31.10.2014
Ceremonial academy "Bizerta in the heart of Serbia" held
With the intention to remind of the significant rule of the people of the North Africa in recovery of the Serbian Army in the Great War and thus, once again, marks the centenary of the beginning of the Great War, the Association of the 1912-1918 War Veterans descendants and admirers organized a Ceremonial academy and exhibition titled “Bizerta in the heart of Serbia” at the Central Military Club of Serbia.
The opening of the exhibition “Serbia remembers the allied Bizerta”, set up by Luka Nikolic, descendant of Djunisije Nikolic, soldier of the 4th Serbian Army Regiment, buried at the military cemetery in Tunisia in 1916, and Boris Bascarevic was attended, among the others, by Dragan Popovic, State Secretary at the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Policy, representatives of the Armed Forces of Serbia, Ambassadors of Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco in Belgrade historians, members and friends of the Association of the 1912-1918 War Veterans descendants and admirers and a great number of enthusiasts of the history and tradition of the Serbian people.According to Vidoje Golubovic, PhD, President of the Association of the 1912-1918 War Veterans descendants and admirers, the organizers’ goal was, with the exhibition and Academy where Tanja Fero’s film “Bizerta – A return to the legend” was shown, to contribute to preservation of memory of the selfless help of the people of Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco who, after the Albanian Golgotha and the arrival of the Serbian Army to Corfu, significantly contribute to a faster recovery of Serbian soldiers. Over 60,000 Serbs went through 36 locations purposed for medical treatment of Serbian soldiers, 3,226 of whom died and 36,000 were referred back to the front after recovery.According to Mirjana Zoric, PhD, every third Serbian soldier went through healthcare centers in Bizerta and the north of Africa.
Arranged and preserved Serbian memorial complexes and monuments in North Africa are in 24 cemeteries in Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco, whose peoples, when the Serbian Army was almost ruined, provided great help in recovery and training of the soldiers. Between 1916 and 1919, at the north of Africa, they built Serbian churches, hospitals, schools… The humanity of the friendly nations of the North Africa during 1916 has remained a shining example of selfless sacrifice which will last forever in the collective memory of the Serbian people. This was also shown by the Ceremonial Academy of the Association of the 1912-1918 War Veterans descendants and admirers, which included History Professor at MMA Mirjana Zoric, Professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences Dragan Simeunovic, Choir of Elementary School “Isidora Sekulic” and the Vocal Chamber Ensemble “Biljur”.
At the exhibition which was organized on the same occasion by Vidoje Golubovic, PhD, President of the Association of the 1912-1918 War Veterans descendants and admirers, tens of photographs were presented which illustrate the days of Golgotha of the Serbian Army across Albania and their recovery in North Africa. Materials of the Military Museum, SANU archives, National Library, Theatre Museum and private collections of the author were used. 