Tennis legend Novak Djokovic opened up about his traumatic past. He was just a child, caught in the crossfire of powers beyond his understanding at the time. The NATO bombings of Belgrade in 1999, shaped his and his family’s future. Djokovic was only 12 years old at the time and took shelter in his Grandfather, Vladimir’s home.
Novak and his family used to live in a second-floor apartment at the time of the bombings. He recalled instances that have been seared into his memory. “We used to come to this building, every single night of bombings because our building did not have a shelter and this building had an underground shelter,” said Djokovic (via BBC).
“It was a horrifying experience, for everyone,” said Djokovic. “Particularly for children. We did not realize what is happening, why are the planes flying over our city, dropping bombs, who does that?” he added.
“We just stopped reacting to it,” he added with a wry smile. When Novak was celebrating his 12th birthday, Belgrade was the focal point of the Balkan crisis.
“I was celebrating my 12th birthday party at the tennis club, during the ‘Happy Birthday ‘ song there was a plane, just flying over. You can’t really comprehend it you know how horrifying and scary that is” he said recalling the incident.
“You are here on the ground and someone is just flying over, dropping bombs in a second and disappearing” added the Serbian tennis star.
Novak Djokovic recalls the scars of the war
Two decades have passed but tension still remains due to the way NATO bombed Serbia. As an adolescent, it must have been traumatizing to live through it and see the aftereffects of the bombings.
Djokovic recalls a particularly horrifying instance they had to run and take shelter. “We were just about to fall asleep again, and then a huge explosion happened. My mom stood up very quickly and hit her head on the heater, and fell unconscious.”
“So, it was us crying because of the bombs, and it was us crying because mom was not reacting, and my dad was there, and you just don’t know what is happening, you know? Luckily my dad managed to help my mom get back to herself, and we collected our stuff quickly, took the necessities, and went out. There were no street lights, everything was shut off”
The tennis pro confessed it was the most traumatic experience of his childhood. “I slipped and fell, and I looked up and see this stealth plane flying and dropping things, and the ground was shaking.”
A bloody past and NATO’s turn to play savior
Serbian forces were accused of atrocities against ethnic Albanians. The bombings were NATO’s answer to push the Serbian forces out of Kosovo. When the air-raid sirens sounded, it was a cue to make your way down to the basement.
“When they sounded the alarm and the planes started to buzz, you never knew where the bombs would hit,” said Djordjo Milenic, a friend of Djokovic’s grandfather.
“They bombed whatever they wanted. ‘Collateral damage,’ they said. They bombed bridges, and hospitals, and pregnant women died.” added the elderly man.
NATO had said that the intervention was necessary to “halt the humanitarian catastrophe that was unfolding” but carried out unlawful strikes according to Human Rights Watch, an independent organization.
When Djokovic was asked how the war had shaped him, he said, “In a way these experiences made me a champion, it made us tougher, made us more hungry for success.”
Novak Djokovic’s story is that of a child, among many, shaped by war. It is a story of humble beginnings and the long, and difficult journey to greatness. It really took blood, sweat, and tears for the tennis legend.