News | Serbian Unity Congress

My Trip to the Kosovo Kitchen and the Holy Serbian Church Land - Zvezdana Stojanovic Scott, Serbian Unity Congress

December 7, 2007 on 10:05 am | In Desk Blog, Kosovo & Metohija, News in English | 1 Comment

August, 2007

By Zvezdana Stojanovic Scott
Washington DC Chapter
Serbian Unity Congress

In July of this year, I was visiting my family in Serbia, and after working on the Kosovo Kitchen fund raiser for 7 months, I decided to take a trip and visit Kosovo, and my friend, popadija Svetlana Stevic, who is running the Kitchen.

After talking to Svetlana a couple of times, we agreed that she would be waiting for me at the Zvecane bus station, as I was to at 6:00 AM, via the midnight bus from Belgrade.

When I arrived at the station and watched the faces of the travelers around me, I had strange feelings, not really knowing who I could trust, for when I arrived in Kosovo there would be no KFOR protection, or any kind of help from the international forces. It would be just couple of Serbian friends and me.

As I waited for the bus, a grandfather with very happy and curious eyes started talking to me, maybe noticing that I was a little scared of the unknown that waited for me in Kosovo. We sat together on the bus, and I learned that he is from the family of “Karadjordje”, and that his family now lives in a small town close to Belgrade. His whole family had moved from Kosovo under pressure, and the town they left was entirely Albanian now. His daughter is a teacher at an elementary school in Belgrade, because there were no more Serbian children in town that they lived in Kosovo. They were forced to sell everything that they owned for a quarter of a price, and move to start a new life. He told me that he would like to continue our friendship and stay in touch, and I promised that I would. He wanted to make sure that I was safe, and stayed with me until I met Popadija Svetlana and the rest of the crew that spent the day with us.

The Kosovo Kitchen staff arrived in a recently acquired SUV, which was a gift from the Decani Monastery relief fund and Fr. Nektarios Serfes, a Greek-American Orthodox archimandrite from Boise, Idaho. Fr. Serfes had assisted families during very difficult circumstances in Metohija with food, medicine and hygienic supplies, and now, with a vehicle that provided a safe and reliable way for getting supplies to the Serbian enclaves.

Svetlana was much younger than I expected, and very calm, always speaking in a low voice, and raising her voice only when she began to talk about the suffering of her Serbian people. She introduced me to the driver, Ivan, as well as her visiting nephew Milan, and we started our trip to Prekovce, Novo Brdo, where the Kosovo Kitchen was located.

After we drove through the Serbian part of Kosovska Mitrovica, we had to pull over to change our Serbian license plates for KFOR issued Kosovo plates. Svetlana told us that the risk of attack while driving through the area with Serbian plates was very high. As we continued driving, Svetlana talked about the places we passed by. Gojbulja, a village that was mostly Serbian, now has 64 Serbian houses, but since they are in a predominantly Albanian area, the children have to go to Kosovska Mitrovica for school. The school buses have been outfitted with iron rods on the windows so the children wouldn’t get kidnapped or injured on the way to school.

Passing by Urosevac, she talked about the church “Samodrza” that was destroyed in 2004 during an attack by Kosovo Albanians. The attackers went to great lengths, which included breaking open coffins, and leaving the bones of their occupants strewn across the ground. She remembered the difficult task of collecting the bones and preparing them for a reburial.

In 1999, while her husband was a priest in Gracanica, he would sometimes receive dozens of bodies at a time, yet he provided a proper burial for them all. She regrets that in those hard times, they didn’t think to take pictures of the atrocities done by Albanians. She said that it very difficult to tell surviving family members that they had suffered a death, and there were so many to tell.

We also passed by Gazimestan, where the historical battle of Kosovo took place in 1389. A Christian Army lead by Serbian Prince Lazarus fought the invading Ottoman army of Sultan Murat.

As we drove through the countryside, we saw many Serbian houses that had been burned and abandoned. Many of these properties were listed for sale, as their previous owners attempted to get some money from the land where they had lived for so long. All of the churches were left with nothing but their frame, only a skeletal reminder of what they had once been.

On the other hand, the Albanian houses were well built, and in very good repair, surrounded by brick walls and iron fences. They were a far cry from the miserable conditions that the Serbs were trying to live in.

We got to Pristina, where prior to the war, over 50,000 Serbs had lived peacefully in a city of 250,000. Now, only a small group of 200 Serbians remain. There were new businesses, and beautiful western style factories and buildings. Svetlana said that some parts of town grew rapidly, from just a dirt lot into a complete neighborhood in less than a year.

