Our story / наша прича
second park event (18/09/16) - storytelling
Currently, around 300 people on the move are making their temporary homes in the city of Belgrade. They do not have plans to stay in Serbia but are trapped by the closed borders of Croatia and Hungary. As foreigners in the country – without language skills, documents, and easy access to information, they face an incredible amount of pressure, confusion, and bureaucratic barriers in their personal efforts to continue their journeys west.
At the same time, they are also dealing with outside pressure from those who think they should not be in Serbia. Prime minister Aleksandar Vučić has gone so far as to identify these migrants as one of the biggest problems facing Serbia at the moment.
For these individuals, the area around the parks in Belgrade has become an important place to find support, form community and to socialize. While there are "refugee camps" around Serbia, these facilities do not offer the same resources or sense of freedom as does the city. In camps, people are isolated away from the rest of society in a place they haven't chosen – without the opportunity for activities we take for granted such as buying a cup or coffee or walking down the street.
Although the parks have their problems - the grass is gone, orange fences still exist, the hygienic situation is unacceptable, and people face repression on a daily basis, this area continues to be the place where people prefer to stay. The parks are situated in the city with resources that cannot be found in camp.
Unfortunately, the situation in the parks has been perceived as a problem by various groups of people and passersby. Some don't understand why so many people are around and there are those who have made efforts to make the men and women in the area feel unwelcome. This problem can only be overcome by an increase of knowledge and understanding – by communicating and identifying common ground and common struggles.
Because of this, the event on Sunday will begin with an open mic activity. It's a chance to encourage dialogue from all sides and to see others as they are; not as Serbian, Pakistani, German, American, Afghani, Moroccan, etc. – but as people, all with individual childhoods, families, ideas, talents and dreams.
The goal of the day is to promote feelings of mutual support and acceptance in order to create a space where all can feel comfortable – whether they are here for a long time or just passing through.
At the same time, they are also dealing with outside pressure from those who think they should not be in Serbia. Prime minister Aleksandar Vučić has gone so far as to identify these migrants as one of the biggest problems facing Serbia at the moment.
For these individuals, the area around the parks in Belgrade has become an important place to find support, form community and to socialize. While there are "refugee camps" around Serbia, these facilities do not offer the same resources or sense of freedom as does the city. In camps, people are isolated away from the rest of society in a place they haven't chosen – without the opportunity for activities we take for granted such as buying a cup or coffee or walking down the street.
Although the parks have their problems - the grass is gone, orange fences still exist, the hygienic situation is unacceptable, and people face repression on a daily basis, this area continues to be the place where people prefer to stay. The parks are situated in the city with resources that cannot be found in camp.
Unfortunately, the situation in the parks has been perceived as a problem by various groups of people and passersby. Some don't understand why so many people are around and there are those who have made efforts to make the men and women in the area feel unwelcome. This problem can only be overcome by an increase of knowledge and understanding – by communicating and identifying common ground and common struggles.
Because of this, the event on Sunday will begin with an open mic activity. It's a chance to encourage dialogue from all sides and to see others as they are; not as Serbian, Pakistani, German, American, Afghani, Moroccan, etc. – but as people, all with individual childhoods, families, ideas, talents and dreams.
The goal of the day is to promote feelings of mutual support and acceptance in order to create a space where all can feel comfortable – whether they are here for a long time or just passing through.
Trenutno je oko 300 ljudi zaglavljeno u Beogradu. Najveća većina njih ne želi da ostane u Srbiji ali su zarobljeni zbog zatvorenih granica.
Bez znanja jezika, bez dokumenata, i dostupa informacijama, suočavaju se sa kriminalizacijom i ilegalizacijom, ekstremno militarizovanim granicama,
konfuznim i nefunkcionalnim sistemom azila i birokratije, sprečeni da nastave svoj put.
Mediji su preplavljeni anti-migrantskom propagandom, istovremeno sve više raste netrpeljivost lokalnog stanovništva, što se dalo očekivati posle besmislenih
izjava poput Vučićeve, da su migranti trenutno najveći problem u Srbiji.
Za ljude koji su zarobljeni u Srbiji parkovi u blizini železničke stanice su važna mesta za socijalizaciju, formiranje zajednice i dobijanje podrške. Takozvani kampovi, prihvatni centri su uvek smešteni na neka izolovana mesta, daleko od grada i ostatka društva, najčešće su krcati, uslovi neljudski, i ljudi ta mesta doživljavaju kao nebezbedna - u kojima ih često zaključavaju i ponižavaju.
Iako su ljudi i u parkovima izloženi svakodnevnoj represiji - prvo im je bilo zabranjeno da sede na travi, posle su postavljene narandžaste ograde da bi ih oterali iz parkova, higijenski uslovi su teški, policija i zaposleni Komesarijata ih stalno uznemiravaju itd. - ljudi ipak radije ostaju u parkovima imajući makar neki osećaj nezavisnosti i slobode.
