Students who set off for Strasbourg by bicycle have arrived in Budapest, where they were welcomed in Heroes’ Square by a large number of Serbs from the diaspora who treated them to gastronomic specialties and shouts of “Pumpaj!” (“Pump it up!”).
Among those who welcomed the students was the Mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karácsony.
As Karácsony told N1, many people in Hungary support Serbian students and are very happy that they are coming.
MAGNIFICENT WELCOME: Serbian students in Budapest Photo: Nemanja Pančić, Nova.rs
When asked how familiar people in Hungary are with the situation in Serbia and the reasons why Serbian students are cycling to Strasbourg, he says that they are quite well aware of what is happening.
“It’s a bit different here since Hungary is in the European Union. Since the Serbian and Hungarian governments are in some kind of pact, Hungarian and Serbian democrats should also be in some kind of pact,” he states.
He also points out that they have been following the situation since the collapse of the canopy in Novi Sad on November 1st last year.
“We have been following everything that could be seen in the Hungarian press. There were also protests here in those months. We can absolutely understand what is happening there,” says the Mayor of Budapest.
He also mentions that he is a cyclist himself, and that the students’ move from Serbia is a plus.
“It is very good to ride a bicycle, and it is a message to Europe that we are moving towards a better society.”
When asked if Europe should pay a little more attention to the Western Balkans region, he says:
“Europe still needs to change. There are democrats and autocratic regimes, and we should strive for it to become a democratic Europe.”
REFRESHMENT: After a tiring journey, the diaspora organized a welcome Photo: Nemanja Pančić, Nova
He says that the Hungarian police’s treatment of the students is probably not the best because they have a lot of work since there are also protests in Pest, but he hopes that the treatment will improve.
Source: Nova.rs Photo: Nemanja Pančić Screenshot: N1
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