Mass murder in "Ribnikar": Three months as three years

For the parents of the murdered children, life stopped on May 3. For others, let's be honest, life has moved on because even after the biggest breaks, life always goes on. Serbia did not stop.

The students finished school and went somewhere in the summer. It's the time of annual vacations, when the penury of most citizens of this country comes to the fore even more than usual. Parents struggle with how to afford their children a vacation, look for affordable accommodation, buy bus or plane tickets, but how can anyone afford what. Crowds at the borders, tolls and fuel are calculated.

Some are getting ready for the folk festival in Guca. Will someone there remember to pay respect to the victims of mass murders with a minute of silence between the two brandies and the blast of the trumpet?

Only a minority of citizens of this country follow what is happening in the political bilge. The "Serbia Against Violence" protests, which were triggered by the death, walked away from "Ribnikar" in pursuit of a different life.

Few people still look back on that far, far away May 3, too much has happened in the meantime. And that's not a complaint, it's just the way it is, especially in the fast world we live in.

Did the mass murder in "Ribnikar" change Serbia?

Well, it isn't and it is. The government, which is in a state of mourning after everything that happened, is playing the card of oblivion and is actually not doing so badly. And those who, after a decade of progressive government, are hoping for a break in the systemic abnormality finally have something to hope for.

Because something broke in the lethargic Serbian society after May 3 and 4, that crack could almost be heard, but the scale of everything that happened still cannot be seen.

But that's another story.

On this day, we should pause for a moment and dedicate a thought to the murdered children and their parents, the school guard Dragan, to recall the image of lighting candles and laying flowers in front of Ribnnikar, the image of children lighting candles for the murdered children, that silent cry that for a moment is paralyzed a large part of Serbia.

And tomorrow, likewise, for all the victims from around Mladenovac.

And so every 3rd and 4th of the month, at least for a while, as a sign of sympathy and solidarity with those who were permanently maimed by this violent mass death.

Because when the pain of some becomes the pain of many others, when the injustice and violence that affect some begin to affect many others, then it will be possible to say that Serbia has changed.

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