CROWN PRINCESS KATHERINE'S INTERVIEW FOR "PRAVDA" DAILY, 1 March 2008

Serbs are tired of promises

- Serbs have gone through a very rough period: war, behind them is war, big crisis, the employment rate in the country that is still low, many have lost their loved ones... All that is behind them and has left deep scars. That is why my motive to help the Serbs is more than clear - said Crown Princess Katherine Karadjordjevic in an interview for Pravda daily.

How come a Greek woman, who married Alexander Karadjordjevic and became a Serbian Princess - has the need to do so much for the Serbian people?

-When I got attached to Alexander, I knew that I, at the same time, had made a commitment to his people as well. His destiny is to be always close to his people. That is his obligation, which he had made very clear both to me and to his sons. When war started in this region, he came to me and said: "I don't know what will happen to us, whether we will return to Serbia and what the future will have in store for us, but I know that my people need me now. That is why we must work as much as possible for the people during this conflict. If we ever return, I want to know that I am able to look them straight in the eyes and say that I have done everything in my power to help them". That was the most important thing to him - to help the people and to show them that he had not forgotten them.

How much were you influenced by your origin and upbringing?

- A lot. I have grown up in a family in which philanthropy was something like oxygen. To me, to my father and to my mother who raised me. Two months ago, my father, at the age of 92, was awarded by the Greek Government for his charitable activities. In Serbia there is a saying similar to the one - like father, like son. The philanthropists that my father and mother were, and that they still are, have taught me to breathe by helping others. Everyone in the world must know that charitable work is learned. And all lessons are the easiest to learn when one is young, and so one should not wait to grow up in order to learn to help others.

Serbia was touched by your reaction when little Dijana needed an urgent heart operation, that resulted in you bringing the world famous doctor Kalangos so that he could operate on her heart. Knowing you, I suppose that you, having heard of Dijana's case, picked up the phone and called Kalangos and said: "Doctor, I need you right here, right now"?

- You are right, it was just like that. Basically, on the Christmas day, when I visited the hospital in Tirsova Street and saw Dijana who had two or three weeks left to live, when I saw her mother sitting in the corner of the room, by the bed and crying, I felt like her mother. I didn't care about her last name, her origin, anything. And trust me, nothing would have prevented me from helping her. Nothing. Nobody. I called doctor Kalangos and told him: "Doctor, you are so far away, and I need you here". He then promised that he would come and help little Dijana in a few days. I was happy to hear that and I left for Italy with my husband. And then, one day, I got a call from the hospital in Tirsova Street. Doctor Ida Jovanovic told me then: "We know that the doctor will come to our clinic tomorrow to operate on little Dijana. But, I fear it will be too late. Either he will get here today, or he will have nobody to operate on". That terrified me and I told my husband that the visit to Italy was at that moment completely irrelevant to me, I called Kalangos and asked him: "Where are you?" He replied that he was abroad, operating. I asked him if any of his little patients were in a life threatening situation, and he said - none of them. "Well, doctor", I told him, "in Belgrade the life of little Dijana is at stake". Doctor Kalangos told me that he could come only with a private jet, and I told him: "Not to worry, the plane is on its way already". You know, when you take upon yourself the commitment to save someone's life, there is nothing more important. I called up my friends who own private airplanes and asked them “Have you ever been in a situation to save someone's life?  If you have not, I will give you an opportunity to do it!“ One of them, secured the aircraft and within an hour doctor Kalangos was on his way to Belgrade, and  landed soon after in our capital. I also called Dijana's mother and told her that I have made a promise to save her child, and that I am going to keep that promise.

How is Dijana doing today?

- Excellent. She was recently at our Palace, she had completely recovered, and today she does what all children do - she is living a normal and happy life of a normal, healthy child. This tells us that, if we wish to achieve something, we need to make a small extra effort, and to treat the people around us like our dearest ones. We are all God's children. Don't be indifferent.  Do it, don’t think, just do it.

What does it mean to be a Princess in Serbia?

-It means that you have a huge chance and that you have to work very, very hard, and very much. God has blessed me with a position that I can do a lot, but had I not been raised the way I was raised by my parents - the title by itself would not have been enough. That is why I am grateful to my parents for the upbringing they gave me, to Alexander for bringing me here and to the Serbian people for giving me a chance to help them.

Do Serbs know how much you and the Crown Prince have done for your homeland so far?

