Liberation March

Žeželjev Bridge is full of people. I recognize among them famous faces from the two-day "student march" from Belgrade to Novi Sad. Students walked to block the bridges on February 1, exactly three months after the demolition of the railway station canopy.

"These students woke us up and made us think about what we can do to end this state that exists in the country. We can't let the students do everything, they have already started, but we the older ones have to implement the changes", Olivera Milinković Fajgilj, who came to Novi Sad with her friends from Belgrade for the bridge blockade, told Vreme.

Sights of an incalculable mass of people who came from all over the planet. They responded to the call of students who have been blocking colleges, streets, intersections, and traffic junctions throughout Serbia for two and a half months, in noise and even louder silence, demanding responsibility for the death of 15 people.

Both young and old walked through Novi Sad that day. There were people on the streets who were born during the Second World War, those who swore by Tito, demonstrators from the 1990s, people who lived in five countries while staying in the same house, those whose homes were destroyed in the wars of the 25s, those who waited in lines for bread and milk, who toppled the regime of Slobodan Milosevic, who did not expect that XNUMX years later they would once again seek justice on the street. And all of them were started by students - who weren't even born then.

"I went through wars, the breakup of Yugoslavia, lived in SFRY, FRY, SC, and now in Serbia, witnessed the Fifth of October and waited to experience this kind of revolution in my lifetime. This is a make-up for the 'sixth of October,'" Jasmina Jakovljević, a 60-year-old from Belgrade, told "Vreme" as she stood by the fence of the Žeželev Bridge.

It was Novi Sad City Day, marking the anniversary of the signing of the "Charter of the Free Royal City" in 1748. There was a lot of symbolism in the blockade of two of the three bridges for three hours and the third, the Freedom Bridge, for 27 hours.

As day and night alternated, more and more people were on the streets. The signals of mobile operators faltered, but not the crowd, and above all the students.

On foot, step by step, I walked with them about eighty kilometers along the paths where they "showed endurance, perseverance and lifted up all the places they passed through", attracted the attention of the world media and received a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize. The journey lasted two whole days.

photo: katarina stevanović

SUZE

The students were greeted by numerous passers-by from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in New Belgrade, through Zemun, Batajnica, Nova and Stara Pazova, Inđija, Čortanovce, through Sremski Karlovac, to Petrovaradin and Novi Sad and the train station. Many of them in tears. As if the liberators were passing by.

As the kilometers under their feet increased, the number of weeping people who welcomed them grew. "These are our children, these are emotions," a woman in Batajnica tells me along the way. "They encouraged us to cry," added another.

Walking on the Novi Sad asphalt, a student of the Faculty of Economics in Belgrade carries a bouquet of flowers and wipes away tears. "These are tears of joy, tears that bring freedom. This hike of ours must bring freedom, that's why we're doing it," she tells "Vreme" while her sentence and walk are interrupted by outstretched arms that meet her. With a strong grip, the two girls stop, while part of the column passes by the building of the Security and Information Agency, whistling in protest.

Thousands of people have gathered by the road leading to the railway station. Students are greeted with applause. From the crowd you can hear: "We want justice!", "Novi Sad, Belgrade, stand up now".

Before entering Novi Sad from Petrovaradin, the students from the column arranged themselves in such a way that there are two of them in the first row carrying the flags of the City of Belgrade and the University of Belgrade, followed by fifteen orderlies in yellow vests on which are written the names of the faculty they are from and who are now wearing wreaths of white roses with the names of those who died in the fall of the canopy.

There is also a big banner that says "Some new kids".

