Young Vietnamese knows Serbian and Cyrillic, but is called "coronavirus" in Belgrade. His message

For eight and a half years Vietnamese man Hoan Hoang Kim has been living and studying in Belgrade. He has completed his regular academic studies at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade and is currently pursuing a master's degree. He has had no contact with China, especially not since coronavirus appeared there, but that did not stop Belgraders from marking him.

"I was walking on Slavija (square) last night and heard some men call out to me. They repeated 'coronavirus' and 'Chinaman'. They laughed at me. I was silent and walked quietly past them. It was very unpleasant," Hoan told Telegraf.rs.

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Photo: Marko Todorovic

Unfortunately, this is not the first time that the young Vietnamese has encountered this situation.

"On one flight, a few days ago, it happened to me that people on the plane were moving away from me. They ran away immediately and again I heard comments, 'coronavirus', 'Chinaman'," Hoan says, adding:

"I experienced all this in Belgrade several times, but not just me. I witnessed situations where other people have been called out. I'm sorry that people think this way and are offending somebody just because they are Chinese or look Chinese. It is not enough what these people and their families are going through because of coronavirus?"

Soon after arriving in Serbia Hoan learned Serbian. He took all his exams in Serbian, writes and signs himself using the Cyrillic script. Even his Facebook post about this unpleasant situation was written in Cyrillic.

Photo: Marko Todorovic

He arrived in Serbia thanks to the "World in Serbia" program, receiving a scholarship from the Serbian government meant for foreign students who want to study in our country.

"I read about Serbia back home. I was interested in the history of Yugoslavia, I was looking at the pictures of the 1999 bombing. I felt close to your country, which I now perceive as my own," he says.

He dreams of his country opening an embassy here and him getting a job as a diplomat. At the same time, he wants to keep in touch with Vietnam, where he cannot go to very often. Both Serbia and Vietnam are his home, and he showed his attachment to Serbia when he took a picture in front of Harvard like a true Serb, giving the three-finger salute.

And if that wasn't enough, Hoan gave himself a Serbian last name, so he signs himself as Hoan Zlatanovic.

Photo: Marko Todorovic

(J. Stakic)