Assembly in dispersion: When you live abroad and help protests in your homeland

Aleksandra Zdravković - Zistakis is a professor of ethics who has lived in Athens for 30 years. Since she went abroad, she has not been so interested in political events in Serbia. Helping is at the center of her interests student protests, that is, to implement their requests and ideas.

That's why she formed the Assembly in Dispersion with several dozen other like-minded people.

"The idea came from people who know each other, and they reacted to what the student movement was doing," he told "Vreme".

"We wanted to be of service."

First, they sent a letter as an appeal for support for democratic changes in Serbia, so a legal team was formed in America to help people, and now they function at the sessions they organize on the model of student meetings. plenums.

The Dispersed Assembly proved particularly effective in raising money for striking educators. Data from the Alek Kavčić Foundation show that currently for teachers and professors who do not receive a salary more money comes from abroad than from Serbia.

The professor of ethics adds that the idea of ​​this organization is to be a mediator between people who sometimes do not understand each other.

"We had a large number of meetings with all actors because it turned out that sometimes it is necessary to build a bridge between, for example, students and the opposition, different parts of the opposition or, on the other hand, citizens and the non-governmental sector and the opposition," she adds.

The diaspora itself benefited greatly from these talks because, adds Zdravković-Zistakis, it became significantly more aware of what is really happening in Serbia.

Money is coming, but so are ideas.

She herself went through different stages of life abroad. Although she never felt like a special party member, the student demands now remind her of what is the common good, which has been curtailed in Serbia for decades.

"These are humanitarian demands, I feel that I could contribute to their implementation," she says.

"Diaspora is a specific term, and many associate it only with the money that arrives in Serbia, with that kind of aid. Now, when we have received a request for elections and we see that students, the opposition and citizens communicate significantly better, we think that we have also helped something."

Pressure on both the EU and the US

The Assembly also deals with putting pressure on the EU and the USA for support
democratic forces in the country, as well as by initiating actions where it can be directly influenced, namely the countries where the members live.

The goal is to influence the media and political scene of these countries in providing support for the democratic changes taking place in Serbia.