Debreshe Residents Bring Empty Buckets to the Town Hall: No Water for Decades, Patience Has Run Out

Residents of the village of Debreshe near Gostivar took to the streets in protest with empty buckets. They want water - not promises, not working groups, water. The problem has dragged on for decades, and summer is right around the corner: hundreds of returning emigrants are coming back, and the taps are dry.

During the protest outside the municipal building, a group of residents approached the entrance where police were waiting, and the glass of the entrance doors was smashed. The incident is, above all, a symptom - not of violence, but of exhaustion.

Gostivar Municipality announced that work is already under way on a new water supply system and the rehabilitation of the spring above the village. They asked for "understanding and patience." That's exactly what residents have been hearing for decades. They don't believe the deadline will be met - and they're demanding a concrete plan with concrete dates, not tidy phrasing.

If the water doesn't flow by the end of summer, residents are threatening a more radical protest. For now, at least, everyone knows Debreshe exists.