Serbian South African is a South African citizen of Serbian descent or

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

-born person who resides in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

History

The

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 ...

did not give too much attention to the community of

Yugoslavs Yugoslavs or Yugoslavians ( Bosnian and Croatian: ''Jugoslaveni'', Serbian and Macedonian ''Jugosloveni''/Југословени; sl, Jugoslovani) is an identity that was originally designed to refer to a united South Slavic people. It has b ...

in the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Tran ...

. The state did not send teachers, priests or financially assistance to local associations, such as was the case with communities in

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

. In 1941, According to the first Yugoslav general consul in Cape Town Stojan Gavrilović, the local community was in chaotic situation. In 1942 the

Royal Yugoslav Army The Yugoslav Army ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Jugoslovenska vojska, JV, Југословенска војска, ЈВ), commonly the Royal Yugoslav Army, was the land warfare military service branch of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (originally Kingdom of Serbs, ...

sent agents on a mission to Cape Town to recruit local male civilians of Yugoslav descent to help with the war effort. In 1952 Serbian community that left

Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yugo ...

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

founded a local

Saint Sava Saint Sava ( sr, Свети Сава, Sveti Sava, ; Old Church Slavonic: ; gr, Άγιος Σάββας; 1169 or 1174 – 14 January 1236), known as the Enlightener, was a Serbian prince and Orthodox monk, the first Archbishop of the autocephalou ...

church and school municipality in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

. In 1978. local Serbian Orthodox Church dedicated to

Thomas the Apostle Thomas the Apostle ( arc, 𐡀𐡌𐡅𐡕𐡌, hbo, תוֹמא הקדוש or תוֹמָא שליחא (''Toma HaKadosh'' "Thomas the Holy" or ''Toma Shlikha'' "Thomas the Messenger/Apostle" in Hebrew-Aramaic), syc, ܬܐܘܡܐ, , meaning "twi ...

was built. Today local schools teach students Serbian language with support and under the program defined by Ministry of Education of Serbia. In 1962 Serbian modernist author

Miloš Crnjanski Miloš Crnjanski ( sr-cyr, Милош Црњански, ; 26 October 1893 – 30 November 1977) was a Serbian writer and poet of the expressionist wing of Serbian modernism, author, and a diplomat. Biography Crnjanski was born in Csongrád (mode ...

first published his work ''Lament over Belgrade'' in Johannesburg. During the

1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombings continued until an a ...

, Serbian South Africans and other supporters staged demonstrations against the NATO bombing campaigns that devastated Serbia in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, and

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

.Political Violence against Americans, 1999. DIANE Publishing, 2000. Bureau of Diplomatic Security's Office of Intelligence and Threat Analysis In 2012 the case of extradition of

Željko Ražnatović Željko Ražnatović (, ; 17 April 1952 – 15 January 2000), better known as Arkan (), was a Serbian mobster, politician, sports administrator, paramilitary commander and head of the Serb paramilitary force called the Serb Volunteer Guard du ...

killer Dobrosav Gavrić from

attracted media attention in both countries and South African journalist and editor in chief of City Press claimed that state become a haven for Serbian criminals. On 2013

Presentation of Jesus at the Temple The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple (or ''in the temple'') is an early episode in the life of Jesus Christ, describing his presentation at the Temple in Jerusalem, that is celebrated by many churches 40 days after Christmas on Candlemas, o ...

local church in

marked the anniversary of

Serbian Revolution The Serbian Revolution ( sr, Српска револуција / ''Srpska revolucija'') was a national uprising and constitutional change in Serbia that took place between 1804 and 1835, during which this territory evolved from an Ottoman prov ...

where 22 folklore groups took part in presentation of

Serbian folklore Serbian folklore is the folk traditions among ethnic Serbs. The earliest examples of Serbian folklore are seen in the pre-Christian Slavic customs transformed into Christianity. Roots and characteristics Folklore The Apostles of the Slavs, Cyr ...

. ''Serb Club "Zavičaj"'', ''Church and School Municipality Saint Sava'', ''Serb Cultural and Artistic Society "Africa"'' and ''Association "Serbian Unity"'' are active in South Africa.

Notable people

* Dejan Bogunović, footballer *

Veselin Jelušić Veselin Jelušić is a Serbian association football, football coach who is the manager of the Lesotho national football team, Lesotho national team. Career He taught at the University of Belgrade in the 1990s. He then managed two African nation ...

, football manager * Milutin Sredojević, football manager *

Kosta Papić Kosta Papić ( sr-Cyrl, Коста Папић; born 17 July 1960) is a Serbian football coach who has managed a number of great African clubs in South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria and Tanzania. Coaching career Previous clubs: Kaizer Chiefs, Maritzbur ...

, football coach

References

External links

Serbian Orthodox Church Saint Thomas, Johannesburg

European diaspora in Africa European diaspora in South Africa {{Serbia-stub

History

Notable people

See also

References

External links