The book "The Serbian Heart of Johan", authored by Veselin P. Đeletović, which talks about the trade in organs in Kosovo and Metohija, was presented last night in the Treasury of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kotor.
Moderator, Dušan Davidović, welcomed us on behalf of the organizers, the Serbian Church Orthodox Municipality of Kotor and the Serbian Singing Society "Jedinstvo".
"We practice organizing evenings like this dedicated to our creators. I assume that most of you know the path and inspiration of the author of this novel The Serbian Heart of Johan, Veselin Đeletović, who was born in Kosmet. He is a member of the Writers' Association of Serbia. Numerous awards and recognitions in his work so far speak of the strength of his pen, and for this novel he received a special recognition from the Ivo Andrić Academy," said Davidović.
The novel was also the inspiration for the feature film "Harvest", which should soon be on small screens.
Based on a true story, the novel is a poignant story about a German businessman, Johann, who received a transplanted heart from the author's cousin, a Serb from Kosovo and Metohija who was kidnapped in 1999.
As Đeletović recounted, he met Johann in 2004 at the ruins of a Serbian cemetery. That's how he learned about this tragic story, which he first described in a poem and then in a novel published in 2009.
He recalled that his cousin was kidnapped in Kosovo and Metohija in 1999. He left behind a wife and son, and his heart was "pulled out and sold to a rich German". After suffering terrible violence, his wife took her own life, and the boy was left without parents.
As Đeletović said, work on the novel essentially began in 2004, when at her funeral, in the ruins of a Serbian cemetery in a Kosmet village, he met Johan, who, upon learning whose heart he carried in his chest, came to help the victim’s family.
“When he saw the boy, the son of the man whose heart he carried, that encounter was so moving that the stitches from the operation, as he himself said, wanted to burst. The heart wanted to jump out of his chest. Whether the heart recognized the child or it was God’s providence, I don’t know. But I know that that encounter changed him forever,” said Đeletović.
Johan, as he said, came to visit the boy several times, and after the tragic death of his mother, he felt a strong urge to adopt him. This very story, the author said, was under a media blockade for a long time.
From a conversation with Johan, a poem was born in 2006, written in just two hours. . He turned the poem into a novel, which has seen dozens of editions and been translated into numerous languages.
"Truth, like water, always finds its way, and anyone who remains silent about a crime becomes an accomplice. The missing Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija did not disappear in the whirlwind of war, but were kidnapped and killed in the presence of the international community," said Đeletović.
He said that Kosovo and Metohija would be liberated, "because it is natural and just and only possible according to the laws of the land and God. And the balance of power in the world is changing faster than many expected," said Đeletović, whose novel will also be adapted into an American film.
In order to spread the truth about human trafficking, he gave everyone the copyright to tell his story in their own countries.

At the end of the promotion, he recited the lyrics of his song "Ne hte majka". The audience then had the opportunity to ask questions and talk to the writer.

The publisher of the 23rd edition of the novel is the Writers' Association "Poeta".
(Photo – Radio Kotor)