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A “private” room with a broken window was not private
In Serbia, it’s hard to call this experience as doing a volunteering job, because In Jamena village all the tasks DN assigned were not related to Dog Rescue Project. Even my private room couldn’t be called a private place, because DN and AN (the 80 year old dementia woman) intruded into my room randomly, there was a broken window with a gaping hole in my bedroom, the hole was big enough for two cats to come in at the same time.
Before I moved to the bedroom, the broken window was the entrance for cats to come to the house, it’s a regular route for them to pass every day. Since I moved to the bedroom, I had to block the hole with a big carton and something heavy to prevent the carton from falling.
DN escaped punishment from Germany to Serbia
According to DN, she was religious, she wanted to perform her religious duties with regularity. On her WhatsApp brief description there was a cold word ” Trinity”. She intended to combine Trinity and the “dog rescue”.
DN is the so called” dog rescue project” founder’s Serbian name, her German name is HN. She was born in Germany, married to a Serbian guy who’s a veterinarian working in Germany. DN did something against German laws, she only told me it’s about vaccines for dogs, dog trading to another country, having a fear of being reported by neighbours in Germany. She couldn’t afford a lawyer in Germany, so she escaped from Germany to her husband’s village house in Serbia.
Her husband did something else that was against the law in Germany, so he couldn’t leave Germany so far. The overtone of DN’s verbal account was both of them had criminal background in Germany. What DN was doing for the dogs couldn’t be called as a project, actually it’s a guise of being a gold digger. Because there was no systematic management, no transparency of fund accounts, no regular hired staff, even no separation between dogs and cats!
DN had fallen behind with payments of the hostel she reserved for me
I arrived in Belgrade on 03, Feb , as part of DN’s arrangements, one night at a hostel was a deal, I didn’t ask for the accommodation offer, she offered it on her own initiative. The next day, she would drive me to Jamena. When I checked in a hostel in Vračar, the hostel owner told me that DN would cover the amount. The next morning I called DN that I had already checked out, it’s time to pay for the bill, she answered that she would arrive in 2 hours. But soon she changed her mind and asked me to wait for her at a teahouse.
After a talk at the teahouse, DN had no intention for the bill she owed the hostel. But when I mentioned the hostel cost to her, she repeatedly postponed paying it. While she was driving to the hostel, she kept asking me nervously about the direction, where and how to turn on the roads in Belgrade, because she was constantly getting lost.
After we got to the hostel by car, DN asked for cash from me, her excuse was the hostel didn’t accept bankcard payment, so she borrowed 3000 Dinara from me when I was in the car. She took my 3000 Dinara to the hostel. The hostel owner was unaware that actually I paid for this bill, DN only delivered this money from outside to inside.
Although DN had my Viber and should have gotten in touch with me directly, I could hear the hostel owner was upset because DN repeatedly called him to check on my presence at the hostel. She was not genuinely giving me a treat! If you really wanted to honour your friends, you wouldn’t use the pretext that you didn’t have enough cash in your wallet to ask the honoured friends to pay the bill.
This was the first time DN borrowed my money, she borrowed my money twice, the second time was that she didn’t have enough money in her wallet to pay for the chicken eggs she ordered in the village.
DN was not familiar with the traffic rules and parking lots in Belgrade, she kept asking passersby about how she could turn at different intersections. When DN realised she had taken the wrong road, she had to double back.
We planned to do grocery shopping in Novi Beograd before I came to Serbia, DN kept changing the scheduled items with the words” The Chinese shopping centre is closed, I didn’t know their opening time, I just remembered that I need to meet a trainer, you need to wait for me, everything is so expensive in Serbia…”.
A harbinger of meeting a gold digger host
All the tasks DN assigned to me were housework. After I quit the de facto domestic servant position, the last message I received from DN was ” You didn’t even stay enough for one month, I shouldn’t have paid you the hostel!”.
She wasn’t being serious with her offer! Not even a buddy would act in such a way. I therefore promptly blocked her. I still recall that DN didn’t say goodbye, thank you, or even glance at me when I left her house at 05:10 in the morning.
I only assisted DN with the chores for four days, but every day I was under a lot of stress. The first time I was abruptly woken by screaming from the living room, DN raged at an elderly woman with dementia named AN, who was 80 years old. AN wanted to leave the living room, so she accidentally unlocked my door.