SUPPORT

It was around eight o'clock in the evening, 11 hours have passed since the students started the second day of the march to Novi Sad. In the last two hours, as the sun set and the finish line approached, fatigue overtook the walkers' enthusiasm. But, with the support they received from all sides of Petrovaradin streets, windows, terraces, that fatigue disappeared, says one student. Even those who, until a few moments ago, could hardly stand on their feet, were walking now, complaining of blisters and pain in every part of their body. Along the way, someone jokingly said that they would buy new soles when they arrived in Novi Sad. It seems now that his soles have also worked, so he steps better, and the crowd can hear: "We're going to win, there's no giving up." There, an elderly man bows down and says: "Thank you, children."

Upon entering Novi Sad, student Katarina tells "Vreme" that the support they received all the time was unimaginable. "The feeling is unreal. I am very glad that with our initiative we pulled all the others and we hope that even more people will join us towards our goal and that we will inspire them, as their support inspired us", she says.

Around his neck, he wears a medal that was given to all those who walked the route upon entering the center of Novi Sad. These are medals from racing competitions held in previous years.

For Dei Jovanović, a student from Belgrade, this journey restored her faith in love and people.

"They are phenomenal and we couldn't do anything without them. This is not any kind of politics, these are just people who want a better future," she told "Vreme". This time to Novi Sad, he formed them into "a united community that works hard and will stand up for a better tomorrow".

From the Varadin bridge all the way to the center of Novi Sad, a column of people applauded welcoming the "liberators", as one banner said.

photo: katarina stevanović

IT'S NOT JUST STUDENTS HERE

Older fellow citizens were also there. Carrying the "Student Grandma" banner, an elderly lady headed from Novi Belgrade to Novi Sad. Her name is Sofia. She walked persistently from the start all the way to the finish line, slept in a tent on the soccer field in Indjija and, she says, nothing bothered her. After the first day, her hips hurt, but the very next day, she says, "grandma worked out".

Milovan, a retired builder, also left Belgrade with the students. We are talking on the way from Batajnica to Nova Pazova. He says that he walked enough when he was young, but he is not sure that he will last now. He came out to support the students.

"I saw everyone off, and I will see this one off as well. It's better to walk for a year than to take a rifle", he says. When we met the next morning in Inđija, he told me that he was not continuing to Novi Sad after all. "The blisters don't let me go any further," he says in the early morning of the second day of the student route.

Milan, a pensioner, who spends his retirement working in security, arrived in Novi Sad all the while carrying the banner "There are no greater heroes than students and peasants". He comes from Trstenik, the place where, while he is walking supporting students, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić is holding a rally.

Seventy-eight-year-old Kosta Predić also came out of the yard on Batajničko road to greet the students. He waved while the students shouted to him in unison: "Grandpa, we love you!". One student ran up to him and gave him a big hug, while the others continued to thank him. "Oh, I'm an old man, otherwise I would have continued with them," he told "Vreme".

photo: katarina stevanović

FOOD, POEM AND POLITICAL DEBATES

I eavesdrop on conversations along the way. "I think that this kind of atmosphere as it is in the country right now has not been since the hippies protested in the sixties", comments one student. He talks about politics with the other. He says that this is the best way to change something. "We are not asking for resignations, we are asking for respect for the law," he added.

They also comment on the personality of President Aleksandar Vučić. "If he was a real chess player, he would have retired on time," says one of them. "Only if we stay calm like this", his friend replies.

Residents of the neighborhoods through which the students passed gave them food, sweets, fruit, water, juices... From place to place on the first day, the offer became richer and their pockets fuller with various confectionery products. Boxes of cream bananas, candies and other sweets were passed from hand to hand through the group with the comment "send it on", there was also a box of homemade wafers, and after a while the students also started handing out sweets to the children who waved at them on the side of the road.

In Nova Pazova, the students were welcomed with torches, and in addition to the locals, they were also greeted by a group of teachers in front of the elementary school. Both gave short speeches of mutual support and gratitude. The walkers rested a little, took off their shoes for a while, and then continued their journey. They were joined by farmers on tractors on the way to Stara Pazova.

Now some are already complaining about the pain and asking when it will end. "Tomorrow will be easier when everything is numb," says one young man.

