Visit our website: HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------------------------- > 19 August 2001 > FOR WHOM THE BELLS TOLL IN DJAKOVICA > > Text by Decani Monks,Visoki Decani Monastery ,Kosovo > > "We were not afraid but constantly said our prayers, knowing that they can > destroy the church, but can never expel the Lord from the hearts of his > faithful ones...Poleksija whispered, making sign of the cross. > > The Story which does not reach front pages > > "God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, > and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which > are strong" 1Cor 1:27 > > For two years after the war in Kosovo region six elderly Serb > women in Djakovica defy the hatred which surrounds them by prayer and hope > in God Poleksija Kastratovic (65) (Polexia Kastratovich) rang the bells of > her little church as she would regularly do this sacred duty during the last > 40 years. For her these bells do not only call for prayer but express the > firm decision that the six last Orthodox Christians in the city of Djakovica > still live and pray to the Lord. > > Poleksija has been living for nearly 40 years in a little > ramshackle house in the courtyard of the Serbian Orthodox parish church of > the Mother of God, 100 km west from Pristina. Before she chose to live the > life of the ancient prophetess Anna who greeted the newborn Christ in > Jerusalem, she used to work as a teacher. She was fired eventually because > she regularly went to the church to pray. In those years of atheism any Serb > teacher or official would immediately be expelled from job for professing > the Orthodox faith. For Poleksija this was "a blessing in disguise" and a > clear sign that the Lord called her to serve Him at His church. Since then > she has been regularly taking care of the church, cleaning it and ringing > the bells for the prayer. > > If the setting of this story were any Serb city around Yugoslavia > this would not be so uncommon a story. But Poleksija together with other 5 > elderly Serb women has been living in the Kosovo city of Djakovica, in which > there are no other Serbs. They live in complete isolation in their > churchyard without any freedom to leave their home, or buy anything in a > shop. After the Kosovo war in which many innocent people suffered in the > conflict between the Yugoslav federal troops and Kosovo Albanian rebels > almost all Serb population of Djakovica had to leave their homes. With the > arrival of the NATO led KFOR troops Yugoslav army agreed to leave the > Province but Albanian rebels began systematic extermination of remaining > Serbs. In those days many Serbs all over Kosovo Province were killed, > kidnapped, thousands of houses were burned, churches were desecrated with > ancient tombstones turned over and smashed to peaces. > > For all who had waited for the internationally-granted peace this > was a grave disappointment, because bloodshed happened virtually in front of > NATO soldiers. > > When the Italian troops were deployed in Djakovica certain number > of elderly Serbs still remained in their homes hoping to get some > protection. Unfortunately, Albanian extremists (KLA) organized everyday > raids in search for Serbs while others looted Serb homes, burning them at > the end. The little parish church was the only sanctuary and Poleksija > became the hero who saved many from death and hunger. The courtyard was full > of weak and exhausted people who hardly managed to reach the little church > hiding in the gardens and cellars from the extremists. Poleksija was sure > that God would not let them down and urged the people to pray in the church > and light the candles to the Holy Virgin. > > One day, KLA burst into the church compound and began searching > the people.Thank to God's mercy they did not hurt anyone as Italians were > close. All other Serbs who prefered to remain in their houses suffered a > much worse fate. Some disappeared and some were found massacred in their > homes in the most brutal ways. The Italian soldiers very soon secured the > church yard and stretched barbed > wire around the compound to prevent Albanian extremists to attack the > people. International Red Cross organized evacuation of all who wanted to > leave the city and go to Central Serbia or Montenegro. Poleksija remained > and with her five other elderly women who decided to stay close to their > church in which they had been baptized and had prayed all their life. These > were: Vasiljka Peric, Nada Isailovic, Ljubica Miovic, Jelena Miovic and > Dragica Nikolic, all in their sixties and seventies. > > The story of each of these brave women is distressing because as > if by some miracle they managed to excape slaughter or rape by the > Albanians. "The KLA criminals put the pistol on my forehead and said that > they would blow my head up. I was so afraid and just told them to do what > they want" said