- We are typical Serbs. When I say we, I mean the two of us. And when I say typical, I mean that we are not good in lobbying for ourselves. We both feel as parents in Serbia. And parents do not shout from the housetops about what they have done for their children. We devote every second of our time to helping Serbs have a more normal life, a better life. Every day, even now while we are talking, Alexander spends his time thinking how to bring more investors to Serbia, how to secure better jobs for the Serbs, how the youth - in which he rests all his hopes - can obtain good careers in their homeland…. You know, I have always loved him, and as time passes by, I love him truly even more, because I see how much he is working for this country and his people, not thinking about himself, not for a moment. I wish Serbs would get a chance to know him as well as I do, to see better what he has done for his homeland and the people in it.

How would you briefly describe him?

- He is a man of peace and good will. He does not have a single drop of bad blood within himself and the politicians of this country should see this. I know for a fact that many investors had come to Serbia only because of Crown Prince Alexander. I know, because I spoke to them personally. His contribution simply can not be measured.  I know that we will work even more so that the people in this country can see that we are working in their interest.

You say that you will demonstrate with deeds, not words, the things that could be achieved?

- I think that people are tired of promises. They are especially tired of promises from abroad. This country has been misunderstood so many times. My husband works very hard to erase those stereotypes about Serbs, that bad image we have worldwide, that is haunting us. The classic example for that is the Kosovo story. The same moment Kosovo separated, the media worldwide have broadcast the old story as Serbs being the bad guys. You know, we are a strong nation, but we are also a nation that has been pressured a lot. Enough is enough. Enough! The world must know that Serbs are a nation just like any other in the world: a nation that deserves happiness, prosperity.

I know that the Crown Prince had very emotionally taken the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo. How did you take it?

- I still feel torn apart! It was as if someone had taken out my heart, or pulled out my arm, or some vital body part. How many times do we need to say that it is our Jerusalem? It is so hard for me that the world did not understand this.

You cannot take a thousand years away from us! Regardless of the fact who lives in Kosovo now, you cannot do it. Look, for example, at America - Florida, for instance!  All but Americans live there.  Serbs have been living in Kosovo for centuries. I could not believe that someone could be so cruel and pull out your heart. Both Alexander and I are shocked. We are very proud of all those young people who protested with dignity and peacefully at the rally. But, unfortunately, I heard almost nobody in the world speak about the peaceful demonstrations of hundreds of thousands of people - and not just the violence. These are double standards towards Serbs. Why? Why cannot we talk about these good things?  Why do we always refer to Serbs as the bad guys? I am not involved into politics, I am just a humanitarian, but I think there has been enough of blackmail. This country cannot be constantly blackmailed for two men that have not been found and arrested. Iraq and Afghanistan have not been blackmailed. The world must let us build our democracy and economy. They can not push us down all the time. That will not bring any good. The carrot and stick principle has to stop. We must be treated like any other country.

A.B.

 Helping women and children

- Since we have the largest percentage of cervical and breast cancer cases in Europe, at the Clinical Centre we shall be working on a programme to reduce these illnesses, in cooperation with the Sloan Kettering clinic from New York. The illnesses can be reduced simply by prevention - by medical check-ups.

Apart from that, we are also working on a programme to create a Bone Marrow Bank, that does not exist in Serbia, and is needed for treating leukemia and similar illnesses. We must also dedicate our attention to the paliative care in Serbia - people who have a fatal disease deserve a dignity until the very end. I am also working on a project regarding helping under age mothers. There is also a project that is not so much humanitarian as it is entrepreneurial: if women entrepreneurs in Serbia have a good idea but lack the finances, the organisation I cooperate with is there to help them. You know, women in this country are heroes and we must help them more than others. They are honest, with integrity, ideas. Perhaps among them a future leader of this country is to be found.  .

A lot of work

- After the problems that Dijana had, I understood that one can not play with heart. If you must react, you must do so immediately. That is why in Geneva we are launching a charity project with doctor Kalangos so that we can build a Centre in Tirsova Street that would deal with those kinds of problems, and the doctors that will be operating in Belgrade will be trained by this expert in Switzerland. That will be the only Centre in the Balkans for the serious heart problems in children. The Government cannot send children abroad all the time for things like that. Simply, there is not enough money. This will be finished  in the next several months.

We are always there for our people

At this moment, Kosovo is permanently on my mind. We will soon go there again and deliver a humanitarian donation and an ambulance vehicle. I want them to know that we shall never turn our backs on them, and that they will never be forgotten. The Karadjordjevics will always think of them and help them.

This woman of a big heart does not care too much if the media are following her every step.