Living the Love for Serbia every Day

At times when history puts a country or a people to a trial, only the righteous, freedom-loving, heroic peoples emerge, regardless of their numbers. That is true for us, my Serbian people – great in its historical sacrifice and heroism. Freedom-loving. Authentic. They readily open the doors to their homes, to their tables, their hearts. The Serbian people at its core is kind and welcoming, and the ‘great world’ is not used to that. If only a part of this trait were to spread across the rest of the planet as a virus, the world would be a better place.

If building bridges among peoples is seen not only as the duty of governments, embassies, consulates, and international organisations, but as the effort of numerous individuals who make up the connecting tissue between different countries and cultures with their daily efforts, then Prof. Dr Nadežda Basara is surely among them. A physician with an impressive career, extraordinary international scientific reputation, prominent figure in medicine, particularly in the transplantation of stem cells, she stands out for her cosmopolitan spirit and strong patriotism, deeply rooted in her homeland.

Wherever she may be, and she is currently residing in Flensburg, Germany, where until last year she worked as the head of the Clinic of Haematology, Oncology, and Stem Cell Transplantation, she says that she always returns to Serbia and Serbian people. She has dedicated her career to examining and treating people suffering from the most severe illnesses, and her scientific work inspired the most reputable doctors across the world to apply and expand upon her methods and conclusions.
‘The Serbian people, though always on the sharp edge of history, have always chosen the right side without exception. At times when history puts a country and its people on trial, only the righteous, freedom-loving, heroic peoples emerge as truly great, regardless of their numbers. This is true of us, my Serbian people – great in its historical suffering and heroism. Freedom-loving. Authentic. They gladly open the doors to their home, their table, their hearts. This kindness has had its own historical consequences such as the creation of the first Yugoslavia after the Great War, which was very costly. And yet, I would rather belong to a people that makes historical mistakes, if indeed these were mistakes, out of good and noble intensions, than to anyone else. At its core, the Serbian people are kind and welcoming, which is not typical of the ‘great world’. If only a part of that spirit were to spread across the planet like a virus, the world would be a better place’, says Prof. Dr Nadežda Basara for Dipos Magazine.

Over the years you spent building your international status and reputation, how difficult was it to preserve the connections with Serbia and stay organically connected, in spite of the distance? How do you feel when you come to Belgrade today?

It is true that I am a citizen of the world, but even though I travel to various places around the globe, I only return to Serbia. That is the difference between every place on the planet and my only home, which is here. I believe in the motto that says that one’s friendship are a reflexion of one’s personality. Over the past years and decades, my family has preserved its closeness, we practically stay in touch on a daily basis, we visit each other, we share moments of joy and of sadness, we share our lives, wherever we may be. We look forward to seeing each other just like when we were children or students. This closeness is not affected by distance or time. Whenever we meet, it is like we never separated. For me and my husband, Belgrade is not only the capital of Serbia, but the capital of our lives. Our mothers were born in Belgrade, they gave birth to us in Belgrade, and I gave birth to my children in the same hospital. Over three decades, in this special town we have spent our childhoods, education from primary school to PhDs, we celebrated weddings, slavas – we simply lived. Belgrade is where the graves of our parents, grandparents, and grand-grandparents are – in Belgrade we are at home.’

What makes your spiritual foundation that helped you build your professional integrity and international reputation?

A spiritual foundation is not just one thing. These are the shoulders of ancestors that each new generation is standing on so that the whole family could grow. It is a system of values you inherit from your family, which you have adopted through emotions rather than knowledge. They are eternal and unbreakable. I come from a home that cherishes family values, tradition, respect of every person, faith in human kindness, in the principle that you can only expect good things if you do good things. My husband comes from a similar family. We recognised each other easily and fell in love when we were young and are still living in the same value system, in this spiritual foundation filled with love for others and for each other. Life in different cultural environments could not break our spiritual thread. Simply, it is what we believe in, and we have passed these values onto our children and grandchildren. Even though they live in Western Europe, our children have extended the tradition of their ancestors, their family. We have witnessed, especially in the last decade, that different values have started to drive out old ones. I can see that in Germany the values of family, heritage, and especially faith, are fading. And when one loses faith in family, the Lord, salvation, people, then one loses faith in oneself. Then you are lost and alienated even among other people.
I am also noticing a growing life philosophy of egotism and isolated individualism. This is totally against my own system of family and national unity, the slava ceremonial bread as a symbol of tradition, faith in the Lord and people. This is my only spiritual and life foundation.

Prejudice about Serbia still exist in the Western world. How much of a burden is that when you live and work there?

It is true that prejudice against Serbia is our biggest enemy in the world. Anyone you meet, be it a colleague from the clinic or next-door neighbour, approaches you with prejudice in their eyes. To them, you are the face of Serbia. But when you love your country, you are ready to represent it, defend it, keep your head high proudly and look everyone in the eye with confidence. You build a positive narrative about your country with professionalism, business success equal or superior to your colleagues. And when they finally see how much you have learned in Serbia, how much creativity, scientific innovativeness and achievement you bring to the hospital where you work together, the prejudice disappears and is replaced by respect. In short – whoever you may be and whatever country you may be in, be the best at your job, be a good person and you will do wonders for a positive narrative about your country. Are we ambassadors of our own country? We are much more – builders building bridges between nations and countries in totally different ways, but with the same purpose. That is why the cooperation between our embassies and our Church with the diaspora is of utmost importance. I have witnessed this through the dedication of H. E. Jasmina Marić Mitrović, former Serbian ambassador to Denmark, and now to Norway.

Read the full interview in our DIPOS Magazine