The diaspora is the main support for the survival of the municipality of Lopare, and more and more people are investing capital acquired abroad in their homeland.

According to unofficial estimates, Zurich, Lucerne, Basel, and almost all other areas of Switzerland are home to around 3,000 Serbs who moved in the past decades from Majevica to this country in search of a better life. Data also show that another 2,000 people from Lopare live and work in Germany, Austria, Italy, and even America and Canada.

His desire was to offer it to children of Lopare. He built a swimming pool complex in his native Lopare, an investment worth around one million marks.

– I left for Switzerland in 1989. It was not easy, but I did not give up. I learned the language, changed many jobs, and now I am a railway inspector. Life is different there, but if you want to succeed you have to adapt. However, that does not mean that you should accept all that is theirs and forget all ours. No matter how beautiful and comfortable life is in those large and better organized countries than in ours, it is still abroad – says Vlado.

As soon as he becomes eligible for retirement, he will return to his hometown. His wife Gospava and sons Dario and Damjan and daughter Tamara support him in this.

– The ties between the motherland and the diaspora must be strengthened in order to preserve the history, traditions, customs, and culture of the Serbian people. I taught my children from a young age to know where they came from, who their ancestors were, because only those who know their past well can have a good future – says this renowned businessman.

In the Municipality of Lopare, they also remind us that in the past years, 12 large investments have been made by our compatriots, members of the Association of Majevicans in Switzerland and the Association of Serbian Businessmen in Switzerland.

– We are proud of Antić’s swimming pool complex, and such investments as Jelena orchard, cold storage for fruits and vegetables, goat farm, and others that improve the business ambiance of this area. At the latest Business Forum, we concluded that there was still room for investment in the construction sector, agriculture and tourism. The municipality of Lopare has excellent natural and climatic preconditions, potentials, and resources that we can affirm with the help of the diaspora – said the mayor of Lopare municipality, Rado Savić.

Vlado Antić is also the president of the Association of Majevicans in Switzerland. He is one of those who have not forgotten their homeland. He advises the same to his compatriots living and working abroad, and emphasizes that the homeland can be supported also in other ways – by renovating houses, schools, churches, infrastructure, helping the socially disadvantaged.

Source and photo: InfoBijeljina