00:00They refuse to give up. Mass protests against the government in Serbia mostly
00:09by young people. They've lasted almost a year now even though the authorities are
00:14not afraid to use force. Everything was peaceful until a police officer grabbed
00:20a metal baton and hit my friend and hit me on the head. The protests are now
00:26spreading to rural areas as well. The students have opened our eyes. They're
00:33giving us hope that things will get better. They want a future without
00:41cronyism and corruption and are taking a big risk to achieve it. What gives them
00:47hope?
00:57Jelena Popadic is one of the students fighting to change Serbia. A year ago her
01:04focus was solely on her medical studies. Today she's interested in politics and
01:09the future of her country. Along with others she started a movement here in
01:14Novizat that has now spread across the entire country. It was the straw that
01:20broke the camel's back. People had basically gotten used to being robbed.
01:27Corruption has now reached levels that are killing people.
01:34It was a deadly accident that became the symbol of state failure. On November 1st,
01:402024, the collapse of a newly but shoddily renovated canopy costs 16 people their lives.
01:46Politicians try to cover up the accident with the help of the security apparatus,
01:51the courts and the press, which are all under their control.
01:55Like many others, Jelena chose to condemn such everyday corruption.
02:00She told us, for example, that the owners of Alta Bank cultivate a special relationship with the
02:04government. Although it's a private institution, everyone is forced to use Alta Bank's services
02:10and pay its fees. When you go to the government offices for documents, all you find are its ATMs.
02:19Since June of this year, Serbian citizens must use Alta Bank to pay their electricity bills.
02:25If you are connected, you can make a lot of money in Serbia.
02:28Earning a lot of money is neither her goal nor that of most of her Gen Z peers.
02:35She wants to help others, later as a doctor, but for now by taking to the streets.
02:42The 25-year-old and her friends are providing medical care to those
02:46injured by the police while attending the protests.
02:50They meet regularly right in front of the university. Recently, the police stormed the
02:54student-occupied medical school. Jelena says a uniformed officer knocked her down with a metal baton.
03:01This cell phone video shows the chaos.
03:10Some see them as naive, others as courageous, but they are confident that this time the demonstrations
03:16will succeed.
03:17The police came from Salazar Street. Behind us was the Danube, in front of us was the fence.
03:26There was no escape.
03:28All you could do was swim.
03:31You were lucky, you weren't beaten or arrested.
03:35At first, I only had one bottle of saline solution for tear gas.
03:40Then I went back and got more.
03:41Pompai, apply pressure. That's the motto of the Gen Z protests in Serbia.
03:50Tennis star Novak Djokovic supports the students.
03:53This gives them hope they will prevail against the regime.
03:57Surveys show that most people support the students.
04:00The protesters have been affectionately dubbed the children.
04:03Our professors sent us lunch. We're getting donations. Soup, bread, non-perishable food,
04:13loudspeakers for the protests. Here are some first aid supplies.
04:21After the death of the 16 civilians, students occupied university buildings in protest all over
04:27Serbia. Since then, police officers have been patrolling the campus.
04:31In front of the lecture halls, a discussion about Serbia's future.
04:41We're disappointed by the reactions from Europe.
04:45Now they're finally applying some pressure. But that's not enough.
04:51If Serbia is to be part of Europe, as it should be,
04:54then such an authoritarian regime must not be allowed to establish itself in Europe.
05:04A regime with blood on its hands. This symbol can be found everywhere on campus.
05:10Corruption kills.
05:13Even if the students win the power struggle with the regime,
05:16the country's economic situation will remain difficult for the foreseeable future.
05:20I don't think we can achieve everything the Serbian people hope we can.
05:28They idealize us, just as they once idealized Vucic, Milosevic, Tito and all the others.
05:37Alexander Vucic was once seen as a hero. Now, he's hated.
05:41For decades, he's been one of Serbia's most influential politicians. He's been president since 2017.
05:49All over the country, his posters sent the message, we will not surrender Serbia.
05:55In fact, the security forces, courts and other state institutions, including the media,
06:00are all under his control.
