Serbian Princess with a Big Heart

"We live this life to help. God gave us one hand to help ourselves and the other one to help others. We did not come into this world only for ourselves, but also for others whom we can help…" - Princess Katarina Karađorđević

By Milorad St. Ilić, Photo by courtesy of Dvor Karađorđevića

HRH Crown Princess Katherine was born in Athens on 13 November 1943 the daughter of Robert and Anna Batis. Princess Katherine was educated in Greece (Athens) and Switzerland (Lausanne) and she studied business at the University of Denver (Colorado), and the University of Dallas (Texas). Princess Katherine has travelled extensively and has lived in Australia, Africa and the United States. Her Royal Highness speaks Greek, English, French and Serbian. Princess Katherine enjoys music, reading, and all the activities that are connected to children. The Princess likes cooking, theatre and cross-country skiing.

Princess Katherine met HRH Crown Prince Alexander in Washington DC in 1984 and. They married in London on 21 September 1985. Their best man was HM King Constantine of the Hellenes, and the witness was HRH Prince Tomislav of Yugoslavia, the uncle of Crown Prince Alexander. They have three sons: Peter, Philip and Alexander.

How does Your Royal Highness remember the time prior to the arrival in Serbia, and how does Your Royal Highness feel now when You live in the fatherland of the Karadjordjevićs?

- We have been living in Serbia for four and half years, but I came here for the first time many years ago. I have visited Bosnia and Montenegro and I went to Kosovo to bring help. I was always close to our people, especially when they were in need. My husband used to say when we lived abroad that we were refugees, but we always had to have close links with our people, to be there for them and to help them when they needed us the most. That is what we are doing.

In the four and half years here, I have seen a lot. Our entire nation is waiting for a better future. There are a lot of promises from abroad, but not too many concrete results. People are tired of waiting; they want to have a good job and better life, a good healthcare system and hospitals where everything is as it should be. We belong in Europe, we are part of Europe. People here want to feel like that and they are right in wanting to have what people in Europe have.

How do You see the situation in the country now?

- There has been a noticeable difference in the country since 5 October 2000. We have democracy now and that is new for our country after so many decades. The market economy is new and foreigners should note that we are in the process of transition and there are great business opportunities. Transition is always difficult and we have to work together. That is important. We need better organisation, better public relations and better marketing. Our people have to cooperate. When my husband and I travel across the country, we see where and how our people live. People in hospitals, orphanages, refugee camps have a very difficult life. They need help immediately. It is very difficult to achieve it all. People are tired of waiting. It is a problem, which my husband and I work on improving. We work on providing help and instilling hope for a better future. That is why we are building bridges of hope. People have to know what the real situation is; they cannot live in uncertainty. There is a lot of poverty, unemployment and suffering. We are very concerned about our people.

What are You asked about Serbia when You are abroad?

- Sadly, there has been some negative foreign media about our country. Our national image is not very good and the international community does not always understand the reality of the situation and the Serbian way of thinking. They do not understand how proud our people are, how strong they are and the incredible tolerance they have. Pride and tolerance have their limits. I hope, as time goes on, that people abroad will better understand us. When my husband and I travel abroad, we lobby and explain what our people are going through and what their needs are. We need investors to come to our country, it is important for people to survive and for the country to have a strong economy. Our young people after graduation desperately look for jobs but hardly ever find one. That is the reason why they leave the country and go abroad. There are also the elderly who need good health care and medicines. Generally, our country needs more concrete help from abroad.

What does our Diaspora feel about the situation in Serbia?

- Our Diaspora loves the homeland, but they do not always know how exactly to help. That is why we need to improve communications. They are like brothers and sisters to us. They have relatives and friends here; they listen about the situation here and feel very sad. The Diaspora should come more often to Serbia to see, to feel what we feel. That is what my husband and I have been working on for years - to make people living abroad come back and help. It is very important that we have help from our Diaspora. We are very grateful to those who have already helped, but we need more support. That is why we show them a humanitarian documentary at the meetings so that they can understand what are the conditions in our hospitals, in our refugee camps, in our old people’s homes. We also explain to them how difficult it is, that we need medical equipment, that our hospitals need more medicines and that we need more food and warm clothing for refugees especially in the winter. When we were recently in Australia, we felt how concerned the Diaspora was about the homeland. Though far away, they feel it and want to help. They were very pleased to hear about my Foundation at home and that Lifeline Humanitarian Organization has offices in Toronto, New York, Chicago, London and Athens. I hope that our young people who went abroad will come home. It is very difficult to expect them to come back with their families if there are no employment opportunities. That is why it is crucial to improve the situation, attract investors and to continue urgently with reforms. It is difficult when parents with three or four children do not have enough money to make a living. Unfortunately, that has been going on for years and we must work every day to change this situation. On the other hand, some people here wait for the government to do something. The government cannot do it all so we have to work together, help and have ideas how to make people’s lives better. It is not an automatic process.

