Victory Is Calling from all Directions

Student Dunja closed the programme with the following words: 

Thank you all for being here tonight and for joining us in giving our walkers the welcome they deserve!

Once again, a huge thank you to them, for showing us that no journey is too long when it leads to the freedom we're fighting for!

Our fight continues tomorrow already!

That's why we're calling on all of you to come together tomorrow in even greater numbers and light up Slavija for the fifth time! Let's show how many of us there are and what it means to love your country, believe in it, and fight for its future!

Let our voices be heard and our light be seen, tomorrow at 18:00 at Slavija!

With this, tonight's gathering has come to an end. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Victory is calling!

Ivona Đorović - Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade

Slavija is the place where, back in December 2024, we showed just how big a heart Belgrade has.

All the protests, marches, moments of silence, and kilometres we've crossed together have brought us to October 25th.

‘Every single one of you is part of this change. Every conversation you've had, every door you've knocked on, every badge you've proudly worn —  all of it mattered, and all of it was worth the effort, because now we are only three days away from victory!’

Those gathered were called upon to go out and vote on Sunday, bring their families, friends, and neighbors, encourage those who have lost hope, and seize the opportunity to decide what kind of Serbia they want to leave to future generations.

A special part of the speech was dedicated to Istok [lit. ‘east’], a dog who accompanied the students during their walk towards Belgrade and is in need of a home. His story reminded us that no one should be left behind, and that solidarity, kindness, and hope must form the foundation of the Serbia we are building. 

‘We promise to work every day towards a future for this country where every child can live in safety, have access to quality education, accessible healthcare, and institutions that protect them. Not because they are a child of a government official, but because they are a child of Serbia!’

The speech concluded with the message, ‘Serbia, your time has come followed by the question:

‘Who is winning?’

Marko Tepavčević — Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad

GOOD EVENING BELGRADE!

First of all, I want to congratulate all colleagues and friends who have spent the past few days walking from all parts of our beautiful Serbia and have proudly and bravely arrived here, in Belgrade!

Thank you for this incredible welcome! 

Once again, we have gathered here for another rally, but for the same reason that set us off the first time.

We haven't returned because nothing has changed. We've come back because what we set out to achieve remains unfinished.

We continue to persevere in our efforts for a society where every person's voice is heard, where accountability means something, and in where our future doesn't depend on how much injustice we're willing to endure.

It's time to achieve what we've been hoping for over the past two years — a student victory!

That's why we'll stand together tomorrow, and again on 25 October. 

Let's go out and vote, because we are deciding on the future for all of us — on the kind of country we want to live in. Let our voices be heard clearly:

STUDENTS ARE WINNING!!!

STUDENTS ARE WINNING!!!

STUDENTS ARE WINNING!!!

The crowd chants ‘VICTORY! VICTORY!’

Students from Belgrade, Banja Luka, Novi Pazar, and Novi Sad exchanged city flags.

The song Kukavica [lit. cowards, cuckoo bird] is blaring in front of the Rectorate building.

‘Kukavica, nisam znala da si takva kukavica!’ [lit. ‘Coward, I hadn’t known you are such a coward!’]

Bogdan Brković — Faculty of dramatic arts, University of Belgrade

Good evening, brave and free Serbia!

I am Bogdan, a student at the Faculty of dramatic arts and together with my neighbours and fellow students, I joined the walking from Gornji Milanovac. 

We passed through parts of the country known for their hospitality, but our hosts have exceeded even our highest expectations and showed us that Serbia has already made a choice. 

What will remain in my memory is the merging of the groups that walked from Valjevo and Šabac, it symbolises how our victory had begun in many different parts of the country, yet it shares one common goal.

I am glad to recognise a huge number of people who had waited for us during our walk to Belgrade on the eve of 15 March [2025], as proof of our perseverance and struggle. But I would also like to emphasise that many new faces have joined us as well, and they are ready to help us achieve the justice we have all been waiting for for so long.

After spending the past two years walking across all of Serbia on our feet, walking through some parts even more than once, I truly believe this to be our final steps toward final freedom!

Thank you very much, see you tomorrow, we all know where!

It has started raining, the heavens have opened!

