03.04.2024.
Sergeant 1st Class Morović wins Noble Deed Award
A ceremony to award the annual Noble Deed Awards, which "Večernje Novosti" has been awarding for 61 consecutive years to noble individuals and organizations who have brought benefit to the entire society with their courage, kindness, daring and selflessness, was held in the Belgrade City Assembly today. Minister of Defence Miloš Vučević attended the ceremony.
This year, the panel of judges, chaired by academician Matija Bećković, awarded a gold plaque for the noblest deed performed by an individual to a member of the Special Purpose MP Detachment "Kobre", Sergeant First Class Tamara Morović, who donated a part of her liver to her colleague Dušan Kuskovski, who suffers from an autoimmune disease - primary sclerosing cholangitis. The judges’ explanation states that "although a single mother, this courageous woman with the brave heart of a soldier did not hesitate for a moment to save her colleague’s life." Sergeant Morović was presented the plaque by the editor-in-chief of "Večernje Novosti" Milorad Vučelić.
Minister Vučević congratulated Sergeant Morović, expressing his admiration for the award winners whom most of us had not even heard about, and whose stories were surreal, almost filmlike and biblical.
- A big thank you on behalf of all the citizens of Serbia and all Serbs, wherever they may live. Their stories are really amazing and it would not be fair to rank them in order of importance. I really don't envy the judges, who had to establish some kind of hierarchy between the awardees - said Minister Vučević.
He emphasized the importance of this event, which "Večernje Novosti" has been hosting for 61 years.- I would like to congratulate you for preserving the qualities that we have always possessed - nobility, solidarity and unity. I am amazed by the heroism and nobility of all these people, from the youngest to the oldest one. These wonderful people are proof that there are a lot of good people, and that, unfortunately, we talk much more about those who don't deserve being talked about - said Minister Vučević.
According to him, these noble people deserve to be talked and written about more, since their courage and heroism provide motivation, strength and a good example for others.
- I would like to thank them for that. Let their deeds and heroism be remembered - Minister Vučević said.
According to Sergeant Morović, the award means a lot to her because of her family, all the friends who supported her, but also because of the family of her deceased colleague. She said she would like this award to encourage others to donate organs and be more humane. It is not difficult to be noble and humane, she said, because that way, one makes new friends and becomes part of a new family.- Sign up and donate, your organ will breathe and live through someone else. I did not hesitate for a moment, because I wanted to save him and return him to his family. Fate had something else in store for him, but now his daughter, wife and mother have become my family – said Sergeant Morović.
According to Editor-in-Chief Vučelić, this is a rare and unique occasion, in a sea of sad and troubling news, for newspaper pages to be filled with stories about heroes.
- This day is written in the Serbian calendar in capital letters, because today we are the centre of the world, today we have both power and supremacy. This year, tirelessly searching for a good story, "Večernje Novosti" has put down on paper the noble deeds of some modest and great people, heroes from our neighbourhood. We are proud that our idea of promoting nobility has survived amongst these strange, modern values - Vučelić said.
According to Academician Bećković, it has been 61 years since "Večernje Novosti" started bringing to the public attention in the days leading up to Easter unknown heroes and their noble exploits. Every plaque for a noble deed is golden, he added.
- Those who started this tradition 61 years ago had no idea that humanity would become increasingly rare and times more and more inhuman and barbaric. In postmodern times, the question arises, what is the purpose of man. The phrases such as “thank you”, “sorry” and “excuse me” are ceasing to be used. Every noble man helps save the world and becomes a hero of our time - said Bećković.
A gold plaque for a collective noble deed was awarded to the fire-fighters/rescuers from the Ministry of the Interior of Serbia, who took part in the search for survivors and the bodies of the victims of a devastating earthquake that hit the east of Turkey in February last year.
A gold plaque for the noblest deed performed by a child went to Stefan and Miloš Stojanović, brothers from Gotovuša near Štrpce, who, returning from the Christmas party, were shot at and wounded by a member of the so-called Kosovo Security Services. The winners of a gold plaque for a collective noble deed performed by a child are the students of a detached class of "Mile Dubljević" Elementary School from Lajkovac in Bogovađa, who, together with their math teacher, Ivan Živanović, built a house for five Mitrović children in the Roma neighbourhood Palež, in the nearby village of Pepeljevac.A gold plaque was awarded posthumously to Milan Stevanović, a boy from Velika Moštanica who died on June 6, 2023, trying to save his friend Stefan Čolović who was drowning in Ada Ciganlija Lake, but unfortunately, the two inseparable friends died together.
The monks of Republika Srpska’s Osovica Monastery, who had restored this abandoned 13th century monastery, were awarded a Silver Plaque. The same award went to Perica Batrićević and his sons Petar and Aleksandar from Ulcinj, who have been selflessly rescuing drowning people at the mouth of the river Bojana into the Adriatic Sea for decades, Mumin Jakupi from Paraćin, who gave more than 1,000 euros for the surgery of a boy called Aleksandar Petrović, and Zdravka Rutić and Ljubinko Mlađenović, who saved a baby born in a public toilet at Belgrade’s bus station, after its mother had gone into sudden labour.
A silver plaque was also awarded to Dragica Gašić, who returned to Djakovica two and a half years ago and is now the only Serb who has returned there, Marko Nikolić from Vranje, who ran 1,420 kilometres through the Moroccan desert to help the treatment of Maksim Milenković, a seriously ill five-year-old boy, and to the Serbian Cultural Information Centre SPONA from Skopje, which has been strengthening the ties between our compatriots in North Macedonia and their motherland for 18 years.The same award was given to Jovan Mitrović from Malo Orašje, who ran from his village to the Tumane Monastery, in order to collect donations for the recovery of the villagers of Malo Orašje and Dubona, who were seriously wounded on May 4 last year. A silver plaque also went to Marjan Vasić and Vladimir Stojković, waiters from Niš who donate a portion of their tips to sick children and Željko Stanisavljev, who gives away leftover food from his bakery to the poor in Kikinda.
Today's ceremony was attended by government ministers, members of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces, representatives of the City of Belgrade, families and friends of the awardees and numerous guests.
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