Ben Blushi: In the Monastery of Banjska, in Kosovo

IN THE BANJSKA MONASTERY, IN KOSOVO

The Banjska monastery where an Albanian policeman and four Serbian paramilitaries were killed is located almost 20 minutes from the city of Mitrovica and, if there is not much traffic, no more than an hour north of Pristina.

From Mitrovica, the road passes at the foot of the Trepca mine, filled with mountains of mineral waste and chimneys, which once belched smoke, holding all of Yugoslavia with lead, zinc, pyrite and other minerals, whose reserves today are estimated at almost 12 billion dollars. Today Trepca is very little and badly used and is almost an object of extortion by the Serbian villagers who live on its waste.

From Trepca to Banjska, it's about 3 kilometers, winding between some narrow hills and old houses, where Serbs sit in the yard watching the cars.

The village of Banjska, which has no more than 50 houses and perhaps some 200 inhabitants, all Serbs, still bears the traces of a brief war that took place here on Sunday, September 24, when the entrance to the village was blocked by two trucks. to hinder the Kosovo police and to create a safe zone around Manastir filled with weapons.

What happened later is known, because the event went around the world reviving the memory of the wars that took place in the former Yugoslavia, from 1992 to 1999 when Kosovo was liberated.

In an attempt to open the way, an Albanian policeman was killed by Serbian paramilitaries, who hid in the buildings of the Monastery throughout the day to protect themselves, until they left four dead and several wounded while the rest broke the wires of the Monastery and climbed the hills to take refuge in Serbia.

Now the Banjska Monastery, which was built by the Serbian King Stefan Milutin, in the 1300s and which for a century also served as a mosque, is supervised by the special police of Kosovo. The policemen stand outside, in front of the central entrance of the Monastery, which is opened very rarely, when the Orthodox monks who live there go out for wood or to get food.

Around the Monastery, which has been rebuilt together with the Church of St. Stephen, there is still a thick 700-year-old wall that has almost collapsed. The Serbian paramilitaries climbed over that wall when they escaped, to escape the Albanian snipers who must have been stationed in the surrounding hills to have a better view of the target.

In the back of the Monastery, the monks have erected a tent with a red roof, which they use as a warehouse to collect building materials or numerous items that have remained there over the years. In the middle of this tent is a long table where the Serbian paramilitaries must have eaten and drunk before they left. Since the Republic of Kosovo has declared them wanted, perhaps this was their last lunch in Kosovo. A few bottles that have been carelessly left there, along with the dishes, are the traces of a military unit that apparently sought more courage in the alcohol of Serbian-labeled beers.

Policët speciale shqiptarë, që ruajnë zonën, flasin shumë pak. Natyrisht ata dinë shumë, por nuk u lejohet të tregojnë nëse kanë vrarë serbë atë ditë dhe si i kanë kapur ata që mbetën rob. Njëri prej tyre që kishte një balluke të thinjur dhe i ngjante shumë Hashim Thacit, cka nuk dukej sikur e gëzonte, quhej Enver, ndërsa komandanti i togës quhej Bekim. Shumica prej tyre kishin qenë dikur UÇK.

Nga lartësia e Manastirit duket gjithë fshati i Banjskës. Fshatarët serbë nuk dalin shumë në fshat dhe herë pas here nëpër oborre dëgjohen fëmijët që luajnë me njëri-tjetrin ose me prindërit. Çuditërisht fshati ka shumë qen të vegjël, njëri prej të cilëve lehu gjatë dhe nuk na u nda a thua se kishte aftësinë për të dalluar shqiptarët nga serbët.

Unë bëra disa fotografi në Banjskë si dhe në zonën përreth Trepcës, e cila i ngjan një gryke shisheje që torturon gjithë kalimin mes Kosovës dhe Serbisë. Duke u khyer, mendoja se si mund të zgjidhet ky konflikt i cili është vetëm në fazën e vet paraprake.

Askush nuk e di.

40 mijë serbët e 4 komunave të veriut të Kosovës, për të cilët Serbia kërkon Asosacionin, vazhdojnë të jetojnë në mes të kësaj gryke duke shpresuar se një ditë do bashkohen me Serbinë. Nëse ata nuk do ta kishin këtë shpresë ndoshta do ishin larguar të gjithë, për të gjetur në Serbi punë të cilat në Kosovë nuk i gjejnë dot.

Ata janë të paintegruar,nuk duan të integrohen dhe mesa duket nuk i lejojnë të integrohen. Serbia i paguan edhe kur nuk punojnë. Ata jetojnë aty të mbyllur në grykën e shishes duke iu lutur shenjtorëve të tyre për të ditë më të mira.

While they wait and follow the news coming from Belgrade, Serbia is weaker, Kosovo is a little stronger, but the West, which separated Kosovo from Serbia in 1999, is more divided and more indecisive.

Banjska, which is named after the word banjka, which means that there are warm thermal waters nearby, is evidence of the hottest area in Europe today.