“SERBS IN KOSOVO ARE NOT FORGOTTEN”: After a 10-day march, students from Belgrade arrived in Zvečan!

Our children here in Kosovo, south of the Ibar River, must know that someone is thinking of them and that they are not alone, said the students who marched for 10 days towards Kosovo and Metohija from Belgrade.

The students who set off on a march from Belgrade to Zvečan exactly 10 days ago – finally reached their destination this afternoon, KoSSev writes.

Three young students from the Faculty of Political Sciences – Filip Bogićević from Vrnjačka Banja, Novak Đurić from Vranje, and Nikola Jovanović from Borča – started their journey to Kosovo from the Rakovica Monastery on April 27th.

This is a humanitarian march, in cooperation with the humanitarian organization “Kosovsko Pomoravlje”, to raise funds for projects that include investments in sports and education for children in Kosovo.

Along with an appeal to citizens to donate in order to raise funds, the slogan of this endeavor was “Together we are stronger”.

Today around noon, as planned, on St. George’s Day, May 6th – they entered Zvečan.

The feeling, they say, is fantastic.

“Only now are the emotions and the understanding of what we actually set out to do starting to emerge. Emotions are being channeled, and probably all of this will only come to the surface now. The fact that I cannot describe it in words probably speaks volumes. A rebirth of soul and body,” says Novak Đurić.

The ten-day journey was difficult and full of challenges, they admit.

“It was difficult, each of us had internal struggles at certain moments. For some it was the second day, for others the fourth. There were also moments when one of us would say ‘I can’t go on anymore’. But still, every step taken after that challenge, every step was a victory. That’s what brought us to Zvečan.”

From the center of Zvečan where we met them, the three students headed towards the Zvečan Fortress, which was their plan.

They climbed the fortress with their colleagues from the University of Pristina, who were waiting for them.

Then they will also visit Kosovska Mitrovica, where they will obtain what they planned, gifts for the children from Kosovsko Pomoravlje. They are also going to the Gračanica Monastery, and then they will go to Gnjilane.

“We are planning to socialize with the children there, with the children from Parteš. We will be their guests for dinner,” Filip Bogićević pointed out.

What will their support mean to the children south of the Ibar River?

The young men believe that, first and foremost, for the children for whom they traveled hundreds of kilometers, their support will be a sufficient message:

“That someone is thinking of them. That they are their own, that they are here. Young people know the hardships they go through. Although we have not felt their hardships, we know. We cannot be blind to it, we cannot turn our heads. We only turned our heads towards them and set off on foot towards them. We can’t wait to see them.”

They are small now, but over the years they will understand that the basketball game we play with them, the help for them – is much more than a ball, a game, a gift.

Guided by this, they admit they would repeat the same endeavor.

“On top of all the burden on this journey, we will remember these 10 days for the rest of our lives. I am proud of my colleagues, we were there for each other, knowing what we were going for,” emphasized Nikola Jovanović, who is celebrating his 22nd birthday in Kosovo today.

Personally, this humanitarian endeavor has changed them. A special impression was made by the people they met along the way, their support.

“People offered us help everywhere. They got out of their cars. They took pictures with us, let us into their homes. This will remain forever, and precisely because of them, and our children here, this would be worth repeating, and in greater numbers.”

PROČITAJTE VIŠE:

It’s hard to be a Serb here

The three students suddenly decided to continue their walk from Sočanica to Zvečan by car after all.

As they said, they listened to advice that it was safer that way.

“Between Leposavić and Sočanica, we decided that, for security reasons. But not only that, our desire was to respect the people who had been giving us support on social networks for all these 10 days, to reach everyone.”

The hope remains that in the future they will be able to walk to Prizren: “That our freedom of movement will not be restricted.”

Their parents were not thrilled with their idea. One didn’t believe they would succeed, another worried about the difficulty of the undertaking, and the third drew attention to safety.

“They told me not to emphasize national symbols, to be careful. I agree with them, it’s easy to be a Serb from Belgrade, but it’s hard to be a Serb here. It’s also very beautiful. Serbs in Kosovo are not forgotten people,” Bogićević pointed out.