Nada Isailovic who was thrown out of her home near the old > bus station and found refuge in the house of her brother near the church. > She still sleeps overnight in that house which has been almost completely > looted by the Albanians. > The Italians assigned a few guards to protect her and escort her to the > church compound where she spends the day with the other women. "Whenever I > pass the street they shout and curse", Nada complained, "and once they hit > me with a stone in my head". "Cars with Albanian registration plates used to > come in dozens in the Serb street and drag away all Serb possessions, > furniture, clothes, TV sets....simply everything. At the end they would > usually set fire and run away", Nada remembers those first days. > > "KFOR did not seem to be ready to have troubles with them, so they > would usually turn the blind eye to what was happening", added another > elderly women in tears. > > Dragica Nikolic seems to be the most depressed because she was > beaten by Albanian youths, dragged out of her old house and forced to watch > her home burn. She speaks almost nothing and only hopes to die peacefully in > her home town. Despite almost desperate situation in which these women live > they do not lack the spirit. Poleksija is the spiritus movens of the group > and her composed and calm behavior and quiet optimism in the Lord's > protection gives hope to others who struggle to endure the hatred which can > be felt all around them. > > Since they cannot leave their little church yard these women > completely depend on Italian soldiers who gradually established very good > and cordial relations with the ladies. They often make cakes and coffee for > them and treat them as their children. In return the Italians buy food for > the women. They give them money and the soldiers go to a neighboring shop to > buy things. Of course, they must never say that it is for the Serbs, > otherwise the shopkeepers would not sell it. > > Quite close to the church there is a little shop which used to > belong to the church and was run by one Albanian shopkeeper. Now the owner > is a new person and he does not think of returning the property to the > church. "You see this dog, Poleksija said,... well this is our dog and > Albanians recognize him and hit him with a brick when he leaves our > courtyard. The other dog belongs to Italians and they know it, and would not > by any chance hit the Italian dog". Even dogs suffer in this strange > surrounding. In the beginning the Albanian youths would throw garbage over > the wall into our churchyard. "Once, Poleksija says, we heard an explosion > and could see that a hand grenade exploded right in the back yard. Thank God > it did not > hurt anyone". After these incidents Italians installed three watchtowers > around the church yard which now resembles a little fortress, with barbed > wire, reflectors and guards watching closely from their watch towers with > machine guns. > > Poleksija tells that some of their Albanian neighbors are good > people. "But they are afraid to death from extremists to help us openly. I > know for sure that all of them do not hate us. We have not done any harm to > anyone and just want to remain close to our church". But even this for > Kosovo Serbs in today's "Free Kosovo" is very difficult and dangerous. > Around 100.000 Serbs still live scattered in several military protected > enclaves all over the province. Some enclaves are ghettoes, like in > Orahovac, some are geographically isolated from Albanian areas by mountains > and rivers. But out of these protected zones there are no freedom and rights > for the Serbs. If > they do not travel military armored vehicles, no one can guarantee safety to > them. Anyone can be killed at the spot and the perpetrators would usually > never be found, because the conspiracy of silence rules in Kosovo. > > Although not all Kosovo Albanians would approve of attacks on > Serbs,extremists still rule the province in the background. The recently > elected municipal structures are usually just toys in the hands of powerful > narco-bosses and mafia who have established their network all around Kosovo, > Albania, Western Macedonia and even Montenegro. > > International troops do not have authorization to fight organized crime and > terrorism but only provide general security which is far from enough to > grant true peace and freedom for all. That is why international peace > mission in Kosovo is more or less hostage of the Albanian extremists and > criminals who could easily turn their guns against their former war-friends > if they feel that they are loosing their support. > > Visoki Decani Monastery has taken a special obligation to take > care of Djakovica "grannies" as they are called by monks. The monks visit > them at least once a week coming by the Italian military vehicles and bring > them food, medicines, firewood and other