While Serbs in many American cities and states are fighting for their voting rights and calling for new polling stations to be opened outside those already operating at embassies and consulates, the Matić family from Detroit has decided to take their voting destiny into their own hands!
And so the three of them, mother Olivera, father Saša and son Mateja, will set off by car on October 23 to vote, traveling from the city where they live, Detroit, to Chicago, where the Serbian Consulate and polling station are located.
Five hours of driving is not a short trip, but for them, as they say, it is not a problem.
-We will most likely leave on Friday evening so that we can arrive safely and be ready to vote on Saturday morning, October 24 (in the U.S., voting takes place one day earlier than in Serbia). We do not want to leave anything to chance because these are crucial elections for our Serbia. We want to support our youth, our intelligence, our future, so these days we are also motivating others to follow in our footsteps. We are calling friends in Detroit, Michigan, as well as in other states and cities, sending them instructions and reminding them to register to vote. We have already managed to convince some of them, so several friends from Michigan, as well as from Milwaukee, will join us in Chicago, Olivera Matić told Serbian Times.
WHEN SERBIA CALLS, NOTHING IS DIFFICULT: Mateja, Olivera, Miona and Saša Matić
She contacted us from California, where she is visiting her daughter with her husband, who is completing her master’s studies.
-We are getting ready to celebrate her graduation, but today we also helped her submit her application to vote at the Consulate in Chicago, and to emphasize that she wants to vote in Los Angeles, where a large number of our people have organized and are calling for a new polling station to be opened.
Olivera says their children were born in Toronto, far from Serbia, but that they speak Serbian well and follow what is happening in Serbia.
-Last year, we all went to Serbia together, took part in the student protests, felt that enormous energy, and even then agreed that we would vote when the time came. We all care about change coming to our homeland because it is clear that things cannot continue like this, our interviewee emphasizes, adding that she and her husband also drove to Chicago on election day the previous two times.
TOGETHER AT THE STUDENT PROTESTS IN SERBIA: The Matić family
And while some members of the Serbian diaspora do not see the point of going to the polls, she disagrees:
-Every vote matters, ours from the diaspora just as much as those from Serbia. If that were not the case, they would not be fighting to open new polling stations. Maybe it seems unimportant to someone in the diaspora, but not to us. Even though we do not live in Serbia, it is our country and we care about it, and these elections are a matter of “to be or not to be.” Finally, a new, untainted force has emerged that can drive away the darkness and give us a new chance and a new beginning, Olivera Matić told us at the end of the conversation.
Voting More Important Than a Concert
Olivera and Saša’s son Mateja was supposed to perform on Saturday, October 23, with his rock band Zastava, in which he is the singer, guitarist and leader, but he postponed the concert due to “force majeure” – the elections!
-Mateja really wants to fulfill his civic duty and support the students, so he decided that instead of performing, he would travel with us to Chicago. There will be time for the band and music, Serbia is the priority at this moment, Olivera says.
Source: Antonije Kovačević Foto: Privatna arhiva
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