She addressed the citizens with the following words:

Welcome, Serbia!

Welcome, students and citizens! Welcome to everyone who believes in and loves their country!

Tonight, Belgrade proudly welcomes its heroes!

Our fellow students, our walkers, who have spent days walking from all parts of Serbia to travel once again through our beautiful country, are arriving here, step by step, ahead of tomorrow's gathering at Slavija.

Thank you all for being here tonight so that we can give them the recognition they deserve. 

They deserve a huge THANK YOU, because every step they've taken is proof that we haven't stopped, we haven't forgotten, and that our fight continues and is stronger than ever!

So, let's get ready to give them a proper welcome, loudly, proudly, and together!

Thank you!

Dunja Eskić — faculty of organisational sciences, University of Belgrade

Dear fellow citizens, thank you all for coming, in case you're watching us on your TV screens, you have just enough time to come down and welcome the walkers with us.

The northern group is currently in Zemun. The western group is passing through Čukarica, and the eastern group through Kaluđerica. 

As you know, thousands of hugs take time!

The students are winning!

[SLPS stands for Student List – Studenti Pobeđuju, the official name of the student list in Serbian, lit. ‘Student List  — Students are Winning’]

A warm welcome from the people of Žagubica came with another surprise: the birthday of one of our fellow colleagues in this struggle! With a homemade strudel and a traditional cake as a surprise, we celebrated her special day — a day she unselfishly chose to mark in the company of the walkers and the local community. Happy birthday!

After a long and tiring journey, the walkers were transported to their accommodation near Žagubica. After dinner and a well-earned rest, they will continue towards Petrovac na Mlavi.

Branislav Todić, candidate of Student List – Students Are Winning, addressed the crowd with the words:

Žagubica is often called North Korea, but these young people will set you free!

Student Vukašin Stojković addressed the people of Žagubica: 

Dear friends [srb. Dragi naši; more closely: Dear people of ours], thank you for giving us such a wonderful welcome! 

Today we travelled a hard road from Bor to Žagubica, over Homolje. 

Along the way, we met people who were just as happy to see us as we were happy to see them, and who gave us the energy to continue, eagerly awaiting our arrival here. 

Žagubica is a small town, but tonight it showed how great its people are. 

Thank you for coming out in such numbers to support us!

Tomorrow we continue towards Slavija Square. Victory is calling from the east — IT’S CALLING US TO SLAVIJA!

We’ll be waiting for you there, to finish this journey together!

On the 25 [of October] circle number 3, because the students are winning!

Student List candidate Nikola Cvetanović greeted the crowd as compatriots and fellows in this struggle(srb. saborci, lit. co-fighters ). He called on the gathered crowd to cheer loudly for those who are in fear of the regime. Cvetanović also comes from Bor, and stated how although he left Bor to work in Belgrade, Bor never left him. He characterised the city of Bor as a city which does not tolerate the leading party (SNS) — so much so that they (implying the SNS) had to place a person from outside of Bor as the mayor of the city. 

Cvetanović lauded the student walkers, saying that the walkers are going to the Homolje mountains, to ‘our wounded Homolje mountains’ (due to ecological devastation because of a mining facility to be built). He stated how the people love student walkers because the walkers are ‘heralds of peace’. Cvetanović said emphatically, adding ‘[Freedom] was taken away from us. The state and the media were taken away.’ He asked, and  freedom won’t be given back, he stated firmly, but ‘we have to take it back on our own, on our own, we have to fight for it.’ 

He emphasised that the elections are a chance to secure a future for their children, that the elections are a crossroads, where no more debates are needed, but actions. 

‘On the 25th we are taking back our captured state, we will all circle in the number 3!’

Zoran Stanić greeted the gathered protesters with the statement that he wanted to speak about ‘all of us’ and the fear of voting against the regime. He spoke of the pressures put on regular people to do what the regime wants, for fears of losing their jobs, losing their salaries their entire families depend on. He also stated that the people of Bor knew of the hard labour in the mines, and that ‘A person who works honestly does not owe their vote to a corrupted regime, does not owe it to the regime to go to a regime meeting, and does not owe them dignity!’