In Pristina, there is a building called “YU Program Building” where the small Serbian contingent live. The kids that live in the building can only play in the building itself, and there is a van that takes people 3 times a week to Gracanica, as it is the only place they can get to without being harassed and attacked.

We arrived in the Serbian town of Gracanica, and visited the Gracanica Monastery, whose walls were protected by barbed wire and Swedish soldiers.

Gračanica was constructed on the ruins of an older 13th century church, which was built on the ruins of an early 6th century Christian basilica. Gračanica represents the culmination of the Serbian medieval Art of building in the Byzantine tradition. Inside, it is known for frescoes, and portraits of the founders: King Milutin and Queen Simonida, and Assumption of Mary, amongst many others.

After visiting and taking pictures, we got back in the car. While leaving town, we saw some Serbian men being attacked and beaten by Albanian police. Svetlana said that it was a very common scene: Albanian police accuse a Serbian street salesman of selling black market goods, and they steal all of their merchandise, and beating them in the process. Svetlana told me not to take pictures in those situations, because we can get attacked too. They also explained that there were no Serbian cars on the streets of Albanian areas, and if there are, they would be burned. Albanians drive German and Italian cars, and almost every car was a newer Audi, VW, BMW or Mercedes Benz. In comparison, the Serbian areas were poor, and when you saw the rare car, it was old and run down.

Finally, we arrived at the Kosovo Kitchen. The storage building was old. its walls were peeling, and everything was pretty run down. We went to the second floor, where the cook was working on preparing the lunch, which was beans with meat. Meat was not a normal item on the menu, but it was added since it was a holiday.

Two small cars were recently bought for the kitchen, and these cars bring groceries from Kosovska Mitrovica, and then deliver the food to stops where people gather. They also deliver food to the elderly that can not walk to the stops. Every day, they drive an average of 74 km delivering in the surrounding villages.

They showed me the storage room that was stocked with beans, sugar, oil, flower, macaroni, cans, and hygiene products. The wood is already bought and stacked for the winter.

Their needs are large. The storage room needs shelving, as right now, all of their supplies are simply piled in the corners. All of their large pots and pans are leaking, as well as the large delivery vats that were gotten from Ex-Yugoslav military bases. The immense help and donations from the Serbian Unity Congress, combined with other help were enough to allow the Kosovo Kitchen funds to open a second kitchen.

Svetlana is also working with Bishop Teodosije on a project to open a bakery in their current facility. They already have the equipment, but are working on a design. The small bakery will provide fresh bread and jobs for the people from the area.

While we were there looking around the kitchen, a poor and bedraggled man came in, asking if he could start getting food. He didn’t have a family, and was by himself, his parents had died, and he lived on his own about 3 km from the kitchen. Svetlana warmly welcomed him, and he was told where to pick up his food. Since it was still early in the morning, they decided to take me to Decani Monastery. On the way out, I saw some people already gathering for the food delivery.

On our way to the Decani Monastery, we drove through Serbian villages and stopped at a house where 8 children and 3 adults lived. As we came to the door, two of the children came outside, dressed poorly and looking underfed, it was a heart breaking sight. With nothing to do immediately, I gave the children a chocolate bar out of my pocket. Svetlana said that the family was fed by the kitchen and no one in the house had a job. The oldest child was studying in Serbia and was the best student in his generation. Svetlana brought good news on her visit Someone from Diaspora called and wanted to sponsor him during his schooling.

We continued to the Decani Monastery the roadside covered with EU signs, and many KFOR vehicles parked alongside. As we got to the monastery, we saw that many new buildings were built near the entrance, which were restaurants, shops, and other Albanian stores. At the entrance, we were greeted by friendly Italian soldiers, and asked to provide our documents. We learned later, while talking to the monks, that the Italian soldiers were the most understanding and the most helpful of all the forces.

Inside of the Monastery, heaven awaited. The lawns were green and perfectly manicured, the sky was a beautiful shade of blue, and the church was a beautiful backdrop against it all. At the center of the courtyard was a fountain filled with watermelons, that were being chilled for later, and it was like time stopped for me, and I smiled.

Visoki Decani Monastery is situated in the western part of the UN administered Serbian province of Kosovo and Metohija. It was built between 1327 and 1335 by the Serbian medieval king St. Stephen of Decani. The monastery is settled in the picturesque valley of the Bistrica river surrounded by the mountains and forests of the Prokletije mountain range. Though the monastery buildings suffered damage from the Turkish occupation, the church has been completely preserved with beautiful 14th century fresco paintings. Today a young brotherhood of 30 brethren lives in the monastery continuing the centuries old tradition of the past. The brotherhood has developed various activities: wood carving, icon painting, book publishing and is also active in the missionary work.

