
Serbian students are leading the country’s largest protest movement in decades. The wave of demonstrations first erupted in November after a roof collapsed at the main railway station in the city of Novi Sad, killing 15 people. The station had just been built, but safety regulations were ignored during construction. The Serbian people blame this preventable disaster on the corruption among the country’s political elite and business leaders, a well-known problem that is also blamed for the widespread job insecurity faced by workers and students.
In the last several weeks, the mobilization has only grown. In December, ten thousand people attended a protest in the capital city of Belgrade and, in the last several days, students, farmers, and workers joined together for nationwide blockades. Schools and small businesses closed during a one-day general strike, and hundreds of students marched 50 miles from Belgrade to Novi Sad to mark the three-month anniversary of the roof collapse. Groups of motorcyclists have shown up to protect the demonstrators, and many taxi drivers offer free rides to and from the protests.
Faced with enormous and mounting pressure from the people, the Serbian prime minister and the mayor of Novi Sad recently announced their resignations. However, their political ally, President Aleksandar Vučić remains in power, and he is dismissing the protestors as “foreign influence.”
The Serbian students and working class know that the appointment of a new prime minister will not bring an end to corruption and poverty, and it seems that the protests will not end any time soon. The youth of Serbia deserve to see a real future for themselves. Let’s hope that their movement can grow to challenge not just the current bosses, but the system as a whole.