Reflecting on a Year of Challenges and Triumphs at KROKODIL

26 Dec Reflecting on a Year of Challenges and Triumphs at KROKODIL

Dear friends, colleagues, and supporters,
 
As we approach the new year, it’s a perfect time to reflect on our activities and experiences over the past twelve months. They are more numerous than we can count, as the year has been filled with challenges, triumphs, but also with the unwavering commitment to our mission that we in KROKODIL share with all the people who support us. We would, before all else, like to express our heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of you for your contributions, which have allowed us to realize our goals and impact the lives of many.

One of the most impactful moments for us was when, with our support, the entire fourteen-member Al Najar family from Gaza arrived in Belgrade under harrowing circumstances. Our immediate efforts provided much-needed help to Ines, who was six months pregnant and had been without medical care, and Noha, who traveled alone with her children because her husband was unable to join them. Despite their trauma, the family’s relief at being safe and their happiness in seeing their parents alive brought light to an otherwise unspeakably dark situation.

Throughout the year, we faced multiple incidents of vandalism against our KROKODIL Center. Following many extreme-right activities focused on damaging our property and instilling fear and insecurity among our staff (in which they were, as of late, also followed by vandals from the extreme left who also singled us out as a convenient enemy), on Friday, September 20, around 4 p.m., an unidentified group of Russian-speaking people decked out in Serbian nationalist gear entered KROKODIL’s offices. While the employees were still at their workplaces, the hooligans cut the ties on the terrace that held the Ukrainian flag and intimidated the employees. This incident sent a clear message about the deteriorating safety of civil society spaces in Serbia.
The subsequent failure of authorities to provide adequate protection, coupled with evidence of sophisticated spyware targeting our staff, underscores the gravity of these threats. As attacks turned into routine, we became acutely aware of the methods employed by those who oppose our work, including the use of SLAPP lawsuits intended to silence dissent. KROKODIL employees and activists have faced over twenty SLAPP lawsuits filed by the state because they participated in the removal of graffiti with the war-mongering message, “When the Army Returns to Kosovo…”. Furthermore, in retaliation for this action, a series of graffiti appeared on walls throughout Serbia, tacitly supported by the state. Do we need to mention that none of the perpetrators were held responsible?
In the midst of all that, however, we have also gained our first small victory and made an absolute precedent by winning the first battle against the prosecution of KROKODIL activists and employees. By the first-instance judgment of the Magistrates’ Court in Belgrade, our colleague Milan Adnađ has been acquitted of the responsibility for repainting the graffiti in the Mitićeva rupa park in February 2023. Numerous arguments we persistently repeated during hearings and wrote in submissions to the Court, finally prevailed. Among other things, we managed to question the legality of the charges sent by mail to all activists who received summonses related to the gathering on the same day. We have consistently reported each attack to the police, only to encounter a lack of reaction from the authorities, which raises serious concerns about their commitment to protecting civil society organizations. Experience has taught us how to defend ourselves against these aggressions by using institutions and practicing democracy even when it seems that Serbian citizens are not at all living in one.

Following the campaign to liberate Aida Ćorović from her prison sentence, we established the SLAPP BACK Fund, providing essential legal support to activists facing intimidation through lawsuits aimed at silencing them. This initiative underscores our commitment to protecting freedom of expression. So far, we have helped activists four times in their attempts to fight off attacks orchestrated by the state through its police and judicial system.

Our commitment to supporting artistic expression and human rights is embodied in the continuing dedication to offer our residence for writers as a safe haven for literary creators from Ukraine. They added to the total number of 138 authors from 21 countries who stayed in our residence for writers during the past twelve years of its activity. Along with various cultural events, this helped heighten awareness regarding the ongoing crisis in Ukraine and the impacts of war on literary creativity. Throughout the year, we also organized numerous events showcasing Ukrainian culture. Our “Courage: Made in Ukraine” program, presented during our festival, offered a poignant reflection on the resilience of the Ukrainian people. The newly formed cooperation platform “Liberté, Égalité, Solidarité” with its first in-situ forum facilitated meaningful exchanges between civil society organizations from Serbia and Ukraine. We also continued to provide help for the most vulnerable citizens of Ukraine by collecting and personally distributing humanitarian aid intended for those who found themselves directly caught in the maelstrom of war. In 2024, the aid was collected for and brought to the remaining citizens of Kherson whom the Russian occupying forces keep in their deadly grip for a very long time.

