North Macedonia is burying the victims of the Kocani nightclub fire that broke out in the early hours of last week, and this is the only topic not only in the news but also in the conversations among people on the street.

As soon as you cross the border from the Greek Evzoni crossing into North Macedonia, flags along the route fly at half-mast, while the once lively rhythm of Balkan music on the radio gives way to sad sounds, commensurate with the surrounding atmosphere.

At a gas station of a large oil chain, just outside Gevgelija, the cashier struggles to hold back tears when we ask her for directions to Kocani.

"We lost our children, what we're going through is unimaginable," she says, and the employee who just filled our tank added: "We haven't had such a tragedy even in war."

As we approach Kocani, the police presence increases, giving directions to those who want to approach the cemetery, where a little later "the final act of a tragedy the likes of which the region has never seen before" will take place, a resident of this town, located about 100 kilometers from the capital Skopje, told APA-MPA.

"Today is not a time for words, this is a time of silence for our dead children," he added as he walked to the site where 24 graves have been dug side by side to receive the deceased.

– There are 7-8 more graves scattered up there – he explained to us and asked us to be sensitive to the pain of the relatives because he is very uncomfortable due to some photos that, as he said, were made public in the previous 24 hours.

Something we noticed as we walked towards the special area designated in the corner of the cemetery for media representatives was that a car stopped in the middle of the road in front of the camera and shouted at us loudly: "No photos!".

A platform has been set up next to the freshly dug graves, while about 20 workers wait patiently in one corner. At the same time, Red Cross teams are on standby for anything that might arise, while journalists and other media professionals from neighboring countries complete the scene at the cemetery, and police officers are constantly giving instructions.

Most of the 59 victims of the tragedy are from Kocani, where their funeral will be held on Thursday at noon, in a particularly difficult atmosphere, and the funeral will be held by the Archbishop of the Macedonian Orthodox Church, His Holiness Stefan.

The funerals of some of the victims will be held an hour earlier in Shtip.

– What is certain is that this wound will not heal soon. And we will not forget – said a resident of Kocani, among the many volunteers at the site, wearing black T-shirts that read: “Rest in peace, my beloved angel.”