March 15th is still being talked about. And it will probably be talked about for a long time because that day was the biggest protest that has ever happened in Serbia. These young people, the students, who started all of us and who, instead of us, put their backs forward, will be talked about. These young men and women from different parts of Serbia who walked kilometers and kilometers to get to Belgrade and be part of that big student gathering will be talked about. And the young student Čarna Mušikić (20) from Vrbas, who, despite the enormous pain in her legs, continued to walk with crutches, will also be talked about.
Among the Novi Sad students who walked to Belgrade, two days before the big protest on March 15th, was the young Čarna Mušikić (20), a freshman at the Faculty of Sports and Physical Education in Novi Sad.
She set out on the 100-kilometer journey full of hope, optimism and a cheerful spirit, and then about thirty kilometers before the end of the walk, unforeseen circumstances occurred, which resulted in her ending up on crutches.
Despite the enormous pain she felt and a lot of tears shed, Čarna decided to continue her journey to Belgrade, but on crutches. She tells Nova.rs what her journey was like and says that giving up was never her option, nor was it the option of all the students who continue the blockades.
“I had pains even before I took the crutches, but they were more bearable. However, about thirty kilometers before the end of the road, the pains reached a limit when I could no longer endure. I had an injury to both calves. Both calves cramped and failed, I had an injury to the posterior ligaments. I was in terrible pain. My colleagues helped me, they wrapped my calves, but the pains were too strong. They offered to let me get into the car or tractor that were following us as our escort, however, I didn’t want to. Before Batajnica, I took crutches,” our interlocutor says.
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The desire to continue the journey was too great
Čarna states that the desire to continue the journey on foot was greater than all obstacles, even strong pains.
“We found the crutches by chance, more precisely, they were sticking out through the window of the car that was carrying the walkers’ belongings. We asked the man if I could use them. I knew it wouldn’t be easy on crutches, but my desire for a change of consciousness and for justice was much greater than any pain.”
The impressions, she says, are incredible. She is not yet aware of what happened and what she endured. Not only her, but all her colleagues.
“When I got the crutches, I was at the end of the column. Then at the beginning, about a kilometer and a half in front of me, I saw the flag of my faculty and then I was overcome with the desire to go with my colleagues because I was left far behind them. My phone turned off, I couldn’t call them to wait for me… Those ten kilometers were the longest in my life. And when I caught up with them, emotions kicked in, we hugged and then we cried. That’s when photographer Marko Stevčić took a picture of me. That photo is still circulating on social networks and evokes great emotion in everyone,” Čarna tells us.
The whole journey, Čarna says, was emotional, but the welcome in Belgrade was something she will remember for the rest of her life.
“I will remember that welcome for the rest of my life, believe me. That hope that was awakened in people, their smiles, tears of joy, is really something that cannot be described in words. The feeling is incredible. I don’t want to stand out as an individual just because I was on crutches, because colleagues from Niš and Vranje walked twice as much as we did. So, we are all winners, we united and together we are writing history. It was an honor to walk with the students.”
Her family and friends are proud of her for enduring such a long journey.
“They believed in me, they knew I had a strong will to persevere in this. Their support meant a lot to me, it pushed me forward and gave me the strength to continue.”
She especially thanks the Belgrade students for their hospitality and everything they did for them.
“They prepared a magnificent welcome for us, organized accommodation for us at their faculties… I have no words for their organization except that they fulfilled their task. We who slept at DIF in Košutanjak extended our stay in Belgrade by one day and stayed longer than we should have, that’s how much we enjoyed it. That tells you everything,” she states.
She also referred to the welcomes given to them by the residents of the settlements they passed through before reaching their final destination.
“What kind of people I met… There are no words for them. Wonderful, noble, generous… It’s unbelievable how people woke up. We all got very close because of the blockades. We traveled for two whole days, so we had one overnight stay. We slept in Stara Pazova, in a hall that was prepared for us, but good people gave us their home and roof over our heads. Incredible. As if they’ve known us all our lives. In the end, they cried when we had to continue our journey. Believe me,” she says.
Played guitar during the walk
Čarna, by the way, plays guitar, piano and drums. During this journey, she played guitar during breaks, until she replaced it with crutches.
“I played guitar during breaks. However, when I replaced it with crutches, I had to leave it because it was too difficult for me to carry it. I’m still recovering, my ligaments are swollen, but it will pass, that’s actually the least of the problems. The most important thing is that we fulfilled our task and that we continue our struggle. Until the demands are met,” she says.
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Source: Nova.rs, Foto: Marko Stevčić