Amina Trle, 24, was born long after the era of Tito, Yugoslav pioneers, partisans and youth relays, but has become known as the last pioneer standing after a photo of her gesturing in front of a police cordon during Sarajevo's anti-fascist protest last weekend went viral.
What inspired her to march alongside thousands of Sarajevans, in what they said was a protest against fascism, Amina explained in an interview for N1.
“Because it was logical that all citizens of Sarajevo take to the streets on that day for a protest walk and tell the fascist they are not welcome in this city,” she said.
Amina wore a full attire of a Yugoslav pioneer on that day – a blue hat with a five-pointed star in the front and a red scarf, which she made for herself alone.
Asked what exactly does she know about fascism, Nazis, Tito or Yugoslav partisans, and what it meant to her to shout: ‘Death to fascism, freedom to the people’ as she marched the city, she said:
“I know about Auschwitz and the crimes that Dr Mengele committed against the Jews together with Hitler. I know that the Second World War had started due to the spread of Nazism with Hitler at the helm.”
Amina appeared to know a lot more about anti-fascist movement.
“Anti-fascism and its movement in the Balkans had emerged as a response against repression, and its members were called partisans. Yugoslavia was founded after WWII. Six republics and two regions, all for one and one for all. This is how I imagined it in my head. Love, peace, carelessness, youth, childhood, respect and appreciation. These were the values we proudly presented. And everything is so different today. Workers used to be respected and called comrades. Education, healthcare, culture and sports were important segments of life, everything that seems to be unimportant today,” she explained.
This girl prefers to call herself “Tito's child,” saying that this tells about what she thinks of the Yugoslav leader. “To me, Tito is a synonym of power, courage and wisdom.”
Most of her stands Amina inherited from her mother but she said she was reading a lot about the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina and then consequently learned a lot about Yugoslavia and Tito.
“I asked people but I've noticed divisions. Most of them were melancholic and were saying only the best about that period, but I also heard about injustice from that era, which I couldn't understand to date. That's why I decided to make a research of my own through available media.”
She doesn't understand negative comments on her appearance in the recent protest and believes it was about ignorance.
“Negative comments and many threatening comments ended in a way that I blocked them. The positive ones left a strong impression on me, some of them even made me cry and made me hope there is a chance for a better future of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said Amina.
She strongly believes in Bosnia's multi-ethnic future. She calls on her peers to think and think actively.
“Ask academicians and listen to the competent ones, not those who fit,” Amina concluded.
