First, a few days ago, there was a murder attempt against the editor-in-chief of "Jedinstvo", Nikola Saric. Several bombs were planted in his apartment. On that occasion, the life of the director and editor-in-chief of the publishing house "Grigorije Bozovic", Petar Saric, was also endangered. Then, photographer Milovan Vitkovic was expelled from his apartment, while Ljiljana Staletovic received a threatening message.
Almost at the same time, there were attacks on the apartment of a Serb poet and editor in "Jedinstvo", Darinka Jevric. Several days before, Albanian extremists threatened "Jedinstvo" editor Zorica Pokusevska and journalist Milka Karadzic. Photographer Dragan Jovanovic is hanging onto his apartment by the skin of his teeth. Let us not forget a large number of the employees in this publishing house who were expelled from their apartments six weeks ago. Their apartments are now occupied by Albanians. Editor in the publishing house "Grigorije Bozovic" Radomir Stojanovic was also mistreated by Albanian extremists.
Fortuitously or not, journalists of "Jedinstvo" are exposed to daily maltreatment exactly at the time when, after a month-long-break, they were preparing to re-enter their offices and begin with preparations for the printing of the newspaper.
The assassination attempt had been made two days before, at about 1p.m., near the cooler of the 4th power plant block. British KFOR soldiers failed to react. Stojisavljevic was shot at while driving his car. The assassins were in another car. They followed Stojisavljevic's car. When they caught up with him and pulled next to his car, Stojisavljevic slammed on his brakes. At that moment, the assassins shot at Stojisavljevic's car from a machine gun with a silencer, and pierced a number of holes in the car and its windshield. Stojisavljevic was not hurt and managed to get through to the British soldiers. They escorted him to Kosovo Polje, where he picked up some necessities and left for Serbia proper.
Evictions of Serbs from their apartments in Pristina are old news. In the night between Thursday and Friday "Jedinstvo" photographer Milovan Vitkovic was thrown out of his apartment. Albanian terrorists hurt his wife by hitting her with a gun. Vitkovic has also worked for many years for "Rilindja", the oldest daily newspaper in Albanian in Kosovo.
Members of peace forces are usually too late for timely reactions in such cases. They advise Serbs who call them for help to leave their apartments, and even offer to provide security while Serbs take out their possessions. If the victims are able to find a truck, KFOR also usually offers to provide escort to the border with Serbia proper.
Nada and Dragi pushed a cupboard against the door, Jela and Bora pushed a stove so heavy that they had a hard time removing it in the morning. Vera argued with the thugs through the closed door in front of which she pushed several armchairs, and Nena and Djurdja argued with them in Albanian.
"All this is aunt Desa's fault. Had she not run out of the apartment and thrown away her keys when they banged on her door, in the middle of the day, we wouldn't have had night visitors. She gave in, but we must hold out. At least until September 20, when KLA should stop to exist - if one is to trust KFOR," says Djurdja.
These people have lost trust in KFOR. They called them several times during night, but they did not show up. In the building next to theirs, KFOR arrived only after thugs had given up and left.
"They are always late," Bora jumps in the conversation. He didn't buy a newspaper that morning, so that neighbors have nothing to talk about.
Because of low voltage, TV S has stopped with broadcasts in Serb language after only a few days. "Jedinstvo", the only daily newspaper in Serb language, which had been published in Pristina for 55 years and whose next issue is eagerly awaited by the few remaining Serbs, has not yet resumed with publication, and the journalists they know are not in the mood to talk or exchange news over the phone.
"Today, we've been left even without spoken news," sadly concludes Nena and suggests to her neighbor Djurdja that they should head home.
It is already 6p.m. and they live in the building across the street. Bora, Jela and Vera stick around a bit longer and then they also head home. It is after 6p.m. and it is dangerous to be outside apartments or to leave them empty.
A night has fallen on Pristina. Serbs, shut in their apartments behind lowered blinds are trying to see the sky and the stars. Serbs lock their doors, push cupboards against them and with a book in hand wait for night visitors who want to throw them out of their apartments.
"We leave at 2:40p.m. from Kosovo Polje. We are in Lesak at 5p.m. We stay there for 30 minutes and head back. This is a refugee train. Passengers ride for free and we cannot guarantee their safety. The train is not escorted by KFOR. All passengers, including myself, are risking their lives when we leave Kosovo Polje," explains Branislav Rankovic, a conductor with 27 years of work experience with Yugoslav Rail-transport.
