Byzantine Blog

Yes, but we Serbs have nothing to be prod of, At the end of his life this great man could not afford to bay the medicine to threat his illness. No welfare no pension from the Serbian government.

What you say, Dragan, is not quite correct: Serbian Government did approve Bajramovic's request for pension, even though he did not qualify for it by the years of employment -- state apparatus is a cold and heartless thing everywhere in the world, and Serbia is neither better nor worse in that regard. He was also given free access to medications and free medical care, as well as the one-time financial aid in the amount of 100,000 dinars, from Serbian Ministry of Health.

He passed away a day before he was scheduled to be transported to Serbia's top, world-class medical clinic, Military Medical Academy (VMA) in Belgrade, for the free-of-charge treatment by the best cardiologists and specialists in Europe.

But, if the purpose is to lay the blame, there is plenty to go around. Perhaps the King's heart would've lasted longer if his country wasn't bombed and if he didn't have to live through it. Have you thought of that? You can also point fingers at his four daughters who, according to their late great father, are "scattered throughout the world" and have all but forgotten their weak and ailing dad.

But, blaming the Serbs as a collective is still the easiest and some people's favorite pastime.

When we were researching the material for this modest tribute to a truly greatest Gypsy singer and composer in the world, we found that the late King had a number of passionate fans outside of Serbia too, even some Croats, some Bosnian Muslims, the Englishmen... many LOVED Bajramovic's music just as much as we Serbs did, and cried cathartic tears over it, but has any of them (who will now, no doubt, just like you, rush to blame the Serbs for his impoverishment in the end), written to Bill Clinton and Tony Blair in March of 1999 to beg them to at least spare the town of Nis, where a music giant lived? I dare you to find one such word of protestation by all who are now shedding crocodile tears and prefer to smear the Serbs once again for not providing more money for the legendary Gypsy. Or, better yet, what have they done for Saban Bajramovic, except for stealing his music and trying to get rich over his back?!

The sad fact is, when you starve Serbia, you are not starving just the chosen few, you starve everyone in Serbia. When you bomb Serbia, you don't harm just one man, you harm, hurt and destroy the lives of every Serb and everyone in Serbia -- the great minds, the great artists, the budding tennis talents and other sportsmen, just like the politicians and the common, less gifted, ordinary people.

Gypsies, as well as all the other ethnic groups who have been living with Serbs and among Serbs all these years, suffer alongside Serbs in Serbia. Look at the Kosovo-Metohija province under the KLA butchers -- Gypsies are the second after Serbs in the amount of terror they had to endure! Now, they are almost completely eradicated in Kosovo province and how many among the tens of thousands of butchered and ethnically cleansed Gypsies there were Saban Bajramovic's successors? Does anyone care? Do any of the moralizing bigmouths complain to their governments over this genocide, is anyone demanding that their governments revoke the recognition of the genocidal KLA dictatorship?

We don't see it happening. Do you? Where is this moral outrage when it is entirely justified and called for?

Saban Bajramovic loved Serbs and his country, and Serbs loved him back. He gave his daughters Serbian names and accepted every invitation to every show, performance, concert or guest performance in Serbia, where he chose to stay, even though he had opportunities to move away and live elsewhere. For Serbs, he was a giant and a myth, and it shall remain so.

But don't you know that we have people literally dying of hunger in Serbia today? Our children who are nowadays winning grand slam championships had to hone their skills under the bombs, in emptied swimming pools. Nevertheless, they love their country and are so proud of it that they cry when their country's anthem is playing. Saban loved his country very much too, despite all the misery and suffering he had to endure alongside his Serbian compatriots.

Please try to refrain from blaming the entire Serbian nation for the things it is not guilty of. Serbia is terribly impoverished and weakened -- if you enjoy moralizing, perhaps you should take a close look at those who brought it down to its knees.

ИСТИНА BBlog staff , dragane polako brate.

The thing that is truly tragic about this genius is that he did not legally protect his songs -- if he had, he would've been a millionaire without a doubt, and regardless of the sanctions and other hardships Serbia has been put through.

Out of just a handful of his songs listed above, at least half are stolen, re-worded, and re-arranged by a dozen singers and groups out there that we could find in just a quick out-of-curiosity search. It's terrible! We found a Bosnian Muslim who is making millions off the sale of CDs and on concerts from Bajramovic's songs, an Italian group, an American jazz band, a British group, a Hungarian singer, Romanians.... a total ripoff! That is what is truly disgusting, that so many others profited off Bajramovic's genius, without even verbally crediting him for the authorship, let alone paying him for using his stuff.