Jović: Vidovdan Day in Chicago a gesture of friendship

29. Jun 2021.
The decision of the Mayor of Chicago, Lori Lightfoot, to mark every 28 June as an official holiday, Vidovdan Day in Chicago, is an exceptional gesture of friendship towards the Serbian community that has lived in this city for more than 120 years and contributes to its development and progress in all areas, the Consul General of Serbia in Chicago, Damjan Jović, said for Tanjug today.

This gesture of friendship is even more important, taking into account the fact that Serbia and the United States are marking 140 years of diplomatic relations this year, and in this regard, this decision of the mayor sends a message of friendship to the entire Serbian people around the world, Jović pointed out.

"This decision did not come of its own accord, of course, and it is proof that by dedicated action of members of the Serbian diaspora, state institutions and friends we have among members of the great American nation towards achieving common goals, we can significantly improve relations between not only the Serbian and American peoples in the future, but between Serbia and the United States as well", Jović said.

"Of course, the greatest credit for this recognition to the Serbian community in Chicago belongs to all our hardworking, honest, good and patriotic ancestors who lived and worked here in Chicago for generations to incorporate the Serbian name into all parts of this society, writing with their works the most beautiful pages in the history of the existence of one of the largest American cities," he emphasized.

According to him, in addition to Mayor Lightfoot, we owe special gratitude for the outcome of this initiative to Martina (Tomašević) Hone, her closest associate of Serbian origin, Nenad Nena Đorđević from Chicago, who was directly involved in this initiative in all its phases, as well as journalist Antonio Kovačević, who made a significant contribution to establishing good relations between the Consulate General and representatives of the city administration.

"I think that it is a good practice to always publicly acknowledge people who have invested effort and personal capacities, and I will always try to do that during my mandate, so that no one's contribution to the common good of our people and state would go unnoticed", Jović added.

He emphasized that the Consulate General of the Republic of Serbia in Chicago has established exceptional relations with the city authorities in Chicago, but also with our church and prominent representatives of the diaspora, and that we hope for new, good news and results of initiatives we have launched in various fields.

"In the end, I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy Vidovdan, and especially our people in Kosovo and Metohija", Jović added.