08.08.2020.
The “Man among the People” recognition awarded to Minister Vulin by the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration
Aleksandar Vulin, Minister of Defence and the President of the Migration Working Group, was awarded today the “Man among the People” recognition by the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration of the Republic of Serbia.
The recognition which is awarded for the first time to a person who is not a member of the Commissariat, was awarded to Minister Vulin by the Commissioner for Refugees and Migration, Vladimir Cucić, during today’s visit to the migrant reception centre in Obrenovac.
Minister Vulin pointed out that it is a great honour for him to receive the "Man among the People" recognition and to be the first person who is not a member of the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration to receive that award.
- Coming from these people, it is a huge recognition. They are brave, hard-working people who were there in the most difficult moments in 2015, when 10,000 people entered this country every day. They are the people who did not leave their workplaces even when it was much harder than it is today, who were not afraid of diseases or migrants, or anything that could happen to them, who always stood by their country and their people. These are the people who have been there since Operation "Storm", these are the people who accepted our refugees in Rača, who saw what it was like for the internally displaced Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija to flee from Shiptar terrorists. These are the people who have escorted more than a million migrants through this country, and have not allowed a single serious incident to happen. These are the people whose respect and whose gratitude mean a lot, and we should all respect them and be grateful to them - said Minister Vulin.
Speaking about the importance of the "Man among the People" award, Commissioner for Refugees and Migration, Vladimir Cucić pointed out that it is a great thing when a small but very busy company such as the Commissariat for Refugees has the support of a man who, regardless of the institution he works for and his duties, knew how to respond to countless challenges over the past few years in a good and honest manner.
- I started cooperating with Minister Vulin while he was working in the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, and we continued this cooperation while he was the Minister of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs and I was especially lucky to cooperate with him, as the President of the Working Group for Mixed Migration Flows, in two major crises since 2015. Today's recognition is not unexpected, it should probably have been awarded earlier, but many things have been left aside in 2020 due to the pandemic, so only now, in this way, we pay tribute to Aleksandar Vulin as a “man among the people” - said Cucić expressing profound belief that Minister Vulin deserves this recognition for his entire contribution.
Cucić especially stressed the exceptional cooperation with the Ministry of Defence, adding that there are few units of the Serbian Armed Forces with which they did not cooperate in the previous period.
- Once again, I express my sincere gratitude and full recognition for everything that Minister Vulin has done all these years. There are three things about Serbia that have never been disputed, and one of them, for which they admire us, is the management of the migrant crisis and Aleksandar Vulin is the president of that Working Group, which speaks for itself of how dedicated and successful he is in this matter - concluded Cucić.
