Radic: I would like March 17 not to be repeated for anyone in civilized Europe

Professor of Serbian language at the High School in Orahovac and author of the book 'Voices of Kosovo and Metohija,' Olivera Radic, and one of the witnesses of the events of March 17 in the part of Orahovac where Serbs live, told Kosovo Online that for her, the first association with March 17, 2004, was the helplessness of the Serbs to take any action to protect themselves from violence.

“That March 17 is a mass on one side and our helplessness on the other side. It was the moment when I felt most powerless. When I heard the crowd coming from the lower part of Orahovac, I wanted to save my children, but I had no way. Thank God it stopped. They destroyed one street, there were injuries, but they didn't come to our part, and thank God it ended that way,“ Radic says.

She emphasizes that we should not forget that on that day many churches and monasteries were engulfed in flames.

"On that day, Our Lady of Ljevis was in flames, churches in Pristina and Djakovica, our sanctuaries, our homes, our libraries, our culture, our cemeteries. That is March 17 for me, and I would not want this day to be repeated for anyone in civilized Europe. Such March events are unnecessary for civilization, culture, or any human being," Radic emphasizes.

She says that after 1999, she often visited Prizren and was always warmly welcomed, which is why she was convinced that what happened on March 17, 2004, could not occur.

"I thought that nothing would ever happen in Prizren, and then came March 17. Even today, I regularly go to Prizren, to our sanctuaries. There, I can freely have coffee, eat cevapi, and sit by the Bistrica River, but that fear still exists. Of course, I don't want to generalize. There are many good people on the other side, but I'm afraid that somewhere there's always someone ready to commit some evil, and that's what I fear," Radic says.

She emphasizes that evil brings no good to anyone.

"I'm not afraid for myself, but for all people. Evil brings no good to anyone," Radic concludes.