For months, thousands upon thousands of Serbs have been loudly rising up against their government. They accuse it of being corrupt to its core. But not here, not today. On this warm spring evening in Novi Sad, they are weeping for a young man from the region.

Vukasin Crncevic died after more than four months in the hospital. The 19-year old is the 16th victim of the tragedy last November that shook Serbia awake. After a renovation work by major Chinese corporations and local subcontractors, the canopy at Novi Sad's train station collapsed. Children and adults died under the rubble. Since then, the country has found no peace.

The demonstrators accuse the rulling caste around the autocratic President Aleksandar Vucic of corruption and nepotism. They demand fair elections and independent media. Simply put: more democracy. After the last elections in Serbia, in December 2023, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) criticized massive irregularities: The election was held in a climate of intimidation. The allegations included vote buying, multiple voting, policital violence, and people from neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina were allegedly brought in by bus to vote for Vucic's Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).