They simply couldn’t wait any more for officialdom to catch up.
When the opportunity arose, Dragan Paralovic and 25 other Serbs quit their refugee center in Serbia and returned uninvited to Zac, their home village in Kosovo which they had fled 11 years ago.
In doing so, they have become an awkward test case for how Kosovo handles the return of those dislocated by the 1998-1999 separatist conflict that led, eventually, to its 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia.
PHOTO: AFP
Their reappearance triggered suspicion and anger among Zac’s mainly ethnic Albanian residents, leading to protests and accusations that some of the Serbs coming back — and there will be more — were involved in war crimes.
For now, Paralovic’s home is a UN tent pitched next to the burnt-out shell of his old house in Zac, about 50km west of the capital Pristina.
“We had been dreaming about returning home all these years. One day, we just decided to pack our things and go back to our village,” Paralovic said.
Yet because of the lingering tensions, police patrol around the clock and NATO peacekeepers call by daily.
While the international community and Kosovo authorities are in favor of reintegration, the situation in Zac is a sharp reminder how much is still to be accomplished on the ground.
Kosovo’s population is mainly Muslim and ethnic Albanian, and to avoid any spike in tensions, normal procedure is for local officials and international agencies to pave the way for what can be a sensitive repatriation process.
That can involve anything from rebuilding abandoned or destroyed homes to securing the green light from their neighbors.
Paralovic, a 52-year-old farmer, and his group didn’t want to wait after 11 years of “suffering” in refugee centers across Serbia.
Their tents are pitched beside the smoke-scarred, overgrown walls of their former homes, they live mostly on canned food and get power from generators.
“It is difficult. It really is, but it was more difficult in refugee centers in Serbia,” Nebojsa Drljevics said. “We will stay here despite the conditions, whatever happens.”
About 13,000 people, mostly ethnic Albanians, were killed in the conflict between separatist guerrillas and Serbian security forces under late strongman Slobodan Milosevic.
After a NATO air campaign ousted Serbian troops from the province, tens of thousands of Serbs — including some 250 Zac residents — fled the province out of fear of revenge attacks.
Since then about 12,000 Serbs have returned to their former homes.
The 26 from Zac deny involvement in crimes against their neighbors, who have staged public protests.
“We are not against the return of innocent people, but we are against the return of those who committed crimes against the [ethnic] Albanian population in the village,” protest leader Naser Rraci said.
Sabri Kelmendi, whose wife, daughter and mother were killed together with eight other relatives, said dozens of Zac residents met a similar fate, while many remain missing.
“That was done by some local Serbs who used to be members of the Serbian police and army. I was present when one of those Serbs killed a 12-month-old child, while his mother was carrying him in her arms,” he said.
“I cannot imagine seeing them in the village,” he added bitterly, his eyes looking toward the tents. “Their place is in prison.”
The returning Serbs deny such charges and point the finger in response at villagers they claim want to profit from their absence.
“By declaring us evildoers and killers, they intend to take from us these riches that they are using since we fled,” 57-year-old teacher Mladen Komatovic said, pointing to the fertile land, orchards and woods surrounding the village.
Deputy Kosovo Prime Minister Rame Manaj spoke to villagers and urged them not to cause any obstructions “because it is not in Kosovo’s interest.”
For Paralovic, reconciliation and uncovering the truth about war crimes is “the only solution,” but he insisted they would never go back to their refugee centers.
“Not for any price would we pack our suitcases and leave the village again. There is no place like home,” he said.
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