A SERB AND AN ALBANIAN BUILT A WATER PLANT

18. January 2012.

Bujanovac – Isuf Fetahu from Bujanovac and Momcilo Janjic from the nearby village of Ljiljance cemented their long friendship with a joint business. They jointly built the first multiethnic plant in Serbia “Herba buja” in the Serbian village of Ljiljance, which is well-known for its numerous springs of mineral water. The plant began working in March 2011.

At the new production facility at Ljiljance, four Serbs fill 5,500 one and six-litter bottles with mineral water per hour. Longtime pals sell the water on the market that stretches from Presevo to Nis. If Mr. Fetahu and Mr. Janjic manage to get from the Development Fund a loan amounting to 800,000 EUR necessary for purchasing eco-water filling devices, they will be able to employ another 26 Serbs, Albanians and Roma. Since their request for the loan was turned down four times, the partners from Bujanovac are trying to find a strategic partner from abroad, so that they could provide the funds for investments.

“I have known Mr. Janjic for a long time and I trust him. I, therefore, decided to start a joint business with him without thinking much about it. The two of us are very enthusiastic about it and disregard rumors and opinions of the Serbs and Albanians on the issue. One’s ethnic backround isn’t important for this or any other business, nor is it important who Momcilo, Isuf or anybody else is”, Mr. Fetahu said.

The multiethnic plant of mineral water “Herba buja” at the village of Ljiljance, which is situated near Bujanovac, contributes not only to development of the village, but also to improvement of interethnic relations among the Serbs and Albanians in South Serbia.