The photograph that has mollified and encouraged Serbia
A photograph of Brigadier General Predrag Bandic, Commander of the 204th Aviation Brigade of the Serbian Armed Forces, holding of in his arms a little girl in the rescue of snowed-in citizens in the vicinity of Zrenjanin provoked a storm of comments in the media and social networks. Few have remained indifferent to the sight that was captured on 31 January by photojournalist of Odbrana magazine Goran Stankovic. His photograph was published on the front pages of several daily newspapers, some of which have called it a photo of the decade! Therefore we looked for the story behind the photo that encouraged and mollified Serbia.An ordinary working day of a military photojournalist, or...?
Goran Stankovic, a photojournalist of Odbrana magazine was tasked that day to join Brigadier General Predrag Bandic, Commander of the 204th Aviation Brigade in helicopter on his way to Stajicevo where the members of the Serbian Armed Forces and the MoI Emergency Planning Department were helping the snowed-in citizens. I He was supposed to make some aerial shots of the snowbound column and military helicopter evacuation.
- We took off from the helipad of the MMA, first to Batajnica Airport, to refuel, and then to Zrenjanin. I felt that the "Gazelle" can barely cope with the wind that grew stronger as we approached Stajicevo – Goran Stankovic said admitting that adrenalin made him not to feel freezing and not to think much about the dangers of flying at such a storm.
Apart from General Bandic and photojournalist of Odbrana, in the helicopter there were a pilot, Major Slavko Bajac and Sergeant First Class Goran Stancevic.General Bandic wanted to personally oversee the complex evacuation of people which, as planned, should have been carried out by transport helicopter Mi- 8. Several times "Gazelle" landed and took off following Mi- 8 on the way to Zrenjanin.
Little Anja under snow
During one landing, Branislav Milosavljevic, Commander of the Fire and Rescue Battalion from Zrenjanin, informed General Bandic that the police had information that about a kilometer and a half away from there is a house with a baby with a nanny, and that due the storm they remained without food for the child.
Zorica Bajic, mother of little Anja, worked the afternoon shift at the plant in Zrenjanin the day before and, as she explained, she was supposed to come home where the nanny Verica Boric looked after her daughter the same night by bus.
- The bus that I took could not get through further from Stajicevo because of the snow drifts. So I stayed there to spend the night at relatives’, and Anja was at home with the nanny. The problem arose because they ran out of food for the child, so it got anxious. The police did not allow anyone to try to go to them and bring them food because of the blockade. They also did not dare to go for the child because there was a possibility to get stuck in snow drifts which would be very dangerous for the baby – Anja’s mother said. According to her, the military and police were looking for a way to take the child and the nanny out of there, they even thought of trying to break through using a tank, but in the meantime General Bandic arrived and fixed the problem.
Unplanned evacuation
The Commander of the 204th Aviation Brigade says he did not think much when he ordered the pilot to go for little Anja. Branislav Milosavljevic went with them to show them the way. They landed near the house. Nanny Verica was in shock when she saw the helicopter and the people who came for them. As she asked for a little time to prepare the necessary things for the child, General Bandic returned to Stajicevo in helicopter, and Sergeant Stancevic stayed with Verica and Anja.
- When we returned to pick them up, we landed very close to home. Everything was iced and the gates could not be opened. Sergeant Stancevic jumped over the fence and took the things, and I approached and took Anja over the fence to bring her on board the helicopter. Her nanny is afraid of flying and you can imagine what a shock was that for her when we told her to get into the aircraft at such a storm – General Bandic recalls the scene.Goran Stankovic, who has been a part of the crew that day, says that he did not let the camera from his hands. Among many recordings that he sent to the newsroom there was the one where General Mayor was carrying little Anja who was crying, trying to protect her from the impact of wind and cold air from the helicopter blades. The picture was published in the photo gallery website of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces among twenty others. However, the photograph very quickly began circulating on social networks and, as it turned out, had a strong emotional impact in public. Well-known journalist Bojana Lekic shared the photograph on her Twitter account with the comment: "Look at this man's face. Sure you would give him your child. A soldier saving a child in Banat." Only later, those who knew who was in question, discovered the identity of the Commander of the 204th Aviation Brigade.
General Bandic said that during the previous two days he did not have the opportunity to use the Internet as he was constantly "in action".
- All what we did, we did for our citizens, not for publicity. We will always offer our help the best we can. I am glad if people in the media have recognized our work – briefly commented the man whose face became familiar across Serbia in one day.