Since it was my first day at DN’s, I was anxious. I questioned DN about her relationship to AN, DN said she’s AN’s care worker. DN was paid to take care of AN, but DN didn’t love the work. Every day, she had to push AN to close the door carefully and remind her not to bring in any damp wood or let the dogs in.
Why did I go to a remote Serbian village – Jamena
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Jamena, a village close to the Bosnian border, geographically, should be an ideal place for me to make a visa run, which was also why I made the decision to travel to this isolated area. But I didn’t anticipate that there wouldn’t be a bus heading to Bosnia. Instead, I would need to use a car and a ferry to go there.
DN informed me her car broke down, but she had rented a new one before I left for Serbia. When we first arrived in Jamena together, DN informed me she needed to return the rental car, so all she had was the broken one. However, by the third day, she said she no longer had a car. DN often complained that she was running out of money, therefore she won’t honour her word that she would assist me with a visa run. I would therefore always present myself as a tourist in Serbia.
DN should be aware of her eligibility to find an international volunteer as the “Project”‘s member. She continued to be uninformed about Serbian immigration laws and recruitment, though!
DN kept complaining, “I’ve never heard of Spanish or Russian volunteers in need of a visa to perform this labour, why can I do anything and go anywhere with a German passport? Why is there a need for such a lengthy procedure while taking a Chinese person? Although getting employees a visa is a necessary element of the “project” work, she felt it was a hassle. due to the fact that it was expensive and time-consuming.
In Jamena, I only discovered two tiny shops, but they weren’t listed on Google Maps, the things were more expensive, and there were a lot fewer alternatives than in Belgrade. The only language used in the village is Serbian. DN’s house was the only area where dogs barked. The dogs were living in the yard because DN didn’t want to spend her own money on creating a shelter for the dogs and cats, so the yard served as their domain. Because of this, I was bitten by a vicious black dog while assisting DN in searching the yard for her missing mobile.
I had never been bitten by a dog before, so I was hoping the scar on my right leg won’t be permanent. The dog bite incident occurred on the second day that I was staying at DN’s house, and due to a lack of funds, DN refused to give or purchase iodine for me. A legitimate “Dog Rescue Project” should always have a first aid kit on hand in case an animal bites someone. But DN’s attitude was that she wouldn’t be able to buy anything if no financial assistance arrived!
The kitchenette was like a zoo, the living room was flooded with dogs
I spent the majority of my time inside because I had household chores to complete. Cats frequently leaped on the cooktop or hid in the sink while seeking for food in the kitchenette, which was like a zoo in the living room. The sofa had dogs sleeping on it all day.
Dogs from the hallway would frequently sneak into the living room because the door couldn’t be shut completely and the locker was either too old or too damaged. Every time the door was left open, dogs would pour into the living room. When I had prepared several dishes, DN would eat one or two of them in part without telling me, and she continued to gorge on them even though I wasn’t yet ready to join her.
I was assigned with daunting tasks
Like so many other grouchy early morning, pre-coffee utterances she made, this one was ludicrously off-key. Everything in the house had to be fixed or replaced, including the windows, lockers, all doors, toilet, and walls. DN turned down one painter because she didn’t want to spend money on employing someone, so “volunteer” simply meant “free labour” for DN. DN was cunning enough to beguile the volunteers into doing the work for her.
The first day I stayed at her place, DN gave me the responsibility of going grocery shopping as part of my workday. The people responded in a Serbian manner because they could only speak Serbian. I was aware that in the Balkans, small business owners might assign you a lot of work without paying you, and you would be responsible for their errors and unclearly assigned processes. I therefore requested DN to write out the grocery list in Serbian, and she did so by writing “bread, milk, apples…”
When I returned from the greengrocer with these products, she yelled, “Why did you buy long-life milk? It costs more than fresh milk!” This question upset me, so I answered right away, “I didn’t take the long-life milk from the shelf; I just gave the saleswoman the shopping list paper, and she brought these items; you frequent the greengrocer’s, so they should know your favourites!”