"We do not stop at all stations. The train does not stop in Albanian majority settlements (Samodreza, Mijalic, Uznica, Vucitrn, Mitrovica and Zvecan) and passengers sit low while we drive through those stations because the train is sometimes stoned," adds the second conductor, Bozidar Stosic. "I would not be surprised if they mined the railroad one day and blew all of us up. Heavenly people... Most of passengers are housewives, pensioners, workers, youth, Serbs and Roma... Honest people and smugglers..."
The last station is at the same time the starting station for everyone. They leave and return on the same train. And the train waits. It waits until they finish the buying of food and other basic necessities at the improvised market at the train station in Leposavic, or sell the goods brought from Kosovo in Lesak.
"This is a shame. A fall in every sense. War profiteers are getting rich on other people's troubles," says one of the passengers. "This is nothing compared with what is being shipped to Albania," add other passengers, and beg that we do not disclose their names. Home appliances, TVs, cameras, VCRs, irons, linen, curtains are sold for almost nothing. Any price is good. Train does not wait for long.
"I am here every day. I sometimes think I'll recognize something from my home. I feel like strangling all of these monkeys," says a well built 25-year-old who is now, as he says "homeless".
In Leposavic, 70 kilometers from Kosovo Polje, Serbs buy bread, fruit, vegetables, milk products and other food products. It is safer to travel to Leposavic than to go to Pristina, which is 8 kilometers from Kosovo Polje.
"We'll travel a few more times until we spend all the money we have. After that, who knows," says the elderly couple Scepanovic from Obilic. "All of these people are poor. The wealthy have left for Serbia long time ago."
"They left us to the mercy of our enemies. The same people who bombed us until yesterday are now supposed to protect us. You can see for yourself how they protect us. I come here to buy bread. Where else can you find something like that," says resigned Jovo Cirkovic from Kosovo Polje.
"There is no bread for Serbs in Kosovo Polje. There is no life with Shqiptars either. Old neighbors look at you the way wolves look at sheep. Forget it, I haven't told you anything. Please, don't mention my name."
Slavica Brajkovic, a midwife from the Pristina hospital says: "I worked the most humane job. I assisted women to give birth to healthy children. I treated everyone the same, regardless of their nationality and religion. I've lived long enough to be thrown by my Shqiptar colleagues from my job. It is hard. It is really hard, but am staying with my family in Kosovo. I will be the last one to leave Kosovo Polje. It is never too late for a tent or a refugee caravan..."
The struggle of disabled Ljubica Rakocevic from the Pristina district of Suncani Breg [Sunny Hill] to defend her apartment from Albanian thugs went on for three hours. She and her neighbors called KFOR several times, but the translator, an ethnic Albanian, kept saying that no patrols were available. She "encouraged" them to hold out and wait. The thugs left just before midnight, but that does not mean that they have given up. Moreover, that is unlikely having in mind that a bomb was thrown into Ms. Rakocevic's apartment ten days ago.
In the information center of the Serb National Council we found out that on Friday at about 6p.m. Dusko Ristic's apartment in Vidovdanska St. in Pristina was attacked. The same source stated that the house of Veljko Savic in 38 Robert Gajdik St. was set on fire the very same night.
The information center of the Serb National Council has been recently receiving a growing number of calls from Serbs who need assistance in food and medications. There are still Serbs in Pristina. It seems, they have been surveyed by their neighbors, Albanians, and they know where to send thugs. Serbs are mostly not leaving their apartments and houses, because they believe that that is the only way to preserve the property for which they had worked hard for years.
Many of them are on the verge of existential minimum and are lacking food, medications, toiletries. As we heard at the Information Center, Dr. Milenko Karan, a well-known psychologist and professor at the Philosophy Faculty, Veselin Kovacevic and more than thirty tenants in the solidarity building at the 2 Suncani Breg [Sunny Hill] district and many others are in an especially grave situation.
A few days ago, Serbs from the Suncani Breg [Sunny Hill] settlement made a list of all Serb families who live there and approached "Adra" for humanitarian assistance. When the truck arrived, only two families were on the list. The remaining assistance was distributed to Albanians. Serbs were told that they would receive aid in the next day or two. "Adra" trucks have delivered aid to this settlement several times since them, but in all cases, none of the assistance made its way to the Serb families.