JAR THIEVES ARE “STEALING” THE CULTURAL HERITAGE

By Arben Llapashtica


JOUR 605
Intro to news writing for print
Oct, 08 – Oct, 19
David Harrison

Just like in fairy tales, but modern ones, in Novo Brdo thieves are after the gold-jars. Around the castle, the mosque, the catholic and orthodox church, there are already holes dug.

Lately the castle has been visited especially at night.

At night, thieves equipped with sophisticated detectors appearing to be organized come in search for the gold-jars.

The Novo Brdo castle is officially considered as a historical monument and has been, for forty years, under protection of the Kosovar Institute for Protection of Monuments, in Prishtina.

Haxhi Mehmetaj - director at the Institute for Protection of Monuments - is worried about the cultural heritage, which dates back to the IV century put at risk of being destroyed by these individuals.

“I’m quite sure that these illegal diggings have not helped these thieves in finding gold nor silver. However they could have found cultural remains, to us very important. In this manner they are not making themselves richer, but only destroying the cultural heritage” says Mehmetaj.


The castle has one security guard only who works during day shift, five days of week.

Islam Vllasaliu, the security guard in charge, admits that the diggings are conducted at night and during week days.

“Even though the protected area consists of 150 hectares, during the day I make sure that the surrounding is safe. But the holes are dug during the night, so sometimes in the morning I even find holes down to 4 meters deep. I always call the police and the Institute, but so far they haven’t brought any security for the night shift” says Vllasaliu.

Islami explains that he has even caught UNMIK policemen during the day, searching around the castle with metal detectors.

Islami had tried to halt them, but they had taken his cell phone and acted violently with him, dug 28 shallow pits afterwards and took several remains.

Haxhi Mehmetaj has confirmed that this was a Polish Special Police Unit stationed in Mitrovica.

“After we had intervened and informed the police, the actually returned few Second World War coins, which for us is ridiculous because they had taken bigger remains much older than the coins, which they are not returning” says Mehmetaj.

Naser Ibrahimi, Police spokesperson for Gjilani region tells us that no one has been arrested so far and that these events are being investigated.

Xhemajl Novoberdaliu, whose house is near the castle of Novo Berda, is afraid of these people digging illegally.

I live with my wife only, and there is no one left of the neighbors, and at night we’re both afraid because of these thieves. I was terrified when one day I saw the Symbol, which was designed on the wall of the castle, broken” says Novoberdaliu.


He also says that most of the people in the Balkan think that they can become rich during the night, but the do not know that they are digging in vain.

“They are just scaring us and destroying the cultural heritage, because no one has left gold underground for them to find” added Novoberdaliu.

The castle is almost totally destroyed, the municipality of Novo Berda continues to be the poorest municipality in Kosovo and does not have a budget for protection of its monuments.

The Government of Kosovo had actually assigned a budget for cultural heritage; however these funds have taken another direction and are now destined for the renovation of Serb churches destroyed during the March 2004 riots.