SOUNDTRACK OF THOUGHTS. VOL. 12
This is my love letter to all brave Serbians, particularly the students. In the last few weeks, they have occupied my thoughts. Their bravery and courage are praiseworthy.
The song I kept on listening to is “Zemlja” (eng. land) from the Serbian band Ekatarina Velika. It says Ovo je zemlja za nas / Ovo je zemlja za sve naše ljude / Ovo je kuća za svu našu decu. It translates to This is land for us / This is land for all our people / This is house for all our children. It became one of the signature songs of the students’ protest. I feel every single word even though I am not on the streets with my fellow Serbian colleagues. Thus, twelve soundtrack of thoughts consist of only one song - “Zemlja” on loop.
Songwriter of “Zemlja” is Milan Mladenović, the man whose lyrics I have tattooed in my head. His voice immediately takes me back to high school. Listening to the record S’ vetrom uz lice was part of my daily routine. When it comes to “Zemlja” his intent wasn’t to write a protest song. The idea for words occurred to him while he contemplated moving abroad to pursue a music career in the 80s. Mladenović said the words čujem - vrati se / čujem - ostani (eng. I hear - come back / I hear - stay) came back to him during that period. In the end, he decided to stay.
Today, people in the streets of Serbia also want to stay and don’t want to give up. They’ve protested for more than two months and it is getting bigger. Every time I see a new video or photograph, I am left speechless. Serbian students know they deserve better. They have the courage to act.
I am ending my love letter, admiring every single one of them.
For more information, I am leaving some useful links in Serbian, Croatian and English.
- The Guardian, ‘We are done with corruption’: how the students of Serbia rose up against the system
- EuroNews, Serbian students continue protests with 80-kilometre march to Novi Sad
- VREME, Na putu za Novi Sad: ‘Al se dobro jelo, baš’
- Srednja.hr, U Srbiji pala Vlada, Vučić po starom, studenti i dalje prosvjeduju: Podržat će ih i zagrebački kolege
- Tportal.hr, Vučićev 'neprijatelj broj 1' za tportal: Režim je postao krindž. Past će prije nego što mislite
- Dnevnik.hr, U Srbiji studenti idu po promjene, najavljen najveći prosvjed dosad: "Mi smo doslovno na granici građanskog rata"