How are young Princes doing? Will they come back here?

- Peter, Philip and Alexander are now working to gain job experience to be able to come back and use their experience and knowledge. That has always been our plan. They love our country and our people, because they listened when they very young how their father and I talked to people telling them about our country. They join us visiting people, give presents when we call on orphans and hospitals. The boys are wonderful young men and they are very proud of their father’s accomplishments, because he is a man with lots of qualities, integrity and he is a great father.

Our sons and I are also very impressed and emotional when we see how my husband feels being at home. The first day in the Royal Palace was very emotional for my husband. He sat on a chair and asked himself if his father, King Peter II, had sat there. On the first night when we went to bed, he said: "Father, do you see me? I hope you are proud of me that I’m finally at home to help our people?" King Peter always wanted his son to come back home and help the people. I believe that my husband is a God’s gift to our people.

How does the Princess’s day look like?

- People ask how we live and spend our day. Every morning at 6 am, we are up and ready to start work and at night, we go to bed late. Our day is always full of activities. People from abroad, who want to help, come to the Palace and my husband and I explain to them how they can join the activities. The most important thing is to work hard with all our humanitarian projects and to continue to make a difference in every sector. My principle has always been to help everyone regardless of religion or ethnic origin. My husband and I find this crucial as well as respecting human rights and democratic principles.

What about accomplishments and realization of Your humanitarian projects?

- One of the latest projects is the creation of the Ultrasound Centre in the Clinical Centre of Serbia, as an Affiliation Centre of the Thomas Jefferson’s Institute from Philadelphia. This project is for the whole of Serbia, since Belgrade is not the whole of Serbia. We provided 30 ultra-sound machines. We want to help our babies and mothers. Our country has a high mortality of newborn babies and that is why we need incubators. On 1 December 2005, in Athens, we organised a humanitarian event to improve our neonatal departments and to purchase additional equipment. Every hospital in Serbia has at least one incubator from us.

We introduced a toll free SOS Child Line (0800-123456) for children with problems. Psychiatrists work there 24 hours a day to help children in need. Experts from London and Amsterdam helped us to get this important project going. Our Toronto Lifeline office supported this project. We have a number of other projects but one is very important for my husband and me. That is a scheme for our universities. There are many young graduates looking for a job and assistance. That is why we want to open career centres at the universities. These centres will be computerized to make it easier for the students and the employer to recruit employees. The young people would come there and list their professions. Then the companies, looking for employees, would know where to find a suitable person and it will make it easier for them to contact professionals.

The other project is a scholarship for graduate studies abroad. That will be for the best students who speak foreign languages. We also want to establish an MBA programme here, an NGO MBA, for young people who want to become managers. It is very important for our country to have managers because of new business practice here and help foreign investors who are looking for managers. It is crucial that we have top class professionals. Our young people are very clever, talented and have great potential.

You are often in the company of children, You visit them and they visit You. Which one of all meetings with children has left a trace in your memory?

- I often think about a boy in an orphanage who invited me to his room and showed me a bar of chocolate under his pillow. I asked him isn’t that the chocolate bar I gave you several months ago when I visited you. He said, "Yes it is and that was the best day of my life when you came to visit me and I did not want to eat it so I could remember that day". Such situations provoke a wave of emotion and are energy for me and seem like charging batteries to go on. I think about that boy often, I think about how he smiled and how happy he was when he saw me. I want to work hard, because I believe there is a chance to improve our people’s life. This is a big opportunity for me and a blessing. I want to meet with people, build bridges of hope and advance their lives for the better.