Photo: PexelsOne million and six thousand copies of the "Pensioner's Guide" realized and published by the PIO Fund were sent to all pensioners' addresses in Serbia. Here are the opinions of a few of them
On my own initiative, I conducted a personal survey about the "Guide for pensioners", a publication realized and published by the PIO fund, which these days is distributed by postmen around Serbia.
The survey participants are pensioners whose phone numbers I have in my mobile phone. I asked them only one question: What do you think about the "Guide"?
Here are the most interesting answers.
My friend, an architect from Belgrade, Voždovac municipality: "I didn't even open the envelope, I immediately threw it away." I was waiting for the children to come to me, so I didn't want to spoil the mood for myself or them. I don't believe that it says something that I haven't heard a hundred times already. They are monotonous and boring. What will it do in my life."
Rođaka, a bank employee from Nis: "I feel like when someone tells you that you are very important to him and that he can't live without you, and you can see in his eyes that he can't wait for you to die." It offends me, do they think that if I'm retired I'm silly so they can paint me? Did you see what's at the end? Directory with gerontological centers. Only the addresses of the cemeteries and funeral prices are still missing. Listen, I'm not going to talk about it, you know I have high blood pressure!”
Aunt from Subotica: "And why do you ask? If you are not theirs, have you joined? Feel free to tell me…”
A colleague from the daily newspaper: "I wouldn't talk about it, understand me." My sister-in-law works in the company from which they bought the envelopes (Anr Company), so I have the impression that I am gossiping about her. And it's not her fault, she's just doing her job. Plus, he has a good salary. What if I say something I shouldn't and someone reads it... I won't think. Plus, I have nothing to tell you that you don't already know yourself."
A teacher from Belgrade, Vračar municipality: "I read it." As far as I know, there is no such thing as a flattering style in stylistics. And if there is, this Guide should be shown to students as an example. By the way, it is written, grammatically correct. Usually not. Often they send some kind of advertisements like this and I claim that they are illiterate. And so many young proofreaders are out of work. It's a shame."
A friend, an academic painter from Belgrade, municipality of Savski venac: "Are you asking me because you need it for the newspaper?" If you need it for work, I'll tell you. And if you're asking me for chatting, then don't bother doing that to me. I'm sick! They paid 780.000 euros for this! Hey, bro! Can you imagine how many ways they could have helped the pensioners before? They could have wanted to, but they didn't! They did this for themselves, not for us! They think that pensioners will run to vote for them because of these fairy tales they wrote about themselves. Well, they screwed up, you'll see. Well, nobody here is stupid anymore! You know what's the saddest thing? What they think is, that the people are stupid. They say that Serbia has the best people in the world, and here they act like we are idiots. Shame! Well, let me go, don't pull my tongue, okay?'
The neighbor from the building survives with the help of her son: "Something is not clear to me here." If this is news about our Pension, why didn't they take pictures of our pensioners? These people in the pictures don't live in Serbia, let me tell you. I don't know a single pensioner who has this kind of hairstyle and face. We also have rich people, and let there be, but here in the pictures, everyone is rich. There are no poor people! That's not true, here I am poor! And these here, all happy! See how they are dressed. I used to have a floral blouse like this, alas, I loved it! But you know what I mean? These are not pensioners at all, these are models. To me, they look like those from Burda, from those pages near the end of the magazine where fashion is for the elderly. Right, you're a journalist, you know: and what are they lying to us?"
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