childhood to his venture capitalist wife, this is how the eldest of the Blair dynasty made his millions. He became head boy at school and went on to study ancient history at Bristol University before embarking on a masters in international relations at Yale in the US.
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