Preschool teachers in Leposavic: Is the abolition of the dinar a sign that we should leave?

In front of the branch of the Postal Savings Bank in Leposavic, around fifty preschool teachers and workers gathered to highlight the increasingly difficult situation of withdrawing their hard-earned money. They called on the international community to react and ensure a normal life for the Serbs in these areas, stating to Kosovo Online that due to the current situation and the abolition of the dinar, they were on the brink of existence.

Jasmina Savic, an economist from the "Veselo Detinjstvo" Preschool Institution in Lesak, asked whether this was what a democratic society looked like when retirees could not withdraw their earned pensions.

"As you know, someone in Pristina came up with the idea, their imagination worked, to abolish the dinar and thus prevent us from exercising our basic right to life. How can you now tell a pensioner that they cannot access their pension and withdraw the money that was deposited from our Republic of Serbia when they worked for forty years to earn that pension? How can a mother buy milk for her child when we don't have money here? The queues are daily; we cannot realize our basic human rights," Savic said.

She appealed to the international community and advocates of democracy to take a look and see the brink of existence on which the Serbs in Kosovo live.

"All of this is happening in plain sight of the international community, that's why we gathered today and want to send an appeal, a message, and a plea to all international spokespeople who advocate for democracy everywhere. Is this a normal image in the 21st century? Does this represent the democratic society they advocate for? We appeal to everyone to take urgent steps because unfortunately, they are dealing with our lives, and they need to react where our problem needs to be solved because this kind of life is unimaginable. It's impossible to live like this. How can we live when we have no money? The queues are daily, and retirees, and the elderly, how can they buy medicine? We can't buy milk, or equip kindergartens, and that's why we gathered today to express our dissatisfaction and our daily suffering and pressure happening here over the Serbs is so unimaginable, and we wonder what's next," Savic emphasized.

Biljana Blagojevic, a preschool teacher from the "Bambi" Preschool Institution in Socanica, says the situation is unbearable and asks if this is a sign that they should pack up and leave their homes.

"What can we say in the situation we find ourselves in, after the discontinuation of the dinar and the payment system? What can we, here in Kosovo, expect? They have taken away our basic right to withdraw the salary we have earned. What should we expect after all this time, after all, that we have survived since 1999, after all that we have experienced, to now, in the 21st century, not have our basic rights, not have our own products, not have a salary, not have our dinar? Is this how we live today? That's why we gathered here to show the world how we live here. We don't have the basic right to life; they are forcing us to grow old and sick; children are being deprived of their basic rights, the right to the dinar, the right to life, and the right to play. That's why I urge everyone in the world to look at the situation we are facing here, and I hope on behalf of everyone that someone will stand with us. The situation is becoming unbearable day by day. Do we need to pack our things and leave our homes?" Blagojevic asked.

Marijana Milunovic, a preschool teacher from the "Nasa Radost" Preschool Institution in Leposavic, added that they were all affected by the decision of the Kosovo Government.

"Citizens are in a very unfavorable situation; we are all forced to go to Raska to withdraw our earned monetary compensations, which requires additional time and expense. Similarly, the elderly and the sick are the most affected, as it is hardest for them," Milunovic said.