It was Thursday, May 14th. Veroljub Saric, who kept counting until his 90th birthday and protest "Slavija, you and me" - those two events coincided on the same day - he found himself, as usual, at 11.52 at the intersection in front of the Faculty of Law. From there he came from Voždovac, where he lives. Sixteen minutes of silence was broken by a car driver who drove into the crowd. While the people were taking cover, the driver went into reverse and hit Veroljub. The result – a serious injury to the hip, that is, a fracture of the upper part of the femur. In the following days, Sarić underwent an operation and an artificial hip was implanted, but he still celebrated his ninetieth birthday at Slavia on May 23, with a cake brought to him by the students.
In addition to Veroljub proving his strength of mind and body, for the last year and a half it has been seen that solidarity in Serbia is still alive. Namely, on the day when it became known that he would be operated on, physiotherapist Lazar Pavlović was aware that Sarić would need help and offered to work with him without compensation in order for him to recover as soon as possible after the operation and injury. That's what happened. And visiting nurse Milena Radović, seeing Lazar's post on social networks, joined in - she bandaged Sarić every other day until the sutures were removed.
We talk with Veroljub Sarić on a bench under a linden tree in front of the clinic where he is waiting for a medical examination. There is an unimaginable crowd inside: people are pushing with crutches, in wheelchairs and casts... That's why we went out for fresh air. I asked him several times if all this was exhausting him. He smiles and shakes his head: "Why would I get tired?"
We talk a little bit about everything, about why he doesn't miss the protests, what Serbia is like today and what it should be like.
"HE NEVER DID ANYTHING."
He was born on May 23, 1936 in the village of Tulari near Ub. His were the peasants. After serving in the army, he came to Belgrade and got a job as a manual worker.
"At that time, I had four grades of elementary school," he says. While he was working, he continued his education. In the end, he became a senior electromechanic - he worked in a transformer factory in Ripnje. He is satisfied with what life has intended for him and what he has made of life. "But it seems to me, if I were to start all over again now, I would only now know what I would do and how."
What, by all accounts, he would never change were the thousands of footsteps left on countless protest marches.
"I've been at the protests ever since I've been in Belgrade. I was also there in 1968, when we were going from New Belgrade to the city. Those students were like me, more or less the same generation. After 1996/1997, out of the 88 days that the protests lasted, I was only absent for two days. And then in Kolarčeva, cordon against cordon, now I'm constantly with these students..."
Is it hard? No, he answers before I can finish the question. He adds that he was almost always against politicians in power.
"I remember well when Tito came, I was 12-13 years old. Dedi took the land. And Vučić took my pension. He is a hundred times worse than Tito."
He talked about Vučić briefly: "I know him well, he never did anything..." Later during the conversation, Veroljub added: "You know, neither Vučić nor Dacić are in power now, but Milošević and Šešelj. They rule. And these two are just passing on their ideas. Ordinary pawns."
WAITING FOR SMART PEOPLE
A good number of pensioners, unlike him, support the current government. I ask him why he thinks that is so.
"Our people are obedient. We all have heads - both animals and humans. But it all depends on what kind of brain you have. You either know how to think or you don't, and then you listen to others," he explains. "And there is something else - lies are believed more than the truth."
However, he is an optimist. "Students have done a lot. And professors, doctors will come to power... I also followed those from 'Proglas.'
When Veroljub says "this is Vučić's", he is referring to the contracts that were concluded during the current government and were to the detriment of the state, to bad laws, to the appointments of people who did not deserve to be there. Then he lists what he hopes for. To begin with - that the courts work.
"Until they came to power, they (SNS) talked about millionaires and how they would deal with them. And now, compared to them, these millionaires are poor."
He goes on about how no government is good, only some are worse. He thinks very badly of politicians, but he is aware that they are not all the same: "Not even all the fingers on the hand are the same, let alone people..."
So who does he appreciate? "Đinđić was smart. I was a member of the Democratic Party. And I didn't like him right away, but when I saw how he works... To this day, I always bring his photo to protests."
ABOUT THE LOST AND SILENCE
It was at the protest that he was hit by a car. The recovery is still ongoing. When I mentioned that, he immediately pointed out that he was not the only one who was hit, but that they also hit the students. He said this on May 21 from the hospital room, and was reported by the media: "They trampled on children enough, they better trample on us old people - when it has to be. How many students were injured, how many were caught, what they didn't do to them."
I also asked him what he thought was going on in the mind of someone who does something like that - continues driving instead of stopping, and then injures another person.
"These are the people who benefit," he replies. But I don't think they are paid. But there are those who have a head but no brain. Those people are delusional. It's no wonder. Vučić says that anyone who is against him is a traitor, an Ustasha! Hey, students, he tells those kids that they are Ustashas!"
To the observation that he doesn't look angry while we're talking about it, Veroljub says: "Well, there's nothing to be angry about. If you drive a car, and I've been driving it for 40 years, when you see someone in front of you - you stop. But walking and stepping on it... It doesn't make sense. His father called me, he says he didn't want that. But if you're a normal person, if you respect something, believe in something, when the procession passes by - you stop."
However, Veroljub believes that, as much as he was hurt and damaged, he still gained something from what happened in another way. He explains that he is a popular man, that students visited him every day and offered help.
He had another, unexpected visitor in the hospital. It was Thursday night, he was lying in pain and sleeping.
"Later, my roommate says to me: 'You know who was there for you?' Who? 'Was minister Lončar.' I realized that he did not come because of me, but because of the students who were in front of the hospital with the slogans 'Veroljub, the students are with you'", says Veroljub and laughs.
Would he have said something to Minister Lončar if he had found him awake?
“I wouldn’t tell him anything.”
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TOMORROW?
He says that he does not intend to reconcile and that he will continue to protest. Don't be afraid. "I've never had any problems with the police. I prepare well, I go and, as they say, it's a free zone."
On the other hand, he is deeply disappointed with the opposition. He believes that they should have left the Assembly and that they should have been more active. Finally, he is convinced that there is nothing to be gained from the elections this year. He predicts that Vučić will call for presidential elections next year, and after that his downfall will follow.
What would be his advice to students and to the rebellious society in general? "Persistence. Just persistence. He who endures, he wins."
Recipes for life
ABOUT VITALITY: "I walk a lot, sitting and lying down is murder. And big food is murder. Whenever I go somewhere to celebrate, I eat just enough so that after an hour I can eat so much more. And someone gets caught, it's not good for him. I know this from the village, autumn comes, the corn starts, that pig is imprisoned, they feed it and feed it for two months, then it falls on its feet - butcher, you have meat. And food kills a man."
ABOUT TRAVELS: "I like to travel. I was in Peru for a month, my aunt's sister lived there. I was at sea in Greece and Turkey. It takes two days to get there by bus, but it was interesting for me. I like to see. The more you pass and see, the more it's worth."
ABOUT THE COMPANY: "You are who you are. If you associate with good people, you will be good. If you associate with drunkards, you will also start drinking. And the more you associate with good people, you also acquire culture. Culture is not acquired only through science. You have people of great science, and the one from the village who has no school is more cultured."
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