For more than a month, on the rain and cold, sixty young Serbs from village Prilužje/Priluzhë near Vučitrn/Vushtrri are protesting in front of the municipal building. They are protesting since they are in their best years, majority of them have families, however none of them is employed. They say that they are victims of all previous authorities ‘which used to bring and employ only their own people’, thus their diplomas from secondary schools and faculties are not helping at all. They say that they won’t cancel the protest unless their only demand is fulfilled, that one is – job.
“We are protesting as of 30 January and we have only request. We want job. Chances that one finds a job here are slim. There is no private sector, no production lines, there is not even a premise which could be converted into production one, that’s way nothing was invested for years now, or maybe it was, but it went in unknown direction,” says Peđa Rakić, one of the representatives of young in the village.
“One should take into account 14 generations of unemployed, what is more than 300 youngsters at the Bureau for Unemployment. Isn’t it too much for this village? Due to all previous authorities and political parties who were in power, we’ve become second rated citizens, since they used to employ their relatives and friends at first, and our turn would never come. Thus there are families where all family members are employed, whereas there are such families where none of them is employed. It’s quite clear what the reasons could be,” added Rakić.
Even after so many nights and days spent in improvised tents, they say that representatives of authorities didn’t have time to address their problems.
“Kosovska Mitrovica is only 15 kilometers away from here. There you have the office of the head of Kosovska Mitrovica region. To which extent authority of that municipality was interested in our problems one could conclude from the very fact that the head of the region needed three weeks in order to learn about our protest. Some people are visiting us, they are trying to convince us to give up. They mentioned a cooperative called Metohija which offers us assistance in growing piglets and potatoes, to us with graduated secondary schools, faculties and even masters. We hope that someone will come with the concrete offer. If Gračanica/Graçanica managed to employ 150 people in Energy Corporation of Serbia (EPS), other settlements managed to make it the health sector, why is such option not working for us?
Unemployment, claims Rakić, led to situation that 50 families have moved away in last couple years. “Some moved to Serbia proper, some abroad. If something is not changed we’ll leave as well. My two brothers have moved due to that reason, other three relatives moved with their families to Norway. I am the only one left here with my spouse, father and mother. If I would leave, a family which could have 20 members would disappear from here.
Peđa Rakić says that petition with the requests, that is 2000 signatures, was forwarded on six ministerial addresses in Belgrade. “We got some promises, however it seems that’s only about pre-elections promises,” says Rakić.
