GOTOVUŠA LOCALS: 'We survive here so we're thorn in their side! We'll fight till last man standing, but WON'T HARM ALBANIAN KIDS'

Fear is growing among the Serbs in the wake of the latest incidents, prompting them to request the establishment of checkpoints at the village entrance and exit to enhance security. They say that they are not giving up on their ancestral homes

Yesterday, on Christmas Day, the locals gathered together at the village church, as they do each year, but a happy festival was marked in a very different way – the only topic of conversation was the Christmas Eve crime, when Stefan Stojanović (11) and Miloš Stojanović (21) were shot at and wounded. Candles were lit almost exclusively for the health of their wounded neighbours.

Agitation

Bojan Radić is one of the Gotovuša locals who spoke with Kurir and confirmed the impression that we had. The locals have become deeply unsettled, and they all know what sort of message the shots fired have sent.

"We're all still in shock. This treacherous attack has unsettled us all. It's a tragedy that'll be remembered for a long time. Thank the good Lord that the youths walked away with their lives. That what's most important now. We had a traditional gathering at the church on Christmas Day. Today was different, this misfortune has affected us all. Everyone's crestfallen, scared, and worried. We lit candles for their health. People are really scared, and this is a horrible and dangerous message that we we've been sent as Serbs who wish to stay in our ancestral homes," Radić told us.

He is convinced that the Albanians' hatred towards the remaining Serbs is behind everything:

"We're a thorn in their side because we're survived. The tragedy that occurred on Christmas Eve means that the Kosovo and Metohija Serbs will be moving out at an accelerated pace. Unless something big happens regarding the security and the economy, we won't be able to survive here," Radić pointed out.

As he informed us, Stefan Stojanović (11) is recovering after being wounded, and all the Gotovuša locals' thoughts are with him and his relative Miloš.

"We're getting news of his condition. Stefan's had a surgery, and his mother, father, and grandmother are there by his side. He has the support of all of us here in Gotovuša, and we wish for him to have a speedy recovery and continue his childhood in his village and home," Radić said.

Intimidation has become an everyday thing

Radić is not the only one not to accept the fact that something like this is happening simply because they are Serbs. As a number of people said, they requested that checkpoints at the village entrance and exit be established in order to enhance security.

"May the Lord repay him for what he has done, but we'll fight till the last man standing. We will not do the kinds of things the Albanians have been doing to us, like shooting at children," another Gotovuša local, Dejan Radić, told us.

The fact that intimidation has become an everyday thing for the Kosovo Serbs is evidenced in the words of Miroslav Stanković from Gotovuša:

"Last fall I went mushroom picking and ran into an Albanian and two of his sons there. I ask him, 'What are doing here?' and he says, 'Just cutting down trees.' Then I say to him, 'What do you mean? This is mine,' and he says, 'No, it's mine!' He wouldn't stop until I called the police. I'm not the only one to go through such a thing. They've taken everything away!"

They say that they rely upon the harmony and faith of the brave Gotovuša people in ensuring a brighter future and the possibility of survival.

As a reminder, two Serbian youths – Stefan Stojanović (11) and Miloš Stojanović (21) – who were wounded yesterday in Gotovuša, near Štrpci, when a local Albanian man – a member of the KSF – opened fire at them from a moving vehicle as they were carrying the Yule log, are hospitalized at the Medical Centre in Gračanica.

Kurir.rs/ Kurir Team