I asked her what happened. ‘Upon the arrival at the hotel we were given a magnetic card to enter the room and I did not know how to use it. I had to come down to the reception and ask for help. When they opened the door and let me into the room I realized that I did not know how to turn on the light. I had to come down to the reception again. They looked at me as if I was demented”, my colleague told me sadly, and she was amongst the most successful and educated ones, she spoke foreign languages perfectly and was knowledgable of the issues she dealt with.
But she had one “flaw” – during the years of Milosevic’s rule she had not traveled around the world. During those years, while we were going downhill, the world was changing in all areas of modern technology, the politics and culture, and the ordinary things of everyday life. Even today there are people who would like to convince us that it is best for us to “stop the Earth and get off”, to paraphrase the verses of popular Serbian band “Prljavo kazaliste”. But even if this was possible, the world will continue to change and progress, like it or not. It depends on us whether we will stand in line and wait, turn and move in the opposite direction, or as suggested by the late Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, enter the fast lane and try to reach those who managed to find the finish line well before us. The year ahead will bring us the opportunity to decide where we want to see ourselves and our future. Everything is in our hands and it seems that the decision should not be difficult. And this issue of Novi Magazin in front of you points out at the possibilities.
Just like a child who cannot wait to see what Santa Claus brought him for the New Year, I could hardly wait to see in person a gift we received – the gorgeous bridge over Ada. I know it is not according to the rules, I know that it deserves criticism, but I could not resist, as well as hundreds of other citizens, to stop in the middle of the bridge, get out and enjoy the feeling of pride that we have created something that the world can envy us. It looked so easy – there were no scandals or insinuations, and rules and procedures were followed. When we really want something, we can do it.
The opposite examples are the developments in northern Kosovo and the role of criminal structures in the entire matter, and we bring exclusive research related to this issue. Zvonko Veselinovic and his comtrades certainly do not want to see bridges being built (in both literal and figurative sense), and that rules and laws are being followed. They and their mentors can only function in the dark, secretly and illegally. They probably even think how great it would be if the entire Serbia could function as Mitrovica and become their territory. During the nineties they learned to play by these rules and will try to convince us that it is in our interest to support them. But still, I hope that previous decades have taught us some lessons…