And in Stara Pazova, a real feast was arranged. Dozens of tables were filled with various specialties. Many locals greeted the group with raised hands holding phones with lights on. The temperature dropped to nine degrees, but hot soup, beans, stew, roast, barbecue, rolls, pancakes, donuts and many other specialties warmed the bellies.

There is a lot of gathered world - young and old. Sara, a student at the Metropolitan University, tells me that her legs "fall off" and she takes one Panadol with her food. She is visibly tired, like most of those who walk, and the main questions they ask each other are: "How are you holding up?" and "How are the legs?".

One pensioner prepared cakes and went out with her granddaughter. "I'm always in favor of youth and what young people think," she says to "Vreme".

From here, it's a little more than two hours' walk to Indjija. With full bellies, the group moves on after an hour. With shouts: "Thank you for your support" and "Stara Pazova" that can be heard loudly, and the response of the locals: "Thank you, children", "Students, students", the column slowly moves to the last stage - to Inđija. They are followed by applause, and the famous hit with a slightly modified text is heard, which in this group reads: "We walk all day and night". This was heard many more times.

On the road to Indjija, it is pitch dark, broken only by the rotation of the police vehicles leading the convoy. "This is going to give us an epileptic fit," someone in the group said.

Some have found accommodation in Indjija, so they will not spend the night outside. However, a long night awaited most of them under tents and in sleeping bags.

Another train passes, the driver of which greets the walkers with a horn. "What would I give to be in Sokol now", says someone in the column, causing laughter from the others.

In the improvised pharmacy in Indjija, the most requested was something for pain, creams for muscle relaxation, and there was also an ambulance. During the night, they had several interventions - due to elevated temperature, blisters, pain, and several infusions were given.

On this two-day journey, more than 80 kilometers long, the students were accompanied by the police, one fire engine, two tractors and several cars in which there was room for those who could not stand.

The "economic tiger" Tihomir is also on the way. It is worn by Maša, a student at the Faculty of Economics. She spent the night in a tent. Her friend Tara slept at a local discotheque. Last night, he says, the owner of the discotheque came to the football club's field and invited the students to sleep there.

"There was room for about 150 people, but only ten of us accepted the invitation," recounts Tara. The others still decided to stick with the original plan. Although that was not the first plan. At first, the students asked to sleep in the hall, but they did not get permission from the local authorities for that, so they knew what was waiting for them from the beginning of the route.

WHERE DOES THIS ROAD LEAD?

Matija Vemić, a student at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade, is walking with a new acquaintance. They met on this route. For Matija, this is not the first protest, but the previous gatherings did not seem serious to him, but "were too political and party-oriented".

"And for the protest after the fall of the canopy, I thought it was the same thing. However, when I saw that they are not affiliated with any political party, it made me very happy because I saw that they are sincere and because I want all the demands that the students are asking to be met. So many times, terrible things have happened, but at some point, the last straw and responsibility needs to be taken. I think that by visiting the surrounding places and showing how many of us there are and how persistent we are, we raise people's morale. As we were welcomed everywhere, I can see that people are gathering the courage to say what they think", says Matija.

Two guys are wearing shacks on their heads. They headed towards Novi Sad demanding responsibility for what happened on November 1 at the railway station. "Resignations are for nothing if there is no responsibility for the deed", says Matija Obrenović, referring to the resignation of Prime Minister Miloš Vucevic and two ministers. "They can resign, they will only be moved from one place to another," he adds.

The group took a short break for lunch prepared for them by the locals in Chortanovci, and then continued on. At one point, the latest news was heard over the public address system - the students are candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize.

"I don't believe that we will get it, but it is a very big step that we have been proposed for this prestigious award at all." The peace we create with this gathering is a reward in itself", says one of the students.

The students who went from Belgrade to Novi Sad emphasize that the most important thing is that they persevered. And that he will persevere.