For nearly ten years, residents of a Roma community neighborhood have been struggling with the Municipality of Fushë Kosovë, as their request for the paving of their neighborhood road has yet to be fulfilled. According to the residents, their biggest issue is the mud caused by rainfall, which they say prevents them from sending their children to the local educational center in Fushë Kosovë, KosovaPress reports.

Even though the residents have submitted complaints and requests for the road to be paved, the municipality repeatedly responds that there is no budget to complete the project and that measures will be taken once the municipal budget is approved. Residents did not wish to appear on camera, but their complaints were numerous.

One woman from the neighborhood, who wished to remain anonymous, said she cannot send her children to the center because when they return home, they are covered in mud.

“It’s really difficult. The children need to go to the center, but they can’t. When we send them, they come back all muddy. You can’t decide whether to send them or not. The center staff ask us why we don’t bring the kids, but we send them clean and they come back dirty. But the kids need the center—they need to go to school too. I put white sneakers on my son, and when he comes back, it’s like they’re black,” she said.

Another resident added that during heavy rainfalls, they are forced to wear large rubber boots just to go outside.

“We’ve been dealing with this for eight years. Just last week, it was so bad you had to wear big boots just to go out and get something. It’s very difficult for us—not just because of school. We’ve complained so much, but they’ve never even come to ask us anything,” she said.

Meanwhile, the neighborhood’s representative, Murat Dibrani, emphasized that the municipality always uses the lack of budget as an excuse not to finish the project.

“All the discussions we’ve had have ended with the same statement—that the budget for this year has already been allocated. They always say there’s no more budget for paving the road,” Dibrani said.

The director of the TIP Center, Arbon Osmani, an education center in the neighborhood for children and women, also expressed concern that children are missing out on education due to this issue.

“You can see the road for yourself. We’ve been operating here for three years. There are about 30 houses, around 80 residents, and 100 children come to the center each week—from preschool age up to sixth grade. Both women and men attend the center. Around 800 children have attended over the course of 2024,” Osmani said.

KosovaPress reached out to the Municipality of Fushë Kosovë via email, but by the time this article was published, they had not responded

(This product was created in collaboration between CFID and KosovaPress. within the framework of the project: “Countering negative stereotypes about Kosovo Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities through media initiative” , which is funded by UNMIK.)