Kosovo Online in Gorazdevac: Time has not healed the wounds, we will forever remember our Ivan and Panto

Today, Gorazdevac remembers the brutal crime on the banks of the Bistrica River. In just a few minutes on August 13, 2003, two Serbian children were killed and four others were wounded. This was one of the largest mass, ethnically motivated crimes in Kosovo since the arrival of international forces, characterized by the fact that the killers were never found, and EULEX officially closed the investigation in 2010, seven years later.

In memory of the victims, Pantelija Panto Dakic (12) and Ivan Jovovic (19), the final match of the "In Memory of Ivan and Panto" Memorial Mini-Football Tournament is being held today, dedicated to these two young men.

Nemanja Dakic told Kosovo Online that although he was only eight years old at the time, he still remembers every detail of the brutal crime in which his brother Panto was killed.

"I was next to my brother when he was killed. I was eight, and my brother was 13. That day, we went to the river together. I was right next to him when it all happened. What can I say... 21 years have passed, and nothing has changed," Dakic says.

He went swimming with his brother after all their peers had gone to the Bistrica River.

They asked their father to let them go, and he agreed, asking them not to stay long. They wanted to listen to him.

After an hour of swimming, his brother Panto and Bogdan Bukumiric started a fire by the river to warm up from the cold Bistrica, and Nemanja joined them to warm up as well.

The gunshots echoed just ten meters away from them.

"We were about ten meters away. It was an execution, in broad daylight. There were over 100 children," Dakic says.

He no longer believes that justice will be served and that the perpetrators of this crime will be found.

"Like all Serbian families in Kosovo who have experienced the same fate, we carry it with us, so 21 years have passed. EULEX took over the investigation but soon after ended it, telling my father that they had no witnesses and that if we had any available witnesses, we should provide them. That's impossible... Years have passed, and we hope for better," he says.

Miljan, the cousin of the injured Dragana Srbljak, says that this event completely changed the lives of all Serbs in Gorazdevac.

"Our lives before that tragic event and now are not the same. From that day until today, everyone remembers us when that fateful August 13th comes around. But, thank God, we organize a tournament in memory of our fallen friends, in memory of everything bad that happened. In this way, we gather and remind ourselves that they are still alive and among us," Srbljak says.

He also does not expect justice for what happened 21 years ago.

"No, it will never come. This is not the only case in Kosovo where something happened, and nothing was uncovered. It is usually known who did what, but it is swept under the rug. It is up to us to condemn it, and up to them to remain silent, but we still mourn everything that happened. We are not optimistic that justice will prevail. We all understand everything," Srbljak emphasizes.

Miodrag Stevanovic, a school friend of the deceased Ivan Jovovic and the wounded Djordje Ugrenovic, describes the situation in Gorazdevac after the crime at Bistrica in two words – uncertainty and fear.

"People didn't know whether to stay or leave. It took a long time for things to settle down a bit. It can never be forgotten, that is out of the question. This tournament speaks to that, quite the opposite. This is the second year we've organized it, and we hope it will live on for a long time, that we will succeed in making it bigger and bigger, with more and more teams participating, all in memory of the fallen. In their memory, honor, and glory," Stevanovic says.

He emphasizes that the crime in Gorazdevac must never be forgotten.

"We must never forget that crime. Serbia must not forget, and we know, God forgives, He is the only one almighty enough to forgive. There's almost no day that this topic doesn't cross my mind. The tournament is just one way to pay our respects as much as we can because we have an obligation to those victims. And we hope that something like this never happens again. To anyone, anywhere in the world," Stevanovic says.

Milos Dimitrijevic, the former president of the Provisional Authority for the Pec District, says that the tragic event took place 21 years ago, but that the situation for Serbs is still difficult today.

"Unfortunately, it was said that every stone would be turned to find the perpetrators, but a few years later, the investigation was stopped. It is tragic that those responsible were not found. Every year it gets harder, there are fewer people, fewer who live here in Kosovo and Metohija, especially in Gorazdevac, in this Serbian community. Every year is harder for the parents, for their relatives, and for us residents and citizens who live here. With great sadness and grief, we remember Ivan and Panto, and this tournament is held in honor of their murder, the death of innocent children," Dimitrijevic emphasizes.