Volunteering always means meeting incredible and interesting people. Working in Serbia has been no exception. Living in a small town and not speaking any Serbian (beyond ordering vast amounts of bread - ‘dvadeset hlabova’) made it quite difficult to meet Serbian people. Thankfully Laura and Iva from Novi Sad speak perfect English and it was brilliant working with them when they came to Šid. Here’s what Laura wrote about for me to post.
My name is Laura; I'm 22 years old and was born and have lived my whole life in Novi Sad. For as long as I can remember, I've always believed in the ideals of liberty and equality, which have guided my development both in thought and action. Because of that and extensive research, when I was around 16, I started identifying myself as a leftist, and since turning 18 I've been involved in various activist initiatives - community vegan cooking, student activism, anti-government protests, anti-eviction actions, etc. Currently I am working in an organization working with LGBT+ youth in my home town (I am, in my spare time, transgender and bisexual, which has also shaped my involvement in social justice).
One particular area of interest for me has always been anti-nationalism and anti-war activism. Living in a country which took active part in bloody conflicts throughout its recent history, and which is still very much shaped by ethnic-based politics and the (largely unacknowledged) legacy of war crimes, has certainly helped put these issues at the forefront for me. Because of all that, the so-called "Migrant Crisis" has from the beginning been something I've followed closely and talked about often. The horrible mistreatment of the people on the move, as well as the firing up of the mainstream nationalist, racist and islamophobic rhetoric which all seem to be at the foundation of Serbian society, in my opinion should make this a central issue for all the progressive forces living in this country. At the same time, however, I was living in a city where there's almost no migrant population, and as such no organizations/groups working on this issue, and so I didn't really know how to get involved. Given that, when the opportunity arose for me to come and volunteer at No Name Kitchen (my friend was going there to volunteer and they needed as much help as they could get because everybody else had left due to the Covid-19 restrictions), I felt compelled to immediately seize it. So far I've been to Šid to help out on a couple of occasions, and have been supporting the organization from Novi Sad as much as I can, by organising clothes donations, helping to translate, stuff like that. I'm really glad to have the opportuinty to help out in any way I can, and would love to continue being involved and, if possible, come back there to keep volunteering!
It’s hard to describe how different Serbia feels from Western Europe, and it’s hard to have an idea of a place without some insight from people that grew up here. If you have any questions for Laura or for me, comment below!
One particular area of interest for me has always been anti-nationalism and anti-war activism. Living in a country which took active part in bloody conflicts throughout its recent history, and which is still very much shaped by ethnic-based politics and the (largely unacknowledged) legacy of war crimes, has certainly helped put these issues at the forefront for me. Because of all that, the so-called "Migrant Crisis" has from the beginning been something I've followed closely and talked about often. The horrible mistreatment of the people on the move, as well as the firing up of the mainstream nationalist, racist and islamophobic rhetoric which all seem to be at the foundation of Serbian society, in my opinion should make this a central issue for all the progressive forces living in this country. At the same time, however, I was living in a city where there's almost no migrant population, and as such no organizations/groups working on this issue, and so I didn't really know how to get involved. Given that, when the opportunity arose for me to come and volunteer at No Name Kitchen (my friend was going there to volunteer and they needed as much help as they could get because everybody else had left due to the Covid-19 restrictions), I felt compelled to immediately seize it. So far I've been to Šid to help out on a couple of occasions, and have been supporting the organization from Novi Sad as much as I can, by organising clothes donations, helping to translate, stuff like that. I'm really glad to have the opportuinty to help out in any way I can, and would love to continue being involved and, if possible, come back there to keep volunteering!
It’s hard to describe how different Serbia feels from Western Europe, and it’s hard to have an idea of a place without some insight from people that grew up here. If you have any questions for Laura or for me, comment below!
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