HE MADE US ALL CRY: Aleksandar has come to Serbia after living 15 years in a forest in Czech Republic! (VIDEO) (PHOTO)
"Telegraf" and "Telegraf Now" news agencies had the first chance to meet the Serbian fellow who has spent a decade and a half living in the forest "Krušne gore" in Czech Republic
Aleksandar Pirivatrić (50), a dentist who has been living in a forest in Czech Republic for more than 15 years arrived in Belgrade on Saturday morning with the hope of starting a new life.
Recommended
He used 44 cans of beer to make an appartus which provides heat FOR THE WHOLE HOUSE! (PHOTO)
A Marathon runner from the city of Sombor got help: Lazar was given clothes, furniture, and food! (PHOTO)
LIKE US ON FACEBOOK - Telegraf English or write to us on: office@telegraf.rs
"Telegraf" news agency has already published an article about the place where Aleksandar has been living for more than a decade and a half, and now, with the help from the Serbian ambassador in Czech Republic Stefan Tomašević and the embassy of Serbia, he came back to his home country.
Aleksandar came to Belgrade in the company of Peter Sliva, a geography and English professor who had found him in Teplice and decided to help him.
Apart from him and the embassy of Serbia, a fellow colleague dentist from Belgrade decided to help him with the hope that Aleksandar could socialize and get ready for the new life in the civilization.
- The trip was great. Aleksandar has been sitting quietly and looking through a window. I think he felt quite serene. Leaving the forest was not easy for him. There were some emotions, but now everything is fine. He said goodbye to that place and he is here now. It will not be easy. I think that he will have to learn again how to use some everyday things, like washing machine or a stove. This is still a big shock for him and it will take a lot of time for him to accustom to this - explains Peter Silva.
Peter will stay in Belgrade just for one day because due to his job he has to go back to Czech Republic.
- Every time when I used to meet him in Teplice I was thinking that I had not done anything to help this man. Only now, I have the feeling of doing a good thing, that I have done everything so that he could go back to normal life. My mission is somewhat completed, and I am optimistic that he will start living a new life. I did everything I could and now I leave him in the hands of good people who can surely help him more than me. I have to go back, my job awaits me, and also my wife and daughter.
Coming to Belgrade was difficult for Aleksandar because he feared not to let down the people who gave him an opportunity to start anew.
Only 24 hours earlier, he was in a forest where it was snowing, and now he is in a warm apartment.
- I do not know anything about this, how will all this turn out to be. It is different here than in Czech Republic, that is for sure. I feel pressure. I would not like to cause some problems. I guess everything will be just fine. Since I was a kid I have lived in Czech Republic, I speak that language a lot better than Serbian. I will miss the forest, I cannot say that I will not. It is comfortable here, it really is. It is already snowing there, and here it is warm - says Aleksandar.
He left Serbia along with his parents when he was only 9 years old. He left Yugoslavia, and he comes back to Serbia.
- I do not know many things about Serbia. In the papers I used to find and read there was not much about the country. I did not have the chance to find out anything, but I will see now. I remember the part of Belgrade called Savski venac, I remember my grandmother Rada who died in 1974. I remember the fortress Kalemegdan. A lot of things changed, Belgrade seems a lot brighter than before. It looks more like cities in the West than it used to be.
A dentist from Belgrade who is going to pay for his apartment wished to stay anonymous, stating that it is only important that Aleksandar finds his place in the society as soon as possible.
In this moment nobody can say whether Aleksandar will succeed in practicing dentistry once more, or if he will find a new job.
- I am not sure whether I could go back to being a dentist. If there is a possibility, I could start working again. I owe a lot to Peter and the embassy of Serbia who have helped me to get all of this, to come back to Belgrade. Also, I owe a lot to the people who helped me get this apartment. It is crucial for me not to disappoint them and to get myself on the tracks - concludes Aleksandar.
The consul of Serbia in Czech Republic, Stefan Tomašević, wished Aleksandar best of luck:
- As a person whose main task is to protect the interests of citizens of Republic of Serbia living in the Czech Republic, but first of all as a man to whom the well-being of another man is the most important thing, I have used all possible institutional and private capacities to help Aleksandar go back to Serbia and secure necessary conditions for a decent life. I would like to say that we had help from the humane people who wanted to take part in this action so that Aleksandar could get an apartment and everything he needs from the moment he came to Serbia - said Tomašević.
- Taking into consideration the fact that help also came from a colleague of Aleksandar who did not want any attention, but only to give a helping hand to a colleague of his, this new chance for Aleksandar weighs even more. Aleksandar, being one of us, deserves a new opportunity, but also the responsibility to help someone else, because we only really have what we have shared with others. I wish best of luck to him and all the happiness in his motherland, among family and friends who will continue to help him in the future. May this new beginning serve us as a reminder to do even more in the future for one another.
Just to remind, Aleksandar Pirivatrić finished high school and graduated from college in Prague. He used to work at a prestigious clinic "Motol", but he lost his job at the end of 90's due to rationalization and transformation of health centers in Czech Republic.
He has been living in the forest since 1999. His half-sister Slobodanka Pirivatrić, due to lack of managing the property of their late father, filed a proposal that Aleksandar is pronounced dead due to lack of information about him, but that proposal was not accepted.
The half-sister refused the plea from the Serbian consul that Aleksandar should go back to his father's apartment, and the both parties agreed to give her the authority to sell the apartment in question.