On May 3rd and 4th, Serbia celebrates the Days of Remembrance for the Victims of Mass Murders, dates that were established to remind us all of the two great tragedies that struck the country exactly three years ago and changed it forever. At the “Vladislav Ribnikar” Elementary School in Belgrade, nine of his schoolmates and the school guard were killed by the then 13-year-old KK, and six people were wounded. A day later, in the villages of Dubona and Malo Orašje near Mladenovac, Uroš Blažić (21) killed nine and seriously wounded 12 young people with a firearm.
Although Serbia has not calmed down for three years, especially after another tragedy, the death of 16 people while one was seriously injured, after the fall of the canopy at the railway station in Novi Sad a year and a half ago, caused by the negligence of the state, it seems that the real and effective systemic solutions of the state have been absent.
According to experts, neither those who are most closely connected with victims and loss, nor those who directly or indirectly experienced the consequences of mass shootings, nor society in general, provided the necessary purification and confrontation with a heavy tragedy.
Veran Matić, a former member of the broader Multidisciplinary Team for the formation of the Memorial Center (which the victims have not yet received), tells Danas that even after three years, he is not sure how much those two inconceivable May tragedies have changed us as a society.
– From the very beginning, the regime’s systematic marginalization of the mass murders in Ribnikar, Dubona and Orašje seemed to be an excellent alibi for the majority of our society to escape from this topic on several grounds. Everyone had their own justification for this attitude. Parents, because their children are alive and well, unlike those whose innocent victims were killed. The media, because the injured families were not ready to share their intimacy with the tabloids. The opposition, because it was offended by the attitude of the parents of the victims in Ribnikar regarding the decision on the formation of the parliamentary committee. RTS, which did not consider that dealing with samples of these crimes is the job of a public media service and which did not approach it as a topic to protect and promote the public interest. Some were bothered by the choice of some lawyers. Everyone found their own alibi, says Matić.
And then the Novi Sad canopy happened. Serbia stopped only then, notes the interviewee of Danas.
– Ribnikar, Dubona and Malo Orasje were no longer of interest to anyone – especially not the state that did not systematically take care of all the wounded and survivors. The lack of consensus among parents regarding the fate and future purpose of the site of martyrdom in Ribnikar has fueled the lack of interest. Trials closed to the public contributed to this, some of which were repeated and are still ongoing. And because most of the media are more interested in what a mass murderer does and what he looks like instead of how it is possible for everyone to be so condescending to his father and mother. It’s a shame, because it could have been different. Or it is not because we are simply tolerant and tolerate what is inadmissible to happen in the civilized world, assesses Matić.
As he further states, on several grounds, Matić is not satisfied with the state’s efforts so far in relation to everything related to the May tragedies.
– State officials act as if declaring a Memorial Day is more than enough for them. For the first anniversary, the area in front of the entrance to the part of the school that was formally closed was decorated, and nothing has happened since then. It was very important for the authorities to buy time – among other things, for the students of the classes that were directly affected by the tragedy to transfer to gymnasiums and high schools, and in this way to reduce the justified pressure and dissatisfaction of the parents of the victimized children towards the authorities and representatives of the school. In such circumstances, it is difficult to talk about the actions taken, i.e. prevention, because one gets the impression that the aspiration is to talk about it as little as possible, to remember the May tragedies only on their anniversaries, Matić is clear.
When reminded that last year on May 3rd and 4th, the Belgrade government organized the Family Days event, Matić says that this is another argument why the mayor, as the initiator of that idea, as well as the entire government in this country must change as soon as possible.
– No one apologized for that, but it is quite clear that they are aware of the mistake they made. Especially because the information that this will not happen this year is communicated to the interested public by a parent who is openly close and sympathetic to the current authorities, says Matić.
Matić is convinced that the impossibility of reaching an agreement between the parents, who were connected by a huge tragedy, was welcomed by the representatives of the state as a perfect alibi for reduced actions and inactions.
– Just remember the traumatic actions and appeals of desperate parents to close part of the school – the execution ground forever, manipulative conflicts with authorities and representatives of the school… all these were discouraging episodes that further traumatized the parents and the closest relatives of the victims. Not to mention the government’s clear intention to create discord among parents and thereby weaken them in their efforts to truly change society and the system after the mass murder of their children, Matić reminds.
Matić considers closing the trial to the public a big mistake.
– Dosed and selected selective information “leaked” into the tabloids. On the other hand, the parents of the victims and their defenders adhere to the law so that an image is formed in the public that has no points of contact with the cathartic confrontation with the consequences of a senseless act. “The system didn’t fail” remains the prevailing mantra to this day, the killer is referred to as a “black swan” which contributes to relativizing the responsibility of his parents and creating a narrative that it was fate and nothing could be done about it, which I strongly disagree with. Hence the repeated trials, the dilution which, on the other hand, contributes to the additional victimization of the relatives of the innocent victims, explains Matić.
The working group formed by the state, and the multidisciplinary team formed at the request of the parents, seem to be having a hard time functioning, and are currently undergoing reorganization, according to the members’ statements. The memorial center dedicated to the victims did not move beyond the idea, let alone the projects, the international competition as planned, and finally the construction.
– We need the memorial center so that such tragedies never happen again and to show that the state and society learn from our own mistakes and not push them under the carpet, explains Matić.
On the occasion of the third anniversary of these tragedies, the Victimology Society of Serbia (VDS) sends a message to the public and the state that even today, direct and indirect victims feel the consequences and that it is necessary to establish a clear system for support and continuous assistance to victims in Serbia.
“Remembrance of the victims and an effective response to the needs of their families are a key part of the recovery of the entire society and an important factor in preventing similar tragedies in the future,” VDS told Danas.
The research, which dealt with mapping the needs of direct and indirect victims, as well as those who are the first line of response after mass incidents, included victims’ families, survivors, medical workers, representatives of institutions, the local community, the education system and the media.
Key findings indicated that continued help and support is the key to recovery, as victims’ needs change over time, so it is important to monitor them and support and help them adapt to changes.
“The respondents, especially direct and indirect victims, pointed out that the needs do not end after the first wave of the crisis. In addition to emotional support and medical care, they have a strong need for timely, but verified and official, information about the condition of the injured, the event, the victims and the perpetrator, the course of the court proceedings, and the like. On the other hand, they also need protection from secondary victimization, especially during investigations and court processes, by the media, but also by the public,” the VDS stated.
On a wider societal level, the research participants appeal to the state and institutions to establish clear protocols that will enable a quick mapping of the needs of each individual victim and an effective system response to them.
Veran Matić notes that, despite all the failures and mistakes, at the same time “some cathartic scenes, some pictures, some events are always remembered”.
– The mounds of innocents remain. And the hope that the victims were not in vain, because the time in Serbia is still measured until May 3 and 4, 2023 and after that, Matić said at the end.
We remember…
We remember: Bojana Asović (11), Ana Božović (11), Katarina Martinović (12), Mara Anđelković (13), Ema Kobiljski (13), Sofija Negić (13), Andrije Čikić (14), Adriana Dukić (14), Angelina Aćimović (14) and Dragan Vlahović (53), who lost their lives in the shooting at “Vladislav Ribnikar” elementary school.
We also remember those killed in the massacre in Dubona and Mali Orašje: Nikola Milić (14), Aleksandar Milovanović (17), Marko Mitrović (17), Kristina (18) and Milan Panić (22), Lazar Milovanović (19), Nemanja Stevanović (21), Dalibor Todorović (24) and Petar Mitrović (25).
Follow us on our Facebook and Instagram page, but also on X account. Subscribe to PDF edition of Danas newspaper.
