Truck with humanitarian aid worth over 300 thousand euros for the Presevo Valley returns to Sweden after being blocked in Serbia

A truck with humanitarian aid worth over 300 thousand euros, destined for Presheva, Bujanovac and Medvedja, was forced to return to Sweden after being blocked by Serbian customs authorities, humanitarian activist in Sweden, Omer Zuko, has announced.

According to Zuko, the truck transporting medical equipment for hospitals and aid for people with disabilities remained blocked for about 20 days, causing an additional cost of 6 thousand euros for transportation.

He announced that the aid was sent by the humanitarian organization "Human Bridge", in cooperation with the "Liria" Association from Växjö, Sweden, and its destination was the Presheva Valley. According to him, the Municipality of Presheva had guaranteed the receipt of the cargo, while Enkel Rexhepi was the contact person and guarantor of the project, in coordination with the municipality.

Zuko explains that upon arrival at Vranje Customs, the truck was held for five days. According to him, Serbian authorities requested a certificate from the Serbian Ministry of Health, a procedure that could take more than two months.

He emphasizes that, due to the urgent nature of the humanitarian aid, it was requested that the truck be allowed to continue its journey to Kosovo.

"In a telephone conversation with the chief customs officer Zoran Totić, it was requested that the truck be released from Vranje Customs and continue towards Kosovo. He replied that this was only possible if the Municipality of Preševo ​​gave an official consent to waive the receipt of aid," Zuko wrote.

According to him, Enkel Rexhepi also made attempts to secure this document, but they were not successful, as the mayor of Presheva and her cabinet were in Albania. Even after their return, he claims that the requested consent was not given.

"As a result, we were forced to tow the truck from Vranje Customs and return it to Sweden," he writes.

Zuko adds that the difficulties did not end there. On the way back, the truck stopped again at the Horgosh border crossing, where it remained for another five days due to additional documentation requirements.

In his reaction, he emphasizes that this is the first time the organization has faced such a situation, after more than a decade of humanitarian activities.

"For more than ten years, we have sent over 60 trucks of humanitarian aid to Kosovo and Albania, without ever encountering obstacles of this kind," Zuko concluded.

The GeoPost