In God We Believe

A number of lectures concerning sects and their activities have been held in the southern Serbian town of Valjevo in the past few years. The people duly attended the sessions to educate themselves and learn how to spot the "enemy". After several young people had committed suicide in the past few months, the municipal board of the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO) released a statement to the effect that they "coincided with the ever so frequent sectarianism" in Valjevo, while the local authorities said the three biggest threats to the community were "drugs, sects and AIDS". The people finally had the opportunity to apply what they had learned. All they had to do is find the "enemy".

The "enemy" appeared in Popare, a settlement near Valjevo populated mainly by peasants. Late last year, a local woman inflicted grave bodily harm on her husband and later committed suicide. The husband died shortly after Christmas, and all this led the neighbours to the conclusion that there was something mysterious and inexplicable about their deaths. They remembered seeing a strange syrup in their living room, and two women they knew nothing about - a blonde and a brunette. They remembered that the deceased had refused to undergo surgery shortly before he died, and that several people calling themselves Jehovah's Witnesses lived in the neighbourhood. As more "mysterious and inexplicable cases" happened in Valjevo, the self-conscious members of the Popare community decided to take action. The night after the Orthodox New Year's Eve, a sect-chasing posse raided the home of Milan Matic, a local peasant who had accommodated Gordana and Goran Andjelkovic for three years. Their excuse was Goran Andjelkovic's chairmanship of the local Jehovah's Witnesses religious sect. Milan Matic was forced to call the police, who duly arrived and detained everybody for questioning. After the authorities found that the sect was legally registered, Goran Andjelkovic was released, but that didn't satisfy Milan Matic's neighbours. They continued to harass Matic and the Andjelkovic couple, and spontaneously decided that they had no choice but to get rid of Jehovah's Witnesses. The evening after making the decision, they paid another visit to Milan Matic, but this time they were armed with stones, firecrackers, eggs and steel bars. With the deafening noise of firecrackers as support, they threw an avalanche of stones and eggs at the house. One of the raiders, Vojin Ilic, said the following to the local television crew: "Let me tell you something, I am a father of four children. Sects are a disgrace to our society, they ought to be squashed and kicked out of this country. It is sad that our children are poisoned by their likes. If they really exist, they should be kicked out. I am not sure what this is all about, but I believe what the rest have told me". His "comrade", however, said he knew exactly what he was doing as he hurled yet another stone at Milan Matic's house. "I want these people away from my kids. I know one thing only - we are going to finish this here and now. I know that some people are making big bucks from running sects, while hard-working citizens don't have time for that stuff. We are going to kick this scum out of our village", he said. The third law-abiding citizen was somewhat more analytical: "Two 18-year old kids disappear weekly in these parts. I have two children, and I want to be certain that they will wake up alive every morning. This scum must be kicked out, that's it". And that really was it. The police stood by and watched the demolition of Milan Matic's home with utmost professionalism.

Having seen what the locals were capable of, Goran Andjlekovic and his family moved out. He told the local television he was sorry all this was happening, adding he would go on with his activities. Meanwhile, the Popare posse was reinforced with inhabitants of nearby villages, who saw the whole incident as an ideal opportunity to practice exorcism and stop this evil from - God forbid - coming to their own backyard. Once again stones were hurled at Matic's house, after which a "citizens' delegation" accompanied by police went in and saw for themselves that Goran Andjelkovic and his wife were no longer there. They told the village that they only found a pile of books, not that they remembered what they were about, and decided to "keep watch" in case the Andjlekovic couple decided to come back.

Vreme' crew arrived in Popare the third day of the siege. The host, Milan Matic, is a retired but lively tailor. He showed us the ruined veranda of his home, smashed roof tiles, shattered windows and the front door which was half-wrecked. He asked himself loudly what sect did this to him. He wondered what his destructive neighbours should be called if the people who lived with him were scum. "I took them in, they paid rent regularly. Goran Andjelkovic was an educated man, he did have many visitors. But they were all fine people - none of them smoked, they were all with good manners, well behaved....The scum of the earth kicked these fine people out of my house, that's what happened. I wonder if laws still count for anything in this country", he said.

A little later, as darkness fell across the village, the neighbours appeared again. They asked Milan to confirm that Jehovah's Witnesses were gone for good, and that they left nothing behind. As the gate was locked, one of them came through the neighbour's backyard and knocked on Matic's front door loudly. He wanted to conduct an "inspection". Milan stormed through his front door with an axe in his hand and hit the intruder with the blunt edge, after which the latter fled in panic. Minutes later, a new avalanche of stones was hurled at the house. The police detained both Milan and the intruder, as well as "witnesses" who swore that "Matic wanted to kill them all".

The situation was analysed and further measures were discussed a little later in the local food store, with ample amounts of beer available. "We must find out where Andjlekovic is staying and help the people get rid of him. We must keep a tight watch on Milan too. But everything must be done by the book", a "delegation" member suggested. "That preaching bastard was in front of my house too. May he burn in hell", said another member of the posse. The rest approved as they drank their beers empty. We went back to take a photograph of Milan Matic. He was changing tiles on his roof as we appeared. "In God we believe", said a young neighbour as he walked by. "Did you hear what he just said ?", Milan asked with a smile as he replaced yet another smashed tile.