Nažalost ljudi u parkovima su postali meta besa, frustracija i nezadovoljstva lokalnog stanovništva, kao rezultat bede i teške situacije u zemlji.
Ljudi nemaju razumevanja, očigledno su potpuno ne(dez)informisani, nezainteresovani, zatrovani mržnjom i nacionalizmom.
Ovaj potpuni promašaj pogrešno usmerenog besa može da se prevaziđe jedino putem informisanja i boljeg razumevanja suštinskih zajedničkih problema, pružanjem prilike za komunikaciju, i putem prepoznavanja tla za zajedničku borbu za dostojanstven život.
Zbog toga, okupljanje u nedelju će početi sa otvorenim mikrofonom. To je prilika da se ohrabri dijalog mađu nama, da prestanemo percipirati jedni druge kao - srbe, pakistance, nemce, hrvate, afganistance, marokance itd. - već kao ljude, pojedince sa idejama, talentima, i snovima.
Ideja i cilj okupljanja je širenje osećaja međusobne podrške i prihvatanja, kreiranje mesta gde će se svi osećati prijatno i udobno.
Bez znanja jezika, bez dokumenata, i dostupa informacijama, suočavaju se sa kriminalizacijom i ilegalizacijom, ekstremno militarizovanim granicama,
konfuznim i nefunkcionalnim sistemom azila i birokratije, sprečeni da nastave svoj put.
Mediji su preplavljeni anti-migrantskom propagandom, istovremeno sve više raste netrpeljivost lokalnog stanovništva, što se dalo očekivati posle besmislenih
izjava poput Vučićeve, da su migranti trenutno najveći problem u Srbiji.
Za ljude koji su zarobljeni u Srbiji parkovi u blizini železničke stanice su važna mesta za socijalizaciju, formiranje zajednice i dobijanje podrške. Takozvani kampovi, prihvatni centri su uvek smešteni na neka izolovana mesta, daleko od grada i ostatka društva, najčešće su krcati, uslovi neljudski, i ljudi ta mesta doživljavaju kao nebezbedna - u kojima ih često zaključavaju i ponižavaju.
Iako su ljudi i u parkovima izloženi svakodnevnoj represiji - prvo im je bilo zabranjeno da sede na travi, posle su postavljene narandžaste ograde da bi ih oterali iz parkova, higijenski uslovi su teški, policija i zaposleni Komesarijata ih stalno uznemiravaju itd. - ljudi ipak radije ostaju u parkovima imajući makar neki osećaj nezavisnosti i slobode.
Nažalost ljudi u parkovima su postali meta besa, frustracija i nezadovoljstva lokalnog stanovništva, kao rezultat bede i teške situacije u zemlji.
Ljudi nemaju razumevanja, očigledno su potpuno ne(dez)informisani, nezainteresovani, zatrovani mržnjom i nacionalizmom.
Ovaj potpuni promašaj pogrešno usmerenog besa može da se prevaziđe jedino putem informisanja i boljeg razumevanja suštinskih zajedničkih problema, pružanjem prilike za komunikaciju, i putem prepoznavanja tla za zajedničku borbu za dostojanstven život.
Zbog toga, okupljanje u nedelju će početi sa otvorenim mikrofonom. To je prilika da se ohrabri dijalog mađu nama, da prestanemo percipirati jedni druge kao - srbe, pakistance, nemce, hrvate, afganistance, marokance itd. - već kao ljude, pojedince sa idejama, talentima, i snovima.
Ideja i cilj okupljanja je širenje osećaja međusobne podrške i prihvatanja, kreiranje mesta gde će se svi osećati prijatno i udobno.
first park event (14/08/16)
lets take back the park
For two weeks now there have been these horrible orange plastic fences in the parks around the bus/train station. They have made a division and become a blockade for everyone who wants to use the park. So let's take these dividers and reuse them in our own way, in a constructive manner instead of a useless barrier. We believe that the municipality of Belgrade is neither willing nor capable of making the park a place for all people, well, so let's do it ourselves – as people who use the space. Instead of having the plastic fences as a sign of cruelty, let's use them as a platform to showcase community and solidarity. We would like to use the fences as a gallery, a cinema, an art workshop, a place to express frustration as well as positive ideas. Let's have a night in defiance of the oppression represented by the fences. Let's take what has never been really ours!
We invite you to our all day community festival “the parks are for all”
Sunday from 4pm until 3am
At the park at the faculty of economy
Sunday from 4pm until 3am
At the park at the faculty of economy
what happened
Since the government put up the orange fences two weeks ago, the park became an unlivable place for everyone – be it people on the move or people living in Belgrade. The official reason for the fences is to plant new grass – this is nonsense since everyone knows that grass does not grow in this season. Instead, the real reason behind it is to be another form of repression against migrants. The more the inequalities that are forced on us, the more control is needed to keep these inequalities alive.
