The annual school day, like any other. I was getting ready to head in to sing with the school choir, just as I had for the last four years on this special occasion. The usual dilemma:\u00a0Should I take the train, rest and focus on the performance, or brace the crowded, thirty-minute bus ride? Perhaps I could wait and see if anyone was driving.<\/em><\/p>\n That single choice probably saved my life that day.<\/p>\n At 1:00 PM, an hour and a half after our choir performance, I finally turned on my phone. Twenty-five missed calls \u2013 from my mom and my best friend. My mom didn\u2019t answer when I called back, but my best friend did.\u00a0\u201cI thought you were there,\u201d she sobbed. \u201cYou wrote in the group that you would most likely take the train.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>That was how I found out: The train station canopy in Novi Sad had collapsed.I rushed home to grab my documents and headed out to donate blood.<\/p>\n That evening, around 7:00 PM, my best friend and I stood near the station, watching the rescue efforts \u2013 seven hours later, they were still digging through the wreckage.By then, eleven victims had been confirmed. The count later rose to fifteen, and tragically, in March of this year, a sixteenth person succumbed to their injuries.<\/p>\n As if in a vicious circle, we are all still in shock, unable to process anything. The tribute we paid in front of our high school turned violent. Students and teachers were attacked by local municipal officials and thugs from Sremski Karlovci \u2013 the police did not react. Students and teachers from our school were verbally and physically assaulted simply because they were paying tribute to the tragic victims.<\/p>\n Something else happened. Our professors stood with us, taking a stand against violence and against a regime that feeds on corruption. They suspended classes. This action restored my hope in people \u2013 that there are still those who will fight for justice, no matter how difficult it proves to be at the end of the day.<\/p>\n Although from that day forward I never returned to the high school desk, in the secondary school I dearly loved, I knew that this had happened so that we could have a tomorrow. I knew that our professors had done the right thing and taught us one of the most important lessons.<\/p>\n A few days before the blockade of the three bridges in Novi Sad, I decided that I would volunteer as a security guard at the protests. My first time participating as a security guard was precisely at the Three Bridges protest. Twelve hours later, I was no longer physically or mentally able to continue. That was truly a test of endurance, but I am very glad I had the opportunity to be a part of that protest.<\/p>\n Our professors are still suspending classes. We, the students, organized several humanitarian actions with them. All of this marked my fourth year of high school; we spent it together, helping each other.<\/p>\n I walked with my peers and served as a high school security guard during the walk from Novi Sad to Belgrade for the 15for15 protest.<\/p>\n Movement from Novi Sad.\u00a0<\/strong>One of the most beautiful moments during all these events was when we were taking a break in Sremski Karlovci \u2013 we all started singing \u201cZa milion godina\u201d (For a Million Years), surrounded by our friends who came to see us off and support us.<\/p>\n March 14, 2025. Belgrade.\u00a0<\/strong>We arrived. 90 kilometers covered, one of the most difficult things I have ever experienced. Too many injuries, I wouldn\u2019t even be able to list them all, but the moment I stood with my friends on Branko\u2019s Bridge on March 14th, waiting to cross it, I will never forget. The moment we stepped onto Slavija Square, my friend and I just screamed:\u00a0\u201cWe did it!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n March 15, 2025. Slavija.\u00a0<\/strong>Although we were exhausted, we continued straight to Slavija so we could arrive for the 15 minutes of silence at 7 PM.<\/p>\n 15 minutes of silence. 7:11 PM (19:11)\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 I was looking at the monitor on Slavija which displayed the time. At one moment, the monitor went out, and I lost the signal on my phone, which was the only one in our entire group. Ambulance and police sirens started. Blue flares \u2013 the sign of the thugs \u2013 lit up, and I heard a noise \u2013 it sounded like very loud buzzing. At that moment, I didn\u2019t know it was a sonic weapon. Even after all this time, I still cannot fully process everything that happened then.<\/p>\n I was lying on the sofa, drinking coffee, and I turned on the news\u2014the boy who was injured beneath the canopy had passed away after four months. The 16th victim. A few hours later, it was announced that there would be a gathering in front of the School of Economics at 11:52 PM for a 16-minute tribute.<\/p>\n I will never forget that sight\u201416 red balloons were released one after the other; after each balloon, a minute of silence, then the name of one victim. The girl, a friend of the deceased boy, collapsed in front of the school. Parents and students wept. The emotions were surreal.<\/p>\n We started the blockade of our school on April 23rd<\/sup>. Our professors ended the suspension of classes after four months due to pressure, reduced and missing salaries. After that, we took responsibility, because they had sacrificed too much for us. Those days passed through a fog. The thugs threatened us multiple times during the blockade. We had to sleep in shifts just in case someone broke in and attacked us. Many sleepless hours are behind me from that period.<\/p>\n May 3<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 During the blockade, we marked another tragic date, May 3rd<\/sup>, the day when, in 2023, 9 children and the school guard were killed in the shooting at the \u201cVladislav Ribnikar\u201d Primary School in Belgrade. Together with citizens, students, and professors, we observed 26 minutes of silence \u2013 16 minutes for the victims of the canopy collapse and 10 for those killed at Ribnikar.<\/p>\n May 23<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 The last day of high school. The day we said goodbye to the gymnasium after four years. The most beautiful moment of that day was when all of us, embraced, sang \u201cZa milion godina\u201d (For a Million Years<\/em>).<\/p>\n Students symbolically gave the citizens a \u201cgreen light\u201d at the protest on June 28th<\/sup>\u00a0in Belgrade and called on the public to continue the fight. From that moment, the regime\u2019s repression became increasingly brutal, reaching its culmination in August.<\/p>\n On August 13th, a voice was heard over the loudspeakers of shopping centers, warning us to be cautious on the streets and to avoid Stra\u017eilovska Street in Novi Sad, where pyrotechnics were being fired at students and citizens.<\/p>\n After 16 minutes of silence in Novi Sad, the police brutally attacked citizens and students on the Novi Sad University campus. You could see nothing and could not breathe due to the tear gas. CN gas, which is not used as tear gas anywhere else in the world, was deployed against innocent citizens. Many citizens had unusual symptoms that day, such as swelling hands and excessive sweating. The police beat citizens to exhaustion. Officers rampaged through the city with batons; they showed no mercy. Too many disturbing scenes this month.<\/p>\n 11 months, 16 victims, 0 accountability. I stood in front of the Railway Station with my friends, looking at the candles and plush toys placed in memory of the victims, and I couldn\u2019t stop myself from crying. After the 16 minutes of silence, the students called on all citizens of Serbia to come to Novi Sad on November 1st for the anniversary of the canopy collapse.<\/p>\nNovember and December 2024: At school.<\/strong><\/h4>\n
January 21, 2025: The Start of the Second Semester.<\/strong><\/h4>\n
February 1, 2025: Three Bridges Protest in Novi Sad.<\/strong><\/h4>\n
February and March 2025: Solidarity actions<\/strong>.<\/h4>\n
March 13, 14, 15, 2025: Belgrade.<\/strong><\/h4>\n
March 21, 2025<\/strong><\/h4>\n
April and May 2025: School Blockade.<\/strong><\/h4>\n
August 2025: Citizens\u2019 protest and regime\u2019s repression.<\/strong><\/h4>\n
September 5, 2025<\/strong><\/h4>\n
October 1, 2025<\/strong>:\u00a011 months since the canopy collapsed<\/strong>.<\/h4>\n
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