Milomir Ja\u0107imovi\u0107 (49), a bus operator from the village of \u017dabalj, has been on a hunger strike for three days together with his son Milan (16). The strike began after the state seized all seven of his buses, and in the past few months, he has received dozens of fines amounting to millions, which he cannot and does not want to pay, as he claims they are unlawful. In tears, he told Nova.rs that his heart breaks when he hears his child\u2019s stomach growling at night, and that his son has been alone with him, he emphasizes, since he was two and a half months old. Although he begged him not to go on hunger strike, his son stayed by his side. Now, as he claims, they are threatening to take his child away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the heroes of the student protests, Milomir Ja\u0107imovi\u0107, who over time became a symbol of resistance to the SNS regime, became known to the public when, because of his support for the students \u2014 specifically providing free transportation to their gatherings \u2014 he was repeatedly stopped, fined, and eventually had his vehicles confiscated, thus being prevented from working, while also facing numerous pressures and intimidations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Friday, November 7, they took away his last bus, after which he decided to go on a hunger strike, and his underage son Milan joined him in this radical act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an interview with Nova.rs, Ja\u0107imovi\u0107 says he is fine and will not give up until the authorities meet his demands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo one is tired, and neither am I. I\u2019m fine and I will endure as long as necessary. I just feel sorry for my son. He didn\u2019t sleep all night; I could hear his stomach growling, hear his hunger, and my heart was breaking. He only fell asleep in the morning. He\u2019s been with me in the tent from day one. I begged him not to strike, but it was no use. The two of us have been alone since he was two and a half months old, when his mother decided to leave. Since then, I have been both father and mother to him. He has never been separated from me, and he doesn\u2019t want to be now,\u201d Ja\u0107imovi\u0107 says through tears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From a reliable source, he says, he received information that the state will take his child away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThese are the messages I got from people I trust, and nothing from this government surprises me. If they came to kill me here in broad daylight, I wouldn\u2019t be shocked. They are capable of anything. What I\u2019m doing is not just for our family, but for all the children in this country whose future is uncertain if we don\u2019t change something urgently. Radical measures are necessary. If they come to take my child, I will call on all the excavator operators, citizens, and students to defend me. I will never allow them to take my child. They took everything from me, but I won\u2019t give them my child,\u201d emphasizes this devoted father.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For months now, this bus operator has been helping students, while the regime persistently persecutes him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been a dead man for a long time. Still, I won\u2019t allow them to destroy my child or to ruin four more families \u2014 my drivers\u2019 families \u2014 who are now jobless because my buses were seized. Since Vidovdan they\u2019ve been writing me fines, and I haven\u2019t received a single official report yet, so I don\u2019t even know the exact amounts or how many there are, but I know they\u2019re in the millions. So far, they\u2019ve detained me and fined me 10 times, and all of it is illegal, and I will not pay,\u201d says Ja\u0107imovi\u0107 firmly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He demands that the state return all seven buses and annul all the charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOnly if they do that will I end the strike.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Apart from the buses, he owns a house in the village of \u017dabalj, one car, and a bicycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI expect them to take everything from me, even that bicycle. Let them do that too \u2014 now I have another house, here in front of the Banovina building. My seized property is just a pile of scrap metal now. That\u2019s not as important as thinking about our children and the future of this country. We all have to react. The people of Serbia know where they need to come, to gather and take action, so we can return the state to normal,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Support is coming from all sides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cToday, students from the Mechanical Engineering School, which my son attends, as well as from other schools in Novi Sad, are coming to support us. The mayor has spoken out about it, and now he\u2019s threatening the children. He doesn\u2019t have the courage to come here to me and say what he wants, so he takes revenge on the kids instead,\u201d emphasizes Ja\u0107imovi\u0107.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a reminder, Milomir Ja\u0107imovi\u0107 provided free transportation for students from Novi Sad to protests across Serbia and was the only bus operator who decided to take this brave step. After dozens of fines issued by the police and the confiscation of all his vehicles, Ja\u0107imovi\u0107 was detained on Friday, November 7, in the village of \u017dabalj for \u201cdisturbing public order and peace,\u201d after he blocked the municipal building entrance with one of his buses and made noise in protest because the police refused to return his seized buses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Previously, on November 5, two of his vehicles \u2014 a bus and a minibus \u2014 had been confiscated. The first was seized due to an alleged technical malfunction, a faulty left headlight and upper wiper, while the same day, the minibus he used to transport passengers to a protest in Belgrade was also taken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the past few months, unknown attackers have damaged his buses, smashed their windows, and slashed their tires. Recently, as Ja\u0107imovi\u0107 recounted, thugs broke into the high school his son attends, looking for him to issue threats \u2014 but fortunately, he wasn\u2019t there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Students participating in the blockade of Novi Sad faculties publicly thanked Ja\u0107imovi\u0107 and expressed their support, while the Serbian diaspora collected $71,000 in less than 24 hours in July this year to help this bus operator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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