He stated how 26 October (the day after the elections) will bring a new, happier morning, and that while people will walk the same streets, children will go to the same schools and people will go to their workplaces, it will be completely different, for ‘we will know that we have changed the system!’ 

He stated that even though one might feel afraid, that ‘we are still a courageous people’. He emphasised that when we step behind the voter screen (to vote), there was no boss to be afraid of. He spoke of the story of one of his students, who sent a message to her mother saying ‘I understand you. I love you. Vote for me, vote with dignity.’ He urged the people to give a hand to those who couldn’t come to the gathering today, to help them make the right choice and vote for the Student List. 

‘Each of us carries fear and courage. Together we can bring back dignity and security into our lives. Long live Bor! Long live a free, fair and just Serbia!’

Ana Sarvanović said how it was an honour to be a guest tonight and to greet the student walkers together with the people of Bor. She stated how the student marches are once again waking up and calling the people, to ‘rouse us from a chronic hypnosis, to make us cry, and once more, for good measure, to remind us how beautiful this country is. And that it belongs to all of us, however different we may be!

She said how the people were able to learn a lot from the students in the past two years: that the people had the right to know and seek accountability, that the way things are must not be how things will remain forever, that it was important to self-organise, and that togetherness and solidarity are the people’s power when it comes to overcoming fears.

‘I know it isn’t easy’, she stated, addressing those who witnessed the turmoil of the local elections held in Bor in March 2026. ‘Winning back freedom is a long process, and it is tedious, slow-paced work. There will be obstacles and difficult parts of the path. But we need not traverse this path alone.’

She closed her speech by calling on the people to vote, as the students have done their pair, and now it was up to the people to do their part. 

Victory is calling from the East! The students are winning!

Jovo Bakić greeted and thanked the citizens of Bor as well as the student walkers. He addressed the crowd excitedly, stating how ‘We are all brothers and sisters!’ He expressed he wanted to keep his speech brief, also due to the cold weather, because everything has already been said and that things were clear — that ‘Victory is in our hands!’. He called upon the crowd to go and vote on 25 October.

Grandma Marina from Bor fits walker Stefan a pair of woolen socks!

Student Stefan Tomić addressed the crowd and thanked fellow student walkers. He stated how today was the first of a six-day-walk from Zaječar to Belgrade. The students are going to traverse 50 km a day, and ahead of them lies the mountainous terrain of eastern Serbia: the Homolje mountains with the Black Peak (srb. Crni vrh), and a forecast of rain and mud. He shared with the gathered crowd a message of encouragement all student walkers received on their phones at the start of the march, namely that although their bodies and spirits will be tested, their marches carry a deeper significance in the times they are in. The walks are a reminder of what the students have experienced and achieved. 

Stefan Tomić ended his address by calling upon everyone to go and vote on 25 October and to help defend each and every vote.

‘And we continue our walk to Belgrade. See you at Slavija Square! Until Victory! The students are winning!’

Student List candidate Miloš Janošević gave a speech at the welcoming of student walkers. He greeted the citizens of Bor as a free and proud people. He expressed a deep sense of pride, but also a great sense of responsibility. He comes from Bor and has learned what hard work means and that nothing is granted in this life. He said how the industrial city of Bor has raised the entire country.

In his speech he focused on the power of the people and collective action, be it among regular people on the streets in protest, or among colleagues of the Student List. He gave his word that ‘the Parliament of Serbia will no longer be a place in which injustice is greeted with silence’. He also said that Bor has been treated unfairly, only as ‘mere numbers on paper’, and that the time has come for change.

He touched on the issue of young people leaving Eastern Serbia due to poor job prospects and to evade corruption, as getting a job at home is only possible through party affiliation.

He also said how the lack of political experience of Student List candidates is not a weakness, and that the political experience of the ruling party has nothing to show for except corruption and ruining people’s lives.

He said that the upcoming elections were not ‘just simple elections, but a referendum on what kind of a country we want to live in’. He urged the crowd to take the positive energy of the gathering to every home in Bor, speak to those fearful of the regime, and to go vote:

‘On Sunday, there is no retreat and no fear! Let us go out [and vote] and show that we can decide on our destiny!’