Severina tells Zagreb protest: ‘When they took my child, part of me died and became a vampire’

Severina Vučković brought a deeply personal anger to a Zagreb protest over hazardous waste dumped in the Gospić area. Speaking to reporters, the singer connected the residents’ environmental struggle with her own fight over her child.

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I am here like all these people, and because I am also a citizen of the Republic of Croatia. Because I went through a very difficult period when corruption took my child from me. And a part of me died.

“I am here like all these people, and because I am also a citizen of the Republic of Croatia. Because I went through a very difficult period when corruption took my child from me. And a part of me died,” she said.

She described that part of herself as having turned into an inner force against injustice. “That part turned into a little vampire who decided it would drink their blood until they accept that they have to be responsible for this society,” Severina said.

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That part turned into a little vampire who decided it would drink their blood until they accept that they have to be responsible for this society.

Tens of thousands of people gathered for the “Walk for Lika, Walk for Croatia” protest. Participants assembled at King Tomislav Square before marching toward Ban Josip Jelačić Square, where the central program was scheduled.

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Yesterday my child, today the children of Lika, Gospić. Their mouths are full of talk about children.

Organizers called for the immediate and complete remediation of contaminated sites, accountability for those responsible for dumping the waste, and clear deadlines for its removal. They warned that the waste posed a serious threat to public health and the environment in Lika. Severina also criticized politicians and the opposition, urging them to act more concretely and propose legislation to prevent waste from entering Croatia.

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The opposition should already have proposed a law so that not a kilogram, not even a gram, of waste enters Croatia.