necessities. They serve liturgies > in the church every Sunday and feast days when the grannies receive the Holy > Communion. From time to time they take the "grannies" out of their besieged > home to spend a day in Visoki Decani Monastery or in Pec Patriarchate which > themselves are enclaves, but somewhat larger and situated in more pleasant > natural surrounding of the western Kosovo forests and mountains. With Decani > monks the "grannies" sometimes go to Central Serbia to visit their > relatives. But they always come back to their church where they say they > feel the best. > > Poleksija herself rarely leaves her church. She is like a guardian > who is always awake to chase away the intruders with her firm faith and > prayer. All day long she spends in the church, reading prayers, cleaning the > floor,polishing candlesticks, burning incense in front of icons. "The icon > of St Nicholas, the patron saint, began exuding the fragrant myrrh, the > substance which sometimes fills the church with heavenly fragrance", she > explained to the monks. "This gives us even more hope that our spiritual > struggle is God pleasing", she concluded with a shy smile. "International > humanitarian organizations rarely visit the old Serb church in Djakovica. > Some of them who were sincere confessed that they are afraid that Albanians > will target them as Serb friends", Poleksija said with a sigh. "I understand > that some of them are afraid, some of them have prejudices against us... > Never mind, God sends us nevertheless everything we > need". > > Some international officials would come to Poleksija and ask her > whether she would leave Djakovica, because obviously there was no life for > Serbs there. Poleksija would always refuse to answer such questions. It is > not a secret that some international humanitarian organizations in Kosovo > actively urged Serbs to leave Kosovo. Now they want prepare them for the > "elections" so that in ethnically Albanian Djakovica they may have > "multiethnic" elections". With so few Serbs and members of other ethnic > minorities Kosovo today is far from the professed concept of democratic and > multiethnic society. The > international community intervened by bombing FRY in order to stop ethnic > cleansing of the Albanians, but at the end found itself a helpless witness > of a reversed ethnic cleansing, happening not in the chaos of war but in the > presence of 40.000 best equipped NATO soldiers. > > Although international press usually brings news of improvement of > life in Kosovo, the situation on the ground is not getting better and the > stories like this one would never reach the front pages. > > The decreasing number of crimes is not a consequence of the > improvement of security, but of the mere fact that majority of non-Albanians > live completely isolated from the ethnic Albanian majority which remains as > hostile and intolerant as in the first days. Such ghettos and isolated > enclaves would be front page stories in the time of Milosevic rule but now > are carefully avoided by journalists and politicians from the West. > > As the sun goes down above Djakovica, disappearing in the distant > hills of the neighboring Republic of Albania, Poleksija lights the candles > and vigil lamps for her evening prayer. For her, one day more has passed and > one day more she is closer to her beloved Lord. The bells of the old Serb > church toll a sad chime, reverberating among the neighboring ruins of the > Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Trinity which remains diginified even > in her ruins. When the Cathedral was destroyed by the local Albanians in > summer 1999, > after the arrival of UN Mission and KFOR, all the city was celebrating with > music. > > "We were not afraid but constantly said our prayers, knowing that > they can destroy the church, but can never expell the Lord from the hearts > of his faithful ones...Poleksija whispered, making sign of the cross. > > Text by Decani Monks of Visoki Decani Monastery > > -------------------------------------------------------------- > HOW TO HELP? > > For all additional information about the assistance to the Serb > women of Djakovica through the Church contact: > Visoki Decani Monastery (hieromonk Sava) mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Get informed about the Decani Monastery Relief Fund in US which > has been supporting the suffering people of Kosovo and Metohija in last > three years thanks to donations of many God loving people all over the > world. Regular reports issued on the Internet by Fr. Demetrios Serfes (US). > > ------------------------------------------------- This Discussion List is the follow-up for the old stopnato @listbot.com that has been shut down ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9spWA Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: [email protected] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
