Archpriest Jankovic: Those who destroyed our cemeteries destroyed themselves

On the occasion of the Summer Memorial Saturday, believers of the Serbian Orthodox Church from North Mitrovica and central Serbia visited the Orthodox cemetery in South Mitrovica today, where they paid tribute to their deceased relatives by lighting candles and offering prayers, while also drawing attention to the long-standing problems of damaged gravestones and inadequate cemetery maintenance.

Serbs from North Mitrovica and other areas once again organized a visit to the Orthodox cemetery in South Mitrovica for the Summer Memorial Saturday, a day dedicated to remembering the departed and visiting their graves.

Priests from South and North Mitrovica conducted memorial services and funeral prayers at the gravesites.

Archpriest Radoslav Jankovic stated that Orthodox believers preserve the memory of their ancestors on this day, believing in the resurrection and eternal life through Christ. He emphasized that cemeteries are sacred places where ancestors rest and that prayers for the departed affirm the belief that death is not the end of life.

“Those who destroyed our cemeteries destroyed themselves. They showed that they are unbelievers, but they cannot touch the souls of our ancestors. God willing, we hope that the Lord will forgive them their sins. Usually, nearly the same number of people come, and sometimes even more. However, given that travel has become more difficult and that many people have been displaced from Kosovska Mitrovica, it is now harder for many who would like to come. Such is the situation, but we belong to the Church of God and remain in our Church, remaining with our people. Those who are able come, and we are here at their service. As the saying goes, we serve God and the people. We are at the service of our faithful people to offer prayers, which is the most important thing – what God should hear and what is the desire and prayer of our hearts,” Jankovic said.

According to those present, the visit took place under conditions that have remained unchanged for years. The cemetery had been mowed, but many graves were difficult to identify, while damaged and destroyed monuments were visible in numerous locations.

Those gathered moved among the burial mounds, tending the graves as best they could, removing weeds and lighting candles at the places where their loved ones were buried, expressing sadness over the condition of the cemetery.

Transportation was provided for residents of North Mitrovica so that believers could attend the observance of Memorial Saturday and visit the graves of their loved ones in South Mitrovica.

Zvezdana Petkovic from Mitrovica came to visit and clean the place where her son is buried.

“I think every time we come it is worse and worse. They have now mowed what they could mow, but they have made things even worse. People cannot even find their own monuments. They should clean up, remove and clear away what is in the way, but this is truly terrible. Their graves remain untouched and maintained, while this place gets worse every day. This is my son who was killed in 1997. We come whenever we can, and now a little more often because it is easier to come by car. Previously, we came by organized transport, buses, and so on, but now people mostly come for the Memorial Saturday – winter, summer, and Mitrovdan commemorations. It is good for a person to come and visit their deceased loved ones. It is their day, the day of the dead. But this is such an ugly sight that the whole world should see what this is and what is happening here. But nothing comes of it. Life goes on, people have to live, and that is that,” Petkovic said.

Zoran Vicentijevic from Zvecan says that conditions at the cemetery used to be even worse, but that some families managed to restore destroyed monuments.

“The situation used to be catastrophic when it came to demolished gravestones. Thanks to some good people, we managed to restore my mother's monument because it had completely sunk into the ground. Now we can come, light a candle, and see her monument. Today my wife and I came together because her parents, grandparents, and other relatives are buried here. All of those monuments had been destroyed. Thank God and thanks to good people, we managed to restore some of them. The grass has been cut, but apart from that, when it comes to maintaining the cemetery, the situation is the same as in previous years,” Vicentijevic said.

He emphasized that each year fewer and fewer people visit the graves of their loved ones.

“Very few. We come here every year because we live in Zvecan, but every year there are fewer people. I do not know why. People used to come by bus, there would be two or three buses for this Memorial Saturday. Now I see quite a few cars, but compared to previous years, especially immediately after the war when I lived here, there are very few people,” Vicentijevic said.

Stana Radeca, who came to visit her father's grave, says that her health condition makes it difficult for her to come.

“I am ill and cannot visit him often. Everything is destroyed, so what is there to visit? Now I am looking for someone who could renovate it. They say there is someone who repairs monuments, that you can pay and have it rebuilt. That's all I can say. And there are fewer and fewer of us, there is hardly anyone left to come,” Radeca said.

Ljiljana Ilic from Zvecan says she comes to the cemetery whenever she can.

“Our loved ones are buried here. No one lives here anymore, everyone is elsewhere. I come when I can, at least once a year, to visit the cemetery. Misery and poverty, worse and worse. Sad,” she said.