08/13/2021 17:03
Clarín.com
Dresses
Updated 08/13/2021 17:03
Almost 20 years ago,
Panta Petrovic
made social distancing his lifestyle
, moving to
a small cave
in Serbia to avoid contact with society.
Last year, on one of his visits to the village,
the man with braids and a long beard discovered that there was a pandemic
.
When the vaccines against covid-19 appeared, he was inoculated and now he invites everyone to do the same.
The virus
"does not choose, it will come here too, to my cave
," the 70-year-old man told AFP, in the forested mountain of
Stara Planina
, in southern Serbia.
Last year, on one of his visits to the village, the man with braids and a long beard discovered that there was a pandemic.
(AFP)
The cave where Petrovic lives
can only be reached after a steep climb
, and is not for the faint of heart.
It is equipped with
a rusty bathtub that he uses as a toilet
, some benches, and a bale of hay that serves as his bed.
Petrovic
hails from the neighboring town of Pirot, where he worked as a laborer on the black market,
as he did abroad for some time.
He was married several times, in a lifestyle that he considers "frenzied".
The virus "does not choose, it will come here too, to my cave."
(AFP)
This nature lover gradually discovered that isolating himself from society gave him a freedom that he had not known before.
"I was not free in the city. There is always someone on your way, you argue with the wife, the neighbors or the police,"
declared Petrovic while peeling some vegetables for his lunch.
The cave where Petrovic lives can only be reached after a steep climb, and is not for the faint of heart.
(AFP)
"Nobody bothers me here
,
" he
added with a smile that revealed his unkempt teeth.
A life surrounded by animals
Petrovic usually feeds on mushrooms and fish that he takes from a nearby creek.
(AFP)
Petrovic usually feeds on mushrooms and fish he takes from a nearby ravine, but he also
goes down to the city looking for scraps in garbage dumps.
His visits to the city have become more frequent lately.
After the wolves killed some of the animals he had near the cave,
Petrovic decided to move them to a hut he built on the outskirts of the town where he believes they will be safe.
Petrovic donated all the money he had to the community.
(AFP)
He had several goats, chickens,
about 30 cats and dogs, and his favorite, an adult wild boar
named Mara.
When Petrovic
found her eight years ago, she was a little pig stuck in the bushes, and he cared for her until she recovered.
Now the intimidating
200-kilo creature plays in the creek
and eats apples from Petrovic's hand.
He had several goats, chickens, about 30 cats and dogs, and his favorite, an adult wild boar named Mara.
(AFP)
"She is everything to me, I love her and she listens to me
. There is no money that can buy something like that, a real pet," he commented.
He also has three kittens whose mother was killed by a wolf, and now he feeds them with a syringe.
Vaccinated against Covid
Petrovic receives social assistance, but also
depends on donations of food and supplies for the animals.
When vaccines were available, he rolled up his sleeves and put them on.
Petrovic
said he does not understand the complaints made by some skeptics
, and claims to believe in a process that seeks to eradicate diseases.
"I want to receive the three doses, including the additional one,
I call all citizens to get vaccinated, each one of them,"
he said.
"Money is a curse, it spoils people."
(AFP)
Before isolating himself, Petrovic
donated all the money he had to the community, financing the construction of three small bridges in the town.
"Money is a curse, it spoils people. I think nothing corrupts people like money," said Petrovic.
On one of the bridges, Petrovic built a dovecote to which he, despite his advanced age, climbs to leave
breadcrumbs that he collects while rummaging in garbage cans
.
His favorite pet, an adult wild boar named Mara.
(AFP)
Petrovic donated all the money he had to the community, financing the construction of three small bridges in the town.
(AFP)
"She is everything to me, I love her and she listens to me."
(AFP)
Petrovic receives social assistance, but also depends on donations of food and supplies for the animals.
(AFP)
The man also goes down to the city looking for scraps in the garbage cans.
(AFP)
He has been isolated from the world for two decades.
(AFP)
"I think nothing corrupts people like money."
(AFP)
Petrovic built a dovecote to which he, despite his advanced age, climbs to leave breadcrumbs that he picks up while rummaging through rubbish dumps.
(AFP)
AFP
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