In March, we proudly co-organized International Women’s Day, marching alongside our friends from Gaza, advocating for labor rights and equality. Our voices echoed the struggles for safety, dignity, and justice, declaring that we stand together, always on the front line. This protest thus evolved into a powerful demonstration of solidarity among women fighting against oppression around the globe.

In June, we hosted the sixteenth edition of the KROKODIL Festival, featuring not only well-known international authors such as Arnon Grunberg, Matthias Enard, and Hassan Blasim but also many local and regional participants and enriching discussions on social issues, media literacy, and civil rights. This year, the KROKODIL Festival attracted over 2,000 visitors and fostered connections across literature and activism.

We have also ceremoniously cut the ribbon and revealed to the public the eleventh and final mural created as part of the civic initiative Free the Streets/Free the People that we launched two years ago. The mural, which represents a reaction to the chaos of urban living and a reminder of the importance of (re)connecting with nature, was painted by Andrej Žikić – Artez, one of the most prominent local muralists. The gentle, non-aggressive, and thoughtful murals created by the well-known street artists such as Barbara Dimić, Marija Šoln, TKV, Wuper, and others, as well as the initiative itself, emerged in response to the enormous amount of aggressive hateful messages on the walls in cities and towns across Serbia. Created in collaboration with local communities, they represent a small contribution to reclaiming public spaces for all citizens and a reminder that the streets belong to all of us, not just to those who are most aggressive, usurping, and hostile.

In September, we successfully organized the program “Spaces of Freedom: Unlearning History – Showcasing Female Literary Creativity from the Western Balkans” at the International Literature Festival in Berlin. This two-day event presented the contemporary literary scene of the six countries and three language groups that comprise the Western Balkans. Six female authors shared their work through live readings and engaging political discussions.
We participated in the mega-conference in the European Parliament in Strasbourg dedicated to literary translation as the main vehicle for European communication and were guests of The New Yorker festival in New York in order to gain knowledge and also to meet some of the most prominent living authors of today in order to invite them to participate in the future edition of our KROKODIL Festival. Our ongoing cooperation with the newly formed Polish Institute in Belgrade took us to Warsaw where we had an opportunity to meet numerous Polish artists and cultural organizers and to discuss different forms of cooperation and exchange.

Also, in October, following performances in Priština, Gračanica, and Podgorica, as well as at the festival KROKODIL in Belgrade, our stage reading of The Conspirators took place in the Urania Theatre in Vienna. The performance left an indelible mark on the audience, surpassing all expectations, and became the most attended and emotionally charged performance of The Conspirators to date. The play, performed by some of the most renowned Serbian actors, draws from the literary works included in the Zajednička čitaonica (The Common Library) edition, weaving together a harmonious blend of voices and literary figures belonging to the common language, both living and those who passed away. It highlights the enduring bonds created through shared language and literary heritage in the ex-Yu region, suggesting that these connections are more robust than the divisive forces that have shaped recent history. The success achieved in Vienna, in front of an international audience, only proves the relevance of The Conspirators in a broader European context.

And last but most certainly not the least, throughout the year we held altogether thirteen “Why do you say love and mean war?” events in various Serbian cities and towns with participation of around 1500 young adults. They engaged in meaningful, dynamic and emotional discussions on the hidden influences driving the rise of violence in our society.

As we look ahead to the new year, we remain inspired by the strength and solidarity demonstrated by our communities. Let us continue to support one another as we face new challenges together. Your contributions, in all forms, are vital to our ongoing efforts.

Thank you for standing with us. Wishing you all a joyful and hopeful start to the New Year!
Yours KROKODIL