Amid democratic backsliding across Europe, Serbian students have shown the way to reimagining democracy and governance.
  • @[email protected]English
    28•1 day ago

    It’s hard to really give a true representation of the general atmoaphere in Serbia during these times. For as long as I’ve been conscious, Serbia was a land of cynics and depression. Negativity was the norm, and even I said back in November that these protests would last until new year / Christmas, then the students will go back home to get drunk or whatever and that will be the end of it. If someone had told me 3 months ago that almost the entire country would be optimistic about the future, that there would be a real chance to finally end the rule of SNS, that students would walk over 100km to places and be greeted as liberators by huge masses, fireworks and food, I’d ask them what movie were they watching. Also protests are being held all over the country, so much so that someone made a website to keep track of the future ones: kudanaprotest.rs

    The next big gathering will be in Niš on the 1st of March.

    • poVoqOPMEnglish
      7•21 hours ago

      I really hope they find some way to institutionalize the ideals in these protests and not fall into the trap of having it entirely co-opted by some upstart political party (although totally avoiding that approach might also be unwise).

      I read somewhere else that the labour unions, especially those of teachers etc. are entirely captured by the current government? Maybe that would be a good first target to free or set up alternatives for?

      • @AqariusEnglish
        4•19 hours ago

        IIRC, the official union of education workers just signed a contract that gives away the right to strike in the middle of an ongoing strike.

        Likewise, the official university parliaments voted to resume classes, as the entire rest of the student body physically seized the campus and denied them entry.

        You be the judge.

    • @taiyangEnglish
      10•1 day ago

      Um, students in the US are? It’s the same playbook as the ICE protests here in LA and a few other places, they even closed down major freeways and buildings too. Just because it’s not widely publicized doesn’t mean it’s not happening, this article is literally about that.

      • NoneOfUrBusiness
        8•24 hours ago

        I mean to quote the article, “effectively paralyzing higher education in the country”. It might be the same playbook, but there’s a lot less of it happening.