Medvedja – The Serbs and Albanians have been living together in the municipality of Medvedja for centuries. Good interethnic relations are nurtured from an early age, while a good example of thereof is primary school in Sijarinska Spa.

Sekljzen Saiti and Igor Cvetkovic are students of the eighth grade of primary school in Sijarinska Spa and they are together at unsegregated school every day. The Serbian and Albanian children do not simply live and learn next to one another here, but together with each other. 

“This is my best friend, so that we hang out with each other and do not fight," said Igor Cvetkovic, an eighth grade student. 

And Skeljzen Saiti says that Igor is his best friend, too, and that physical education is his favorite school subject. 

When someone outside of the region comes to the school, they cannot notice that it is a multi-ethnic environment. Albanian students speak Serbian perfectly. They have classes in their mother tongue four times a week and those in Serbian three times a week, while they also learn Russian.

"Nothing is difficult for us, we learn with our teacher, who helps us and explains things to us, so that we understand almost everything," said Arbaneta Baljaj, an eighth grader. 

She also says that they sometimes read books from their reading list in Serbian.  

“The kids hang out with each other and they do not hate each other, which is most important to us. Both the teachers and children cooperate well,” says Ramadan Behljuji, a teacher of the Albanian language.  

The school management and the leadership of the municipality of Medvedja are proud of the relations at the school, which may serve as a good example to whole Serbia.

Both students and teachers of that educational institution perceive it as their own, since they celebrate their holidays and solve their problems together. They all hope that reconstruction of the school building would soon start, because the school, which was founded almost 120 years ago, deserves it. 

“The project and technical documentation are being done, while the reconstruction will start the following year with funds of the Office for Public Investments, "said Nebojsa Arsic, the Mayor of Medvedja.  

“Children are attached to one another on both saint patrons’ days and on the school day, and there are no problems, nor will there be any, "says Sinisa Stankovic, the school principal. 

The main problem of the municipality of Medvedja is massive migration. As many as 600 students used to attend primary school in Sijarinska Spa until 1999. There are less than 300 people living in the Spa today, while only 60 students attend the school and its satellite classrooms.   

Those who stayed to live here look toward the future and coexistence. That is a prerequisite for development. Therefore, it is necessary to provide the conditions for the children not to move out of the area.

Source: Serbian Broadcasting Corporation and Coordination Body