The orange fences are defacing the image of the parks, making a bad situation for people on the move even worse. More reprehensible is that the fences make it appear as though the migrants are the cause for the destruction of the parks, when in reality it's the government. Therefore these measures are not only enforcing the repression against people staying in the parks but also increasing the negative perception of them.
When we remember the days when the old venues of Miksaliste and the No Border Hostel were torn down to make space for new empty buildings on the riverside and when the parks were evicted in the days before the elections, the orange fences, likewise, repeat the symbolic rhetoric of: this city is not for all.
We believe that the parks should be what they are meant to be: a place to meet, to retreat, to relax and to stroll around. So take your friends, families, ideas and visions and join us in making the parks enjoyable and beautiful again.
Lets unite in the neighbourhood, in the city and in the countryside - against oppression in Belgrade and everywhere.
The orange fences are defacing the image of the parks, making a bad situation for people on the move even worse. More reprehensible is that the fences make it appear as though the migrants are the cause for the destruction of the parks, when in reality it's the government. Therefore these measures are not only enforcing the repression against people staying in the parks but also increasing the negative perception of them.
When we remember the days when the old venues of Miksaliste and the No Border Hostel were torn down to make space for new empty buildings on the riverside and when the parks were evicted in the days before the elections, the orange fences, likewise, repeat the symbolic rhetoric of: this city is not for all.
We believe that the parks should be what they are meant to be: a place to meet, to retreat, to relax and to stroll around. So take your friends, families, ideas and visions and join us in making the parks enjoyable and beautiful again.
Lets unite in the neighbourhood, in the city and in the countryside - against oppression in Belgrade and everywhere.
Park Je Za Sve!
Već dve nedelje su ove jezive narandžaste plastične ograde u parkovima kod železničke i autobuske stanice. Postavljene su da bi na taj tačin sklonili, oterali ljude, a te ograde su sada prepreka i blokada za sve nas koji želimo da se odmorimo i provedemo neko vreme u parku.
Obraćati se onima koji su ih postavili je besmisleno, zato samo sami možemo povratiti parkove, i stroriti prostor za sve nas, koji taj prostor koristimo. Što su nejednakosti koje nam se nameću veće, to je više kontrole potrebno da bi se očuvale.
Umesto plastičnih ograda koji simbolišu destrukciju i represiju, hajde da stvorimo mesto u duhu zajednice i solidarnosti. Želimo naći kreativne načine kako transformisati napetu atmosferu u parkovima (koja je izazvana represijom graničnog režima i segregacijom ) u kreiranje otvorenog prostora za okupljanje, deljenje vremena, ideja, hrane, iskustava itd. . Na taj način želimo prevazići društvene podele i stvoriti priliku za susret i međusobno razumevanje.
Pozivamo vas na samoorganizovani celodnevni događaj „ Park je za sve!“ . Tokom okupljanja biće prilike za filmske projekcije, imrovizovane izložbe, radionice, razgovor i druženje. Kuvat ćemo čaj, ko želi je pozvan/ -a da donese nešto od hrane da podelimo sa svima. Ako imate predloge, ideje veoma ste dobro došli da se uključite u organizaciju.
Povratimo što nam je oduzeto, a što javno dobro! Park je za sve, planeta je za sve!
Obraćati se onima koji su ih postavili je besmisleno, zato samo sami možemo povratiti parkove, i stroriti prostor za sve nas, koji taj prostor koristimo. Što su nejednakosti koje nam se nameću veće, to je više kontrole potrebno da bi se očuvale.
Umesto plastičnih ograda koji simbolišu destrukciju i represiju, hajde da stvorimo mesto u duhu zajednice i solidarnosti. Želimo naći kreativne načine kako transformisati napetu atmosferu u parkovima (koja je izazvana represijom graničnog režima i segregacijom ) u kreiranje otvorenog prostora za okupljanje, deljenje vremena, ideja, hrane, iskustava itd. . Na taj način želimo prevazići društvene podele i stvoriti priliku za susret i međusobno razumevanje.
Pozivamo vas na samoorganizovani celodnevni događaj „ Park je za sve!“ . Tokom okupljanja biće prilike za filmske projekcije, imrovizovane izložbe, radionice, razgovor i druženje. Kuvat ćemo čaj, ko želi je pozvan/ -a da donese nešto od hrane da podelimo sa svima. Ako imate predloge, ideje veoma ste dobro došli da se uključite u organizaciju.
Povratimo što nam je oduzeto, a što javno dobro! Park je za sve, planeta je za sve!
Nedelja, 14.08.2016. od 16h do 3h
Park kod Ekonomskog Fakulteta
Park kod Ekonomskog Fakulteta