Easter's symbolic power is strongest in Kosovo and Metohija

Easter is the greatest and holiest holiday for all Serbian Orthodox, but nowhere can its symbolic power be felt more strongly than in Kosovo and Metohija, where on holidays, an entire nation is united by the belief that the impossible is still possible. And many displaced people from our southern province spend the holiday in the renewed hope that they will return to where their hearts are drawn.

However, there are many reasons why the rate of return of displaced people to Kosovo and Metohija is the lowest compared to all modern post-conflict areas, and the desire and willingness of people to return to their homes is not one of them.

The first, and certainly the biggest obstacle to returning, is that there are no security prerequisites for doing so. A whole history of human calvary could be written only about the brave old woman Rumena Ljubic in the center of Pec and her misfortunes.

Returnees and their property are attacked serially and organized in order to break their will, and as a rule, such practices are not punished, which confirms that there is a systematic action by Pristina to freeze the consequences of the ethnic cleansing committed against the Serbian people.

A similar phenomenon is the abuse of the judiciary as an instrument of intimidation, as potential returnees face endless property disputes, arrests for alleged crimes, and a whole series of pseudo-legal measures that are essentially nothing more than ethnic and religious harassment.

The second reason is that there cannot be a sustainable return unless the basic social assumptions are met. If we are talking about returnee families with children, people simply cannot survive without means of livelihood and access to health care or education. That is why the return is more realistic and achievable in areas where Serbs are the majority and where the state of Serbia has strong instruments to help create those conditions.

The idea of the returnee settlement "Suncana Dolina" in Zvecan, which meets all the security, economic, and social requirements for people's lives, arose from such fundamental logic. So far, 118 residential buildings with a total of 289 residential units and accompanying public facilities have been built there.

Thanks to our state's efforts from 2014 to 2023, 4,342 housing units were built, capitally reconstructed, and adapted for the needs of housing care for the vulnerable population of Kosovo and Metohija, including a significant number of returnees.

The Office for Kosovo and Metohija has been making enormous efforts for years to help people who, defying all adversity and challenges, decided to return. Only from 2014 to 2023, financial aid of 362 million dinars was paid to returnee families. When you add to that work on strengthening agricultural holdings, investments in education and health, and numerous other benefits, it is clear that for Serbia, the return of displaced people to Kosovo and Metohija has always been a goal worth fighting for.

The international sponsors of the separatists in Pristina talk about their child as the youngest European democracy, pretending not to see that the retrogradeness and cruelty of that society are reflected precisely in its attitude toward the returning Serbs. The process of normalizing relations between Belgrade and Pristina, apart from having a political and economic dimension, must also have a human face in order to be successful. And the human dimension of normalization means stopping the practice of intimidation and attacks on people just because they are of a different nationality and religion; so, it must include true reconciliation. I'm not sure it's possible at a time when competing in extremism is still the favorite sport of politicians in Pristina, but politics is a living process, and the boundaries of what's possible are constantly being pushed.

And just as Easter pushes the boundaries of what is possible and symbolizes the triumph of eternal life over nothingness, so our involvement in the normalization process is followed by the belief that humanity and justice are universal human values and that cooperation is the principle that triumphs over enmity.

And on this occasion, as I send holiday greetings to all our returnees and displaced people, I emphasize that Serbia has not forgotten them and that we will continue to do everything to help those who have already returned to their homes as well as those who want to return – so that the dim vigil lamps all over our Kosovo and Metohija shine with their old glory.

Written by: Petar Petkovic, Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija