PRINCESS KATHERINE KARADJORDJEVIC

 THE CROWN BROUGHT MILLIONS TO SERBIA

 The secret is in faith, friendship, and persistence, says Princess Katherine for “Vesti” commenting on the fact that the Karadjordjevic’s have, in early June, raised more than half a million Euros worth of aid for Serbia

Prince Alexander II and his wife Princess Katherine Karadjordjevic have, in early June, raised more than half a million Euros worth of aid for Serbia. In the past 6 years since they have lived in Serbia, according to Princess Katherine’s Foundation, more than 10 million Euros have been collected in medical equipment alone, and the huge charity effort since it was started in London in 1991, is impossible to measure.

 Different types of aid came not only to Serbia, but to the people in all Serbian areas engulfed by the conflict on the territory of the former Yugoslavia. On 4 June, during one night alone, about 300,000 Euros were raised during a huge humanitarian event in  Paris, on which the Karadjordjevic’s had brought together numerous representatives of European nobility, big businesses, artists and other dignitaries, so we are now discussing with Princess Katherine the secret of their success.

 -         The secret is in faith, friendship, and persistence. My Foundation has brought friendship and respect to the Serbian people. We can earn respect worldwide only on the basis of how we treat our people, and nobody can be neglected. I really believe in the people and in Serbia, I believe everything is possible if we are well organised, if we know how to lobby, how to explain what our needs are, and how to give a chance to people to work with us. When you are open for all this, with respect and persistence, we can make it.

All doors open

Having in mind years of anti-Serbian propaganda worldwide, was it difficult for you to get foreign dignitaries involved, like you did recently in Paris?

- What is very helpful are years of friendships and contacts. Money is not the most important thing, what is important is that the people whom we bring into Serbia can see for themselves what our needs are and help, like, for example, the doctors from across the world who come to operate and pass on their experiences to our doctors and provide them with specialisation abroad. In order for the people to trust you, they must gain confidence in you, and in order to gain confidence, friendships need to be nourished. Those who have been our friends for years know of our love for Serbia, for all its citizens and all our people. They know that we work without a break and they want to help. For example, Princess of Liechtenstein whom we have known for many years, decided to help as soon as I told her about the needs of my country. People worldwide want to be engaged when they see that the person they are cooperating with is serious and responsible, sincere and honest, that she lives for her people and with her people. That is probably why all the doors we knock on are open to us. It is not just about the humanitarian aid. My husband has, with his lobbying, helped Serbia return onto a world map in a positive way, he brought many investors, and he is providing scholarships for the most talented students and helping their advancement abroad. All this can be achieved only through strong friendships worldwide. If we had not been gathering people around us, we would have never achieved what we have achieved so far.

What is your relationship with the Serbian Diaspora?

- Very good. We too have lived in exile for decades; we know how much the Diaspora loves its homeland. We know the rights of many people here have been violated, and that they had to leave, discouraged by the situation in Serbia. Many have lost faith to return, but they have not lost their love. They help in different ways; they support their fellow countrymen because of the poverty and unemployment in their country. But, I never thought that only the Diaspora should be helping. I wish they would engage their friends, neighbours, and colleagues from work, so that we can cooperate more this year. It was very interesting when I was in Lebanon and I asked them about the situation there. They told me: “There are 3 million of us here and 4 million of those who work for us from abroad”. We too could be organised like that, so that every person can help with what he or she can offer. Anybody who wishes to be engaged can, via my Foundation, get the list of needs of medical institutions in Serbia, and can decide what they can give and to which hospital, or, perhaps, to the local health centre in their town of birth, from the smallest medical instruments to, for example, baby incubators and operation tables. Other ways of aid are possible, money is not the most important issue; there is also knowledge, experience, good will. When there are feelings, there are possibilities, and we in Serbia have so much to learn from our people abroad, in all professions. Not only could the working population be of help, but also the pensioners, who can pass the knowledge from their professions to the people in Serbia. That too is a big help. We are lacking all sorts of experts who keep in touch with the world, from skilled guildsmen to doctors of sciences.

The Diaspora project

How are your activities in Serbia received?

- The basic problem in our country is that the people are very proud and it is a tough decision for them to ask for help from others, in spite of all the difficulties, but they have to understand that even the Bible says: “Ask and thou shall receive”. We must work together, because we can do a lot for Serbia. The successful Serbia is the fruit of working together. We now have a very sensitive economy, a fragile democracy, and we must be very careful not to destroy what was created. We must go forward, not backward, but that does not mean giving up on history. Nobody can take that away from us, but we can’t live in the past as time does not stop. We must create the future for ourselves and our descendants. People here wish to have a life of quality, good hospitals for their health, the opportunity for their children to be educated at a University, get a job and stay in Serbia, and for a family to be what a family should be, because life is short. People have been leaving the country for decades, now the time has come to change that, and my husband will soon present an interesting project for the Diaspora.

That being

- First he will organise a survey to see who wants to return and for what reasons, what professional profile that person has, what kind of job and life he or she expects in Serbia. Then, from the results obtained, he will initiate a huge action to help those who wish to live in their country once more. Already now there are many foreign companies, and there will be more in Serbia, which have invested millions. They need experts, someone who speaks Serbian and foreign languages, who have worked abroad and gained experience. That is an opportunity. If they can make the same amount of money in Serbia, or even more money than elsewhere, I believe that many will opt to return, to be closer to their parents, to have their children grow up with their grandpas and grandmas. In our culture, family is tradition and it is important for a spiritually healthy life. Besides, we can do a lot for Serbia, and we are not going to do it by thinking only of ourselves and waiting for others to do something for us. We must also unify all those who wish to help; success is in unity, and those to whom this is not important, will be fewer and fewer in numbers over time, and they too will wish to take part.

 She knew where she was at

When you married Prince Alexander, did you assume that you would be so engaged for the Serbian people and Serbia?

- When I met my husband, he asked me if I was ready to love his 3 sons and the people of his country. And I knew where I was at. I followed the desires of my husband, not only because he wanted me to, but because I also have a heart, I also am from the Balkans where family tradition, love for children and country are most important for any person. My husband was often told by his father King Peter that “we are physically in exile, but not spiritually, and that we will always be with our people”. So, it was not a mistake that the destiny of my husband was to be with his people. This is our life, and for the past 17 years, our goal was and is to help and give all that we can, so that our people can stand up on their own feet once again, so that the suffering and the isolation would stop, so that the bad image worldwide would change and that our people are treated as equal citizens of the European community.

The joy is in giving

What does your work day look like?

- It’s actually two working days in one, and I pray to God to give me more hours in a day. My husband often says to me as midnight closes in: “It’s enough for today, take a rest. Everyone is asleep and you can’t help them now”. But, I remind him that not everyone in the world is asleep at this hour and that our country waits for us to do something useful the following morning. Helping others, that is my oxygen. The joy is in giving and good is always returned by good. God sees everything, and He rewarded me by giving me the chance and the privilege to help our people, which is what our children understand and support.

By: Radmila Loncar