06:03Under Vucic, Serbia's foreign debt doubled to 50 billion euros.
06:08This is a heavy burden for a small agricultural country.
06:13He rejects the protesters' demand for new elections.
06:17Having served as minister under war criminal Milosevic in the 1990s, Vucic knows how to crush resistance.
06:24He organizes military parades in Belgrade.
06:28And brings his supporters from all over the country to the capital.
06:31Here, he has them march in circles to make it appear like there are more of them.
06:35Because there are critics of his rule even within law enforcement, Vucic has created new special police units
06:44that monitor each other and that he can deploy against the protests.
06:49For over 30 years, Bogoliob Dživković served as a police officer, most recently as a general.
06:58He's appalled by the police's brutality.
07:00If a citizen or student stumbles, falls or is overpowered, 10 or 20 police officers beat him
07:14mercilessly while he lies helpless on the ground.
07:19His son Petar, a law student, decided to join the protests.
07:23When President Vucic found out about this, he forced the general into retirement.
07:28Petar was beaten by the police, but he remains defiant.
07:35What has changed is that the students are not afraid.
07:40This has spread to the people.
07:41The students are inspiring the whole country.
07:48In Belgrade, workers are following their example, as are the people in the countryside.
07:53Like the students, they're creating grassroots organizations without official leaders.
07:58This makes it more difficult for the regime to act against them.
08:02We're in the Vladimirci region, two hours' drive east of the capital.
08:06Dragan Radivujevic, one of the participants, is upset about crumbling infrastructure.
08:13Three years ago, President Vucic promised investments for the village of Provo.
08:19The toilets are terrible. The children play with mice.
08:23President Vucic promised to change that.
08:27He says that every time before elections, because he wants to stay in power.
08:32A debate in the village square when Dragan meets a Vucic supporter.
08:41Isn't it true that President Vucic promised during his election campaign
08:45that he would build a new school?
08:49Why didn't he do it?
08:51Good question.
08:52Because the government rules with lies and false promises.
08:58We need the principal's permission to film on school grounds.
09:01Dragan gives her a call.
09:11She declines our request.
09:13Unlike in the past, Vucic officials are afraid they'll be held accountable.
09:18There are abandoned farms in almost every Serbian village.
09:22Their owners left for the west.
09:23This government has no sympathy for ordinary people.
09:32Year after year, more and more people are leaving our villages.
09:35In the village center we find outhouses as public toilets.
09:43Electricity transformers exposed to wind and rain.
09:46And locked garbage containers.
09:48And locked garbage containers.
09:50Residents dared to request additional dumpsters.
09:53Local politicians took this as criticism and locked the containers that were already there.
09:57Dragan must get back to work.
10:03He grows peppers, tomatoes and beans.
10:06Those who are close to the government receive state aid.
10:14Everyone else is left to fend for themselves.
10:17They are second-class citizens.
10:21Apparently, the municipality makes no secret of the fact that those loyal to the government receive money.
10:28Take, for example, the local administration's budget.
10:34In Vladimirsi, people make their living from agriculture.
10:38The paradox is that the state budget for tourism in this town is six times larger than that for agriculture.
10:46That makes no sense at all, because there is no tourism here.
10:50For the first time, the village has hope that the protests will really affect change.
10:58Dragan hopes his three children will want to stay in Serbia and not feel forced to move away.
11:07The students have opened our eyes.
11:10They are giving us hope that things will get better.
11:13It has been a long time since we knew who was even in the opposition.
11:17Our government has bought everything that could be bought, including the opposition.
11:29Meanwhile, Jelena Popadic joins thousands of other students in Novizad
11:34in another march from the university campus to the main train station, the site of the tragedy.
11:40Over the past 35 years, there have been many demonstrations for democracy.
11:46What's different this time?
11:49Honor their memory.
11:54It's the people who make the difference.
11:55They understand it's now or never.
11:58We won't give up.
11:58The people have nothing to lose.
12:01Life as it is now makes no sense.
12:04This is our last chance.
12:09Serbia must seize this opportunity if it doesn't want to gamble away its future.
12:14The students have proven that courage can be contagious.
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