 |
|||||||||||||||
|
March 30, 2003 ERP KIM
Newsletter 30-03-03
BISHOP ARTEMIJE VISITS PRIZREN AREA SERBS
ERP KIM Info-service On Saturday and Sunday, March 28 and 29, Bishop Artemije of Raska-Prizren and Kosovo-Metohija visited the remaining Prizren area Serbs and welcomed the first Serb returnees to the village of Novake. Traveling with Bishop Artemije and his closest associates was a medical team from Gracanica including nun Irina of Gracanica Monastery, who is a physician; and Presbytera Svetlana Stevic, the director of the NGO "Majka Devet Jugovica", whose representatives regularly visit Kosovo and Metohija and distribute humanitarian aid primarily through the Diocese of Raska and Prizren. Mr. Randjel Nojkic, a member of the Serb National Council of Kosovo and Metohija, also visited the Prizren area with Bishop Artemije on behalf of the Return (Povratak) Coalition. SREDSKA - SREDACKA ZUPA
Bishop Artemije and his associates visited ten Serb returnees in the village of Sredska, approximately 15 kilometers south of the city of Prizren. They are primarily older people who are living in extremely difficult conditions. In conversations with Bishop Artemije they complained that no one cared about them except the Church and that they feel that Belgrade has forgotten them as citizens. Bishop Artemije appealed to them not to leave the village but to remain as the germ for the return of the rest of the Serbs to Sredacka Zupa. Among the returnees are one physician and one nurse who care for the elderly. On behalf of the Diocese of Raska and Prizren Bishop Artemije presented them with a Lada caravan vehicle for use as an ambulance for which the village has a great need. With this vehicle the physician will be able to assist elderly in nearby villages, Prizren and the village of Novake. The Serbs of Sredska say that their Muslim neighbors - the Torbesi - welcomed them warmly and that they expect the return of the remaining Serbs from this area. Upon returning to their village the Serbs of Sredska found not one of their houses undamaged. Fr. German, the Abbot of the nearby Holy Archangels Monastery, and Presbytera Svetlana Stevic who directs the NGO "Majka Devet Jugovica" (Mother of Nine Jugovic brothers) visit the Serbs in Sredacka Zupa regularly. This NGO is currently organizing the distribution of the large humanitarian shipment which arrived this winter from Russia and which has largely already been given to the most at-risk Serbs. PRIZREN - FIRST ARCHIERCHAL LITURGY IN TWO YEARS
On Saturday evening in Holy Archangels
Monastery near Prizren Bishop Artemije heard the confession of the monks
and received Archimandrite Parthenios from Thessaloniki who brought
humanitarian aid from Greece. On Sunday morning Bishop Artemije traveled
by German military armored transporter to Prizren where he served the
first holy archierchal liturgy in two years in the Orthodox Cathedral of
St. George. With the assistance of clerics from Greece and the Diocese of
Raska and Prizen, Bishop Artemije ordained Fr. Benedict of Holy Archangels
Monastery as hieromonk and his monastic brother, Fr. Barsanuphius, as
hierodeacon. This was also the first ordainment in the Prizren Cathedral
since the end of the war in 1999. About 20 mostly elderly Prizren Serbs of
the total of 68 Serbs remaining in city attended the holy liturgy. Before
the war 8,300 Serbs lived in Pec; the majority of them left the city in
June of 1999 when Bishop Artemije himself was forced with the remaining
Serbs to temporarily withdraw from the diocese see and relocate to
Gracanica Monastery to organize the life of the Serb community in those
difficult times. After the liturgy Bishop Artemije learned in conversation
with the present believers that the remaining Serbs today have complete
freedom of
VISIT TO SERB RETURNEES IN VILLAGE OF NOVAKE
At the conclusion of his visit to the
Prizren area, on Sunday morning Bishop Artemije visited the first Serb
returnees to the village of Novake, some 20 kilometers east of
Prizren. The Serbs fled from this village in June of 1999 after which the
Albanians looted and set fire to all the houses. A week ago with the
assistance of German KFOR the first 45 Serb returnees returned to their
village and began working on the rebuilding of their destroyed homes. Most
of the returnees are working-age men and women who hope to be able to
bring their children by the beginning of the next school year. The
residents of Novake say they are very happy with German KFOR which has
provided them with the most assistance. Unfortunately, they were unable to
hide their dissatisfaction with the Belgrade government's lack of interest
for their needs. So far no one has visited them or given them any form of
assistance. There has also been no assistance forthcoming from UNHCR,
claim the residents of Novake, who arrived a week ago in a virtual
wasteland. The returnees are presently housed in the former school which
has
Bishop Artemije's visit made the returnees
very happy. The Diocese plans to actively join in assisting these people
as it has already done in the villages of Osojane and Bicha in northern
Metohija. The residents expect to be joined soon by the first returnees to
the nearby village of Smac. The rebuilding of destroyed houses is
scheduled to begin on April 1. Under the auspices of German KFOR the
construction work is to be carried out by a local Albanian company which
will employ Serbs from the village and provide them with wages for their
work. If the rebuilding process continues according to plan, the residents
of Novake can expect to spend the next winter in their rebuilt homes.
There is a lot of work to be done as the Albanians have cut down all the
orchards and other trees in the village, and transformed a part of the
village into a public garbage dump. The wells are polluted and the
infrastructure is completely destroyed. The local residents took advantage
of Bishop Artemije's visit to issue a public appeal for assistance to all
Serbs at home and abroad to contribute to the rebuilding of this village
and others in the Prizren area in order to rebuild the life of the Serb
community here.
The villages in this area, including the town of Velika Hoca, which survived the turmoils of war with its 500 local residents, are mentioned as early as the 12th century in the Charter of St. Simeon Nemanja as properties of Chilandar Monastery [on Mt. Athos]. There is hardly a stone in this area which does not hide the remains of an ancient Serbian church or cemetery. For this very reason, the rebuilding of the life of the Serb community in the Prizren area is the responsibility of the entire Serb people and the Serbian Orthodox Church. The Diocese of Raska and Prizren therefore appeals to all Serbs everywhere to come to the aid of their suffering brothers and sisters who seek to rebuild their lives in their centuries-old home. SMD, ERP KIM
Decani Monastery Relief Fund will
also support Serb returnees in Novake and elsewhere in Kosovo and
Metohija. For more information on sending donations from the U.S. please
contact Fr. Nektarios Serfes, Boise (ID) More about the
Decani Monastery Relief Fund (DMRF) you may find at: ERP KIM
Info-Service is the official Information Service of the Serbian Orthodox
Diocese of Raska and Prizren and works with the blessing of His Grace
Bishop Artemije. If you received this message by error or you don`t want to receive our e-mails anymore, please write to us: erpkim@kosovo.net Our Newsletters are
available on our ERP KIM Info-service Web-Page: Additional
information on our Diocese and the life of the Kosovo Serb Community may
be found at:
|
|||||||||||||||
