Around 500 displaced Serbs returned to Kosovo in the course of last year and in the first six months of this year. That is little, admits Kosovo Ministry for Communities and Return, but they also underlined that all of them have remained to live in Kosovo. Few days ago family Komatovic has returned to Zac.
Returnees in Zac, near Istok, are not shoot at any more, they are not stoned either. From time to time there’s a thief in the village, thus Zac is at the moment, in a way, peaceful place for living.
Returnee Slavisa Komatovic returned from Kraljevo (Serbia proper) where he couldn’t stay anymore because he was jobless and he couldn’t afford to pay for the rent.
“I have my property here, I can plant something in the garden,” explained Komatovic and added that he will try to build a small house, just not to pay rent any more. He applied for the construction material at the Serbian government’s office in Kraljevo and he plans to build the house on his own if he is provided the material.
Ministry for Community and Return is ready to provide assistance with the construction of the house for Komatovic’s family. Minister Dalibor Jevtic said that they also want to provide other sort of assistance since it is about the family with the small children.
Returnees in Zac say that Slavisa Komatovic can succeed in his intention to remain in Zac, but with lot of efforts. “Anyone who works can make it, but if there is no work – there is nothing. I have a job, but I was jobless for three years. I was in the same situation,” said Veljko Komatovic from Zac. Example of Veljko Komatovic from Zac doesn’t mean that return in Pec/Pejë region was successful.
“Six thousand and five hundred returnees have returned, however, in reality, there are 2.200 of them living in the district currently, whereas in Klina/Kllinë there are only 300 of them left out of 1.600. They didn’t make it, they were left on their own and only the most courageous and most skilled have remained,” said head of the district (Serbian administration system) Vinka Radosavljevic. She went on to say that examples of returnees who didn’t make it, have influenced many others in a way that they don’t even try to return. That’s the partial reason for having only 500 Serb returnees in the course of last year and first six months of this year.
