| When
we went to Novi Sad by bus we could see wide green fields in which farmers
were working despite the poisonous smoke that was above them, and despite
danger of being hit by bombs. They didn't stop working in fields even
during air raid alarms.
There
was a strong contrast between the beautiful nature which is giving life
and food, and the threatening black smoke rising high in the sky, which
meant death to nature and civilization. Those working farmers were striving
for food, for their families' future, for continuation of life. They
were giving hope with their persistence and calmness, offering us all
courage to hold out. |
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| Approaching Novi Sad our bus always went by the oil refinery which was usually burning for days. Smoke would come in through open windows reminding us of vandalism of Westerners who have chosen this way to torture us in our everyday life. The bus had a stop just next to destroyed tanks of oil and brave citizens were waiting for the bus and some of them descended from it. They lived in Sangaj settlement, mostly inhabited by poor people, workers and farmers. In one bombing many of the Sangaj houses, closest to refinery were destroyed and some people killed and wounded. |
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| In
Novi Sad same scenes: smoke over the city, it went over the railway station
all along to Detelinara settlement, suffocating its inhabitants. I went
by foot to my office, carefully and quickly passing by Police headquarters
building, the alleged NATO targets. With time, when NATO started rocketing
railway bridges, passengers trains and busses, killing hundreds of civilians,
also the railway and bus station buildings became unsafe as possible targets,
so passengers were permitted to wait only outside, because bombing
was expected to happen every minute.
My
working place in the daily newspaper publishing house was also risky,
especially after NATO has destroyed Belgrade and Novi Sad Television,
some radio stations and transmitters all over Serbia. I was never sure
if I'll get out alive from my office. Once I asked my Editor in Chief
are we going to move to underground offices and print, which exist in
our building just for occasion of war, but he said: "Why? We are just
doing our job". Yes, journalists were always protected by the law in
the war time, but with NATO it was different. It showed some different
vision of democracy and open media. We decided to behave as if everything
was happening according to law, as a kind of our defiance and
resistance. In cases when we heard bombers coming over Novi Sad we were
leaving our offices and go downstairs, to the restaurant, which had
two meters thick concrete ceiling. At least, we could be relaxed while
eating our meals, not being afraid that some bomb will drop into our
plate. |
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