The monastery was established by King Stefan Dečanski in 1327. The king died in 1331 and was buried at the monastery, which became his popular shrine.

In 2004, UNESCO listed the monastery on the World Heritage List, citing its frescoes as “one of the most valued examples of the so-called Paleologan renaissance in Byzantine painting” and “a valuable record of the life in the 14th century”.

We sat and talked with Father Sava, who is responsible for maintaining the web site for the monastery. The monastery receives e-mail messages from all over the world. The monks are working on icon paintings, wood carving, farming, cooking, cheese making, and there is a lot of time that they devote studying and spiritual reading.

We spent some time talking and drank the best home made apple juice I have ever had. We said our good byes and thanked them for the hospitality.

On the way to the Pecka Patriarsija, we saw a lot of weddings and celebrations, many new mosques, new businesses, houses, and apartment complexes. There were a lot of monuments raised for the Albanian heroes on the roadside. Each one of them had an Albanian flag, a US flag and the flag of the country that was overseeing that area. The Serbian flag could not be seen even in the Serbian areas. It would be seen as Serbs provoking Albanians.

We entered the Patriarchate of Peck which is a group of churches in the immediate neighborhood of Peck and at the entrance to the Rugovo Gorge, and is one of the most important monuments of the Serbian past. It was the center of the Serbian church and its cultural heritage since the 13th Century.

It is impossible to describe the treasury and the beauty of these four churches, the monastic buildings and the grounds full of flowers. We had the pieces of the mulberry tree that St. Sava planted. It was old and split in several trunks, but still had some delicious fruit to offer.

Everyone was pleasant and very warm and hospitable, and it is hard to imagine that anything bad happened. We were reminded of that on the way out, when we read the obituary for six young Serbian men that were killed by the Abanians.

We started heading back to Kosovska Mitrovica. Svetlana was telling me about all of the unfortunate and sad times they had, like the time when she was visited by the mother of a killed young policeman, who was brought to the church in 1999. The mother wanted to thank her and her husband for praying for his soul when he died. Our driver Ivan talked about the time when he was put up against the wall in a line up with the other Serbs, to be killed. A lady in the group fainted, and they were trying to help her so the Albanians decided to spare them.

We were passing by the area where most of the fighting occurred in 1999, and the most of the Serbs were killed. It was around Osojane, where the fields were beautiful and the hills looked so peaceful, that one could not imagine any fighting ever happening.

It was right there, around the hill, that we were stopped by a large group of Albanians fighting and beating someone. One car was parked sideways, blocking half of the road, and the other half of the road was blocked by Albanians waving their hands for us to stop. We knew that we would be in trouble if we stopped, so the driver decided to drive very slowly and pass by.

As we were passing, we saw an Albanian man with a hand gun, and he began to shoot at another man.

We sped up, and after a couple of seconds we were driving very fast down the road. After a few minutes the car that had been parked on the roadside approached us from behind at high speed. Our driver quickly pulled to the side of the road, and the car passed us by.

Svetlana was praying, saying that this happened on a daily basis. Albanians would engage in feuds, over business deals, or other unfinished business. Within minutes, a dozen KFOR vehicles, police and ambulances passed by headed in the opposite direction.

It was pretty quiet and tense until we got to the Serbian part of Kosovska Mitrovica. Svetlana thanked God for helping us, and then I realized the seriousness of the situation that we went through.

Very near the famous Mitrovica bridge that divides both sides, we arrived to my final destination, my bus station.

I had tears in my eyes thinking that I had to leave my new friends, and that they will face a new day in these conditions over and over again.

They were so generous to give me one whole day, share their stories and show me the way our Serbian people live in the holy land of Kosovo and Metohija. As I was leaving, I promised that I will be back, and that I will share my thoughts and their stories with the friends in the United States.

To all brave Serbian people living in Kosovo for all of us, thank you.

The Story of a Wall - Visiting Kosovo and Metohija July 2007, by Jasmina T. Boulanger

August 15, 2007 on 3:59 am | In Desk Blog, Kosovo & Metohija | 3 Comments

Jasmina T. Boulanger

In mid-July 2007, the Serbian Unity Congress sent a delegation to Kosovo and Metohija so that we could get first hand knowledge of the conditions facing the minority Christian and Serb population. We drove through much of the area, visited three monastic communities and met with the US Chief of Mission in Priština. The BLAGO team traveled with us part way and stopped to do their photo-archiving work at the Patriarchate of Peć. The following is a description of my impressions of the trip.