The Serbs from Gorazdevac, a village in Kosovo and Metohija, have recently got a new square, seven families have now houses, and soon there will also be a new health center that employs 12 young people. This is another confirmation that the state of Serbia and the Ministry for Kosmet, which have invested some 35 million dinars in these projects, are doing their best to improve Serbs’ life in the Province. The report of Snezana Milosevic.
Gorazdevac is a small Serb community of 1,200 inhabitants, in the vicinity of Pec and surrounded by Albanian settlements. The Albanian neighbors are still showing their repulsion towards the Serbs in various ways, although to a lesser extent than in previous years, as they still wish for the ethnically cleansed territory. Serbs forests are burnt, fields distanced from the village are usurped, crops harvested illegally, threats are made. Yet, the Serbs here are persevering and trying to have a normal life. They have a school, ambulance, post office, and now a new square too. Now, it is a place where people gather to associate in the evening.
The local self government takes care of improving the life in this village, with maximum efforts to secure the survival of the local Serbs, says President of the Pec municipality with temporary seat in Gorazdevac, Milos Dimitrijevic. “We are paying special attention to the young people and trying our best to find jobs for them. Unfortunately, we cannot help everybody, but hopefully our efforts will pay off in the forthcoming period”, points Dimitrijevic, while stressing that without the assistance of the Serbian state and its competent ministries, the already hard life would have been even more difficult and uncertain. “I have to add that we are also helped by the eparchy of Raska and Prizren, which never forgets us and always helps”.
In Gorazdevac, there are many young families, people with university diplomas, but still unemployed. “Only those employed in health protection and education are working”, explains Spasoje Bukumiric, “others are still waiting for their chance”. Municipal president Milos Dimitrijevic is announcing the opening of new working places. “In the new health center that will be opened soon, 12 young and qualified people fill find jobs, and the office of health insurance, which will also start working soon, should employ another four”. According to Dimitrijevic, it will be the field office of the health insurance center in Kosovska Mitrovica, which operates within the Serbian Ministry of Health.
The entire Serb municipality of Pec, with its interim seat in Gorazdevac, today has approximately 1,600 inhabitants, of which nearly 700 are children.