Residents of Novo Brdo after the CBK's decision on the dinar: They are trying to expel us, how are we supposed to live?

The residents of the Novo Brdo municipality, where, according to tradition, the first dinar was minted, are disturbed after the regulation of the Central Bank of Kosovo banning payment transactions in dinars. To collect salaries or pensions, they must travel through crossings to Bujanovac or Vranje, which, as they emphasize, imposes additional financial costs.

A team from the Kosovo Online portal visited the municipality of Novo Brdo, where, after the abolition of payment transactions in dinars, money has become the main topic.

Zoran Stankovic emphasizes that by abolishing the dinar, the authorities in Pristina want to quietly expel Serbs.

"It is a tragedy for all of us Serbs who live here in Kosovo. As for that, you know that the first banknote was coined in Novo Brdo, and now someone has abolished the dinar. It is very difficult for us Serbs here, it is a tragedy. There are people who are immobile, who cannot go to Raska or Bujanovac to withdraw money. The dinar has existed for centuries, and now someone has come to abolish it, what's next? In a way, they want to expel us without a bullet, to move us out, so that no one lives in Kosovo," Stankovic said.

Bojan Stojanovic plans to go to Bujanovac to collect his pension, which, he says, will cost him additionally.

"It's quite difficult, I have to either pay someone or use my car. All that costs. You wait a lot at the border. The neighbors complain too. It is difficult, there are immobile people in wheelchairs," Stojanovic said.

Havis Jashari says he lives on dinar earnings.

"You have to start your car, if you have one, and go to Bujanovac or Vranje to withdraw money. We live on this income, we have no jobs, and we don't work anywhere. Here, if we find something privately, we do it, otherwise, we'll die. No one in my house is employed. My child had surgery, as did my wife, she's sick, and we have nothing. What is a hundred or two hundred euros? Nothing. You can't live on that money. You have to pay for water, garbage, utilities, everything. They leave you bills and don't ask, you have to pay. If you don't pay, they take you to court, where they assess what you have in the house and take everything from you. How are we supposed to live, from breathing air?" Jashari wonders.

Ranko Simonovic hopes that politicians will manage to solve this problem peacefully; otherwise, he claims, the situation will become even more difficult.

"It is very difficult. You see for yourself what the situation is like, people have nowhere to receive their salaries, they cannot live, there's no money for education, healthcare, children... Total chaos. This is a catastrophe. Where is this leading, I don't know, it's not humane, it's not fair, but what can we do. We cannot do anything about it except politicians. Only politicians can solve it peacefully. This is truly terrible," Simonovic said.