Tim za socijalno uključivanje i smanjenje siromaštva

Author: Anja Sinadinović (Social Inclusion Blog)

I used to buy Liceulice from Mirko for years, in front of the Faculty of Philosophy, until one day he just disappeared from the street. (…) Upon his return, it did not take him long to confirm his place among our best vendors. His first day on the job he already sold forty copies, which is, although a lot, just slightly over his daily minimum of thirty copies sold, one he never goes home without. Although he doesn’t mention them, I know a few more of his characteristics that contribute to his success. They are his incredible diligence, conscientiousness and perseverance. They are probably a consequence of the fact that until his twelfth year, Mirko was forced to beg on Kalemegdan, pretending he was deaf and dumb. This made it possible for some of his twelve brothers and sisters to go to school, while he was left with six years of primary school. From the street he came to the shelter, where he met friends he is still in contact with and he cares about so much, he keeps their photos in his wallet.

Several of them show a young man with big eyes and an unusual hairdo that makes it impossible to confuse him with anyone. It is Emir, with whom Mirko is now in a tandem selling our magazine every day on the Plateau or Republic Square. (…) The two of them are not only a business tandem, but have also recently started living together. Finding an apartment is never easy, and when you live on the margin this, like many other things, nearly becomes mission impossible. During the rough period Mirko gained two new friends, the brothers Bojan and Goran, who run the “Capital” hostel. They made it possible for him to sleep and eat at the hostel without compensation, while our boys paid this back by helping tidy up the hostel every day after other guests.

However, his greatest passion is photography. Two years ago he successfully attended the “Oko ulice” photo workshop held by Dragan Kujundžić and Željko Šafar. When he started classes he didn’t know that, as he says, “he has a talent for taking photos”. The first two days he didn’t like anything, and then, suddenly he realized he was looking at the city in an unusual way, “with different eyes, like a real photographer”. He realized he could photograph something beautiful so that it would also be interesting for other people, and that the picture “speaks a thousand words”. Now, his dream is to finish primary school, and then enroll in a school of photography. “My heart would be full if I could take photos for newspapers. I’d set aside a day or two from work and just take photos”, says Mirko, full of innocent optimism. Although he currently doesn’t even have a camera, Mirko daydreams about exhibiting his photos again, this time individually. Until this happens, you can find his photos on the Facebook page Mirko Ondrik Fotograf.

Finally, a situation that happened after our conversation. Returning from work to his new neighborhood, Mirko found an abandoned puppy next to a container, taking it home without thinking and starting to take care of it with Emir. The same evening he called me, angry with the people who abandoned the puppy, but also with a feeling of tenderness. He told me: “Teacher, the tiny dog snores like a man.”

(The author is a practitioner with the editorial staff of LICEULICE magazine.)

The text in its entirety can be found on the Social Inclusion Blog.