Serbian students partaking in the massive – almost 2,000 kilometre – ultramarathon from Novi Sad, Serbia, have arrived in Brussels on Monday.
The run titled “From my village to Brussels” saw almost two dozen Serbian students make the trek to the European capital where they will be meeting MEPs from several political groups.
The ultramarathon, covering an exactly 1,993 kilometre stretch, began on 25 April. It was originally planned to include 16 students – the exact number of victims in the tragic awning collapse in Novi Sad Railway Station. It was later expanded to 21 students.
The journey was broken down in a relay format, with each student running 15 kilometres daily until they reached the final destination.
Thank you so much, this is the 1,933rd kilometre. You are truly incredible, people. First of all, you twenty — you have no idea how much I love you,” said Maja, a participant in the ultramarathon.
“All of you here, thank you, thank you so much. You have no idea how much strength and energy you give us, and how much you mean to us.”
In Brussels, alongside meeting MEPs, the pupils will also be meeting with European Commissioner for Enlargement, Martha Kos, as well as Commissioner for Youth, Glenn Micallef.
On 1 November, a massive concrete awning collapsed at a railway station in the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad, initially killing 14 people. Two of the wounded later succumbed to their injuries, bringing the total death toll to 16.
Protests erupted shortly after, largely led by students, demanding the government take accountability for the incident, and the mass resignation of officials.
Many in Serbia blamed the incident on rampant government corruption, negligence and disrespect of construction safety regulations.