Overpowering stench from an injured cat
On February 6, after lunch, one light brown cat was hurt after being bitten by a bunch of dogs in the yard, and DN was bitten by the cat when she snatched the cat from one of the dogs’ mouths. The cat was dying, and the stench was unbearable. It’s my first time seeing a pack of dogs tearing a cat apart. DN did not segregate cats and dogs, claiming that if they did not come to the living room, the living room would be like a jail. I couldn’t imagine her house could accommodate so many dogs.
According to DN, the dogs in the yard were vaccinated and very aggressive. One large German Shepherd dog nearly bit my face as I was taking out the trash. Over the course of a year, AN shackled this dog. I questioned DN if it was okay to confine the dogs to a specific location for their stable home. Her excuse was that there wasn’t enough money to construct a shelter or that it would appear to be a prison.
The odd thing was that the dogs never had a close relationship with anyone, yet every time we walked to the courtyard, they always barked aggressively! No stable area of the house was available for the dogs and cats to stay in!
DN had trouble coming to arrangements. Every time she started something, she would whine that she neglected to finish something else, so DN would always give up in the middle and get sidetracked with domestic trivia. As a result, nothing was finished!
Dementia, Carer, Thieves
DN checked AN’s bag every day. Since I had been living with them, I had discovered that AN stole various things from DN every day, including jewellery and notebooks. My waist bag that I had next to the table was unzipped on the first night, but I didn’t report it because it was my first night at DN’s house and I didn’t want her to make a big deal out of it. AN broke into my room on the second day and took my charger head and a cable.
When I discovered that these items were gone, I immediately notified DN. DN then asked AN to open her bag, and when AN consented, DN discovered my charger head and cable inside! DN reported AN’s theft behaviour to AN’s daughter on the call, they explained her theft addiction was from Dementia.
The majority of DN’s housework had to be done by AN and me.
What I did for her was:
- 1. Cooking. Thursday was her fasting day, I had to make vegan food exclusively for DN.
- 2. Painting. Despite the fact that the paint’s consistency was never ideal, I painted the frame of the bathroom window.
- 3. Firewood gathering. Although the wood was constantly too damp to use, I had to burn it to heat the cooker.
- 4. Cleaning. Cleaning the bathroom, the whole house, etc. The bar for impeccable cleanliness was undefined.
- 5. Being the role of a carer.
DN received payment for caring for AN, but she spent all of her time on her call and exploited me to take over for her as AN’s carer. She neglected to perform the caregiving work to AN because she was too busy working for a call center, which was unrelated to her project but paid more than the carer labour. All the caregiving duties and housework fell on me.
From 8am to 4pm, DN only wanted to be on the call. One time, there was only one aubergine and one celery stem left in the fridge. DN ordered me to cook them as soon as possible because they were no longer fresh after being in the fridge for two nights. I told DN that I had stopped eating, an aubergine and celery were not a good combination for making a dish, there was not even enough for one person to eat! DN was constantly running out of something, so AN and I had to make provision for future grocery expenses as well as other expenses.
Volunteers and AN shouldn’t be a cash cow of the so called project
I wanted to stop assisting her with the housework because DN still owed me money and kept pushing back the day when she would pay me back. The previous time, she promised to return the money last night, but she didn’t.
To get the same amount of money back, DN planned to steal it from AN’s pocket. DN informed me that she was given permission to spend AN’s pocket money by AN’s daughter. I doubted it! DN owed me 1450 Dinara, although it’s not a big amount, I didn’t want her to have the bad habit of not saving enough money for her needs.
On February 8th, AN consistently lagged behind me as I escorted her to a store selling agricultural supplies. AN complained to the shopkeeper about DN’s mistreatment of her and asserted that the money in her pocket should be used for herself alone and not for DN or the dogs.
Simply put, I didn’t have anything to do with DN’s caretaker duties and I wanted to keep away from these circumstances! AN lost the dog food she had purchased on the way to DN’s place, and DN complained because we failed to keep a check on it. DN failed in her responsibility as a carer since she was on call throughout the day, which is when a care worker is supposed to take a dementia patient shopping. It was unrelated to the “Dog Rescue Project” to be with AN.
The so-called “funds for dogs” that DN sought to solicit from individuals under the guise of the “dog rescue project” had not yet been provided. DN was money-driven, hence she had no concept of “social responsibility”. The cats and dogs had subpar living arrangements. She lacked the space and amenities to accommodate these animals and a dementia-stricken woman!
