Medveđa – Forgotten or Abandoned?

 By Muharrem Salihu

 For years, I have continued to raise my voice for Medveđa. Not because it is more important than Preševo or Bujanovac, but because it is the part of the Albanian community that today faces the greatest challenge to its very survival.

I must honestly say that it pains me that even during the highest-level state visits from Albania, official stops are made in Preševo and Bujanovac, while Medveđa is once again left off the agenda. This creates the impression that an entire community is being forgotten.

Meanwhile, Medveđa is facing the deactivation of residents' registered addresses, the forced departure of Albanians from their ancestral lands, a shrinking institutional representation, and continuous pressure that threatens to permanently alter the demographic reality of the region. Every deactivated address is not merely an administrative procedure; it represents one fewer Albanian family, one fewer voice, one fewer right, and another blow to our historic presence in these lands.

I am not writing this to criticize anyone. I write because I believe that love for our nation is measured by the care we show for its most vulnerable part.

 Administrative map highlighting the Preševo Valley region in southern Serbia. The municipality of Medveđa is highlighted in pink, while Bujanovac and Preševo are highlighted in red. Local activists point to Medveđa as currently facing the most critical challenges to preserving its historic Albanian community.

Medveđa is not asking for privileges. It is asking not to be forgotten. It seeks the presence of our institutions, official visits, concrete economic, educational, and cultural support, as well as sustained diplomatic engagement to protect the rights of the Albanians who live there.

I will continue to raise my voice for Medveđa because silence is not a solution. We cannot speak about the Preševo Valley while leaving Medveđa out. We cannot speak of national unity while the Albanian community facing the greatest struggle for survival remains on the margins of our attention.

Above all, we must clearly understand that protecting Medveđa is the primary barrier safeguarding the future of Albanians in Serbia.

If Medveđa is protected, the position of Albanians in Preševo and Bujanovac is strengthened as well. If Medveđa is weakened, the consequences will not be confined there—they will inevitably affect both Bujanovac and Preševo.

That is why Medveđa is not merely a local issue. It is a national priority. It deserves the highest level of attention, continuous institutional engagement, and unwavering political and diplomatic support.

Caring for Medveđa is not simply about protecting one municipality. It is about defending national dignity, safeguarding the rights of Albanians in Serbia, and securing the future of the entire Albanian community in Serbia.