MULTIETHNIC GROUP OF VOLUNTEERS FROM SOUTH SERBIA AND SANDZAK

22. July 2014.

During a great struggle to protect ourselves from floods, we failed to provide a full coverage of our volunteers and rescue workers, of whom there were many. They were coming from urban and rural areas, as well as from nationally homogeneous and mixed ones.

These volunteers include a multi-ethnic group of about twenty young men and women from South Serbia and Sandzak, young Albanians, Roma, Serbs and Bosniaks. Through cooperation with the student organization of Paracin, they tried, at least symbolicallyand by taking simple activities, to assist with the reconstruction of the city affected by floods. Solidarity, volunteerism and activism, which are aimed at building their communities, mutual respect and support, regardless of their national differences and despite the divisions, are common values of these young people.

The performers of the clean-Paracin activity were supported by international donors, as well as by local self-governments and entrepreneurs. Prior to coming to Paracin, these young people undertook 22 local activities that mobilized over 3, 000 people. They built 11 ramps for people with disabilities, painted a total of 1.5 kilometers of fences in primary schools and kindergartens, as well as old people's homes and community centers. They put in order city parks and stadiums and cleaned kilometers of the abandoned lake shores and river banks. They also marked important international holidays, such as the Day of Europe and Human Rights , the Aids Day and the International Day against Tobacco Smoke.

These young people brought another major change to their environments. They began to socialize and learn from each other and about each other. In Bujanovac, for the first time in many years, one can see young Albanians, Serbs and Roma sitting together in cafes and restaurants. And not only that. Religious holidays are now marked in the homes of most of these young people by the presence of their friends that follow other religions. One of them, an Albanian who didn't know a word of Serbian, learned Serbian songs, which he sang in Novi Pazar, where he was visiting his male and female colleagues.

These young people realized that they had lived next to each other but not with each other for a long time and decided that that must come to an end.

It would be good if the activities of such young people could be more supported and if they received more media coverage, if more funds were invested in the implementation of similar programs and if their volunteering and advanced training could be ensured, thereby enabling them to be creative, hardworking and to believe. The results will come.

Source: “Politika“ daily and Coordination Body