The “private room” DN set up for me was not private since AN and DN repeatedly barged into the room under the pretence of using it as part of their property, which was a major issue throughout the entire house. Every room of the house was decorated with biblical figures, occasionally I would spout off in contempt at her ignorant parishioners.
After 8 p.m. on February 8th, I had a serious conversation with DN. I explained to her that I was unsure of my role in the project, that the “dog rescue project” lacked a system and workflow, and that I wasn’t even convinced the money would be used to save the dogs. I could hear DN constantly complaining and yelling with AN about needing money for shopping while I was staying at DN’s place.
Due to the awful living conditions for both humans and animals, I personally don’t believe DN’s “Dog Rescue Project” is for assisting the dogs and cats. She was ineligible for dog rescue money, and she was rejected when she applied for funds from EU-based organisations. Since DN forced AN to give her the money from AN’s pocket—clearly against AN’s will—I went two days without eating. At DN’s home, I didn’t feel secure enough to eat anything. Unknown was the source of the money used for food and grocery shopping!
Demanding DN was busy with 3 jobs
When DN worked as a call centre agent, her pay was above average, but she was often complaining about not having enough food for herself and the dogs. DN was juggling three tasks at once, and because their working hours overlapped, it is apparent that she didn’t complete the other two tasks adequately.
DN seemed alarmed when AN entered the living room, despite the fact that it was a shared space for all of us. Sometimes DN asked AN to stay at the storage in the courtyard or even locked her outside the home. The absence of a heater outside the house forced AN, who was 80 years old, to remain outside in the chilly weather. Due to DN’s fear of getting dismissed from the contact centre for being preoccupied with domestic matters and missing calls, DN purposefully did this to AN.
Time to leave the dog-barking-noise-filled house
In the evening of February 8th, DN finally reluctantly gave the money back to me. When DN tallied the money, she gave me the larger notes first. I put the larger notes on the sofa, DN confusedly feigned that her smaller notes had mistakenly fallen on my larger notes. Her true intention was to steal the larger notes she had just given to me.
DN came to me for a serious conversation; she was acting suspiciously and went insane. The serious conversation began with “The seller from the agricultural products shop told her that AN was abused by her…” Later, AN’s daughter apologised for her mother stealing my charger head and cable on DN’s phone.
I took a deep breath and firmly informed DN that I had made up my mind to leave her place tomorrow morning, the reason was that I was not “suitable” for your “Dog Project” and your home. After hearing my choice, DN seemed embarrassed and couldn’t stop pulling her untidy hair.
DN chose me as AN’s carer for the remainder of her days staying at home based on how she responded to the call from AN’s daughter, and when she observed AN cleaning the house, DN complained that it should be my problem. I interrupted AN’s daughter’s argumentative remarks when she began to shout at me. “You made a mistake! I’m only a tourist in Serbia, and I came here to aid the dogs. After all the pandemic limitations are lifted in China, I’ll go to China.” After AN’s daughter quickly quieted down, I gave DN the phone.
I overheard AN’s daughter’s statements on the conversation as she rushed some words angrily towards DN while I was watching from a distance. The decision I made to leave her home was a shock to DN. I got out of the dog-barking-noise-filled house as quickly as I could and waited for the bus in the freezing cold, the temperature was a minus number.
DN’s last messages filled me with disgust
I got a mean message from DN when I arrived at my Russian friend’s flat in Belgrade. DN blackmailed me with the words, “You didn’t stay for one month even, I shouldn’t have paid you the hostel!” Her overtones were that she should be compensated for the money she spent on the hostel for me.
I never made the request for the hostel arrangement. I never promised her that I would stay at her place more than 1 month, I only said “as long as I can “. She wanted to exploit me! It’s a terrible nightmare as an ending of the” Dog Rescue Project “.
I had blocked DN on my Viber contacts, but she persisted in pestering one German guy we both knew to give her my phone number, which he eventually did. As a result, I received another shocking message from DN on WhatsApp: “Since you left, I can’t find the white cutting board and the green knife.” I was disgusted by her words! DN and AN always left something in unexpected places unwarily, and they were being suspicious about everyone at their place. DN should learn how to be a decent human being!
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