Except in the town itself, in the municipality of Klina, a number of Serbs live in the surrounding villages: Bica, Berkovo, Klinavac, Grabac, Straza, Vidanje … However, every year there are fewer of them, some died, while others go in search of better living conditions, writes today Kontakt plus radio on its web portal.
According to Kontakt plus radio, there are currently 200 Serbs living in the municipality of Klina, although in the documents of the Municipal Office for return, there is a figure of 1,500 people. The trend of return and re-departure is still ongoing, and one of the main reasons for this is the youth employment.
Silivija Raskovic, Director of the Office for Communities and Returns in Klina municipality, told Radio Kosovo 2 that sustainable return is almost impossible.
“The houses are empty, the whole village is empty, and we have invested a lot of money, we have built houses, but nobody lives in them. Return is impossible if there is no employment. If young people come, they need a job, the walls are not edible. Here people mostly work with agriculture and livestock farming. Here, last year we built four more houses and already one family has moved out,” Raskovic explains.
In Klina, in the town itself, there are about twenty Serbs, mostly elderly people. One of them is also eighty-year-old Vlado Radosavljevic, who returned to his native region immediately after the conflict in Kosovo. However, he entered his house only in 2007, because his property was usurped.
“I had problems, they registered my house and my property to themselves. For six years, I had to prove that it was mine. You can imagine how hard it is. Any kid in Klina, when asked, would say “It’s Vlado’s house”, but there … I had a lot of problems about it and now I have problems with one neighbour, he took a part of my yard …” says Vlado.
Vlado’s family lives in Trstenik and do not plan to return to Klina.
“I would never leave my place with by my own will, but my children are there. I have a bit more of life, I want to spend it with my grandchildren, what else will I do,” says Vlado.
And Mihajlo Mikic from Klina faced the problem of usurped property. However, unlike Vlado, he does not plan to leave his hometown.
“I work on the land, I have tractors, I bake brandy. I returned the property, it was usurped, now I work freely on my land. Sometimes, again someone comes and wants to usurp, but I immediately call the police and so,” explains Mihajlo.
Apart from usurped property, Serbs in Klina are also faced with frequent theft. Director of the Office for Communities and Returns in the Municipality of Klina, Silvija Raskovic, estimates that this is one type of intimidation of returnees, reports Kontakt Plus radio.
