You have to break from the past to achieve the future you desire.
Tine is a friend and as a friend it is very important to me the notion of trust. Tine is a student at the faculty for social work in Ljubljana, Slovenia. He has come to my studio trusting me that I will make him look good on my photos. Only at the end of the photoshoot he told me: I hate posing for pictures. I felt guilty for persuading him to step in front of my camera but I always found him a very particular character. That is why I have chosen him. He did a big favour to me and that is because, he has trust in me. Trust in a friendship goes both ways.
Tuesday, 13 December 2022
Tine, how do you view fear?
Fear? There is a fear that you overcome. It encourages you and gives you the drive to move forward. Fear in itself is very bad. You mustn't let it get to you too much so that it doesn't overwhelm you.
What are you afraid of today?
I must not give up on myself. I am afraid of this, that I would give up on myself. Let's say I wouldn’t finish my faculty studies. But that won't happen. I can be very strong on the outside and help people, the question is if I am really that strong on the inside as well.
I know you as a person who acts in spite of fear. You are not someone who goes headlong into life without thinking about why and how you are doing something.
That's why I put myself in certain situations to overcome my fear. Fear is the result of ignorance and lack of experience. By letting myself go into this experience, I can overcome my fear. People are afraid of what they don't know. Why are right-wingers right-wing? Because they don't know the other side, they don't know the refugees, they don't know the gay people, they don't know their “terrible ghosts”, but when they meet them, they see that they are just people. I myself have overcome the fear - and even more - the hatred towards all kind of addicts and drug dealers by helping them through social help programs. So I saw that they were only humans. I overcame my inner resistance and hatred towards them. Hate comes from fear. It was therapeutic for me.
You study social work. When did you decide to do this?
I lived in the Rog squated building for 15 years. There I decided to do my high school maturity exams. I never attended high school, I just did the exams. Passing the exams was for me overcoming internal blockages and fear. I decided to study at the university because I am fed up with these bad jobs. I would like to have a university paper to do those things that I am good at and where I have enough experience. The university studies will give me knowledge and broaden my horizons.
What are your qualities?
I have a hard time talking about it. I have a lot of experience from different social fields and circles, maybe that's my quality.
When was the hardest time in your life?
When my parents mentally tortured each other, when I was a drug addict, when my girlfriend and I got separated, when the municipality occupied the squatted Rog and pushed us out after 15 years.
Do you miss your life in the Rog squat?
I feel sick when I walk past the Rog bulding now. The municipality is renovating the premises, new windows have been installed. I was tempted to pester them. I was just thinking about it when we spoke on the phone and I didn't turn in that direction, but to you for an interview.
What would it mean to you if you were to trouble the municipality today?
A little satisfaction, nothing else. I know it's pointless.
Tell me about your anger about the Rog forced eviction?I am angry. I am angry at the power of capital and at the people who hold that power. Above all, that the municipality will do in the renovated Rog what we did. They will have a concert hall, studios, workshops... They now call it a laboratory. Only the name is different.
What would you need in order for Rog's story to be resolved for you?
It is resolved. If I'm a little angry and if I want to get a little revenge, that's entirely my business. I can live without it. The story of Rog was settled when we squated a new area called Plac. This has kept us from being completely destroyed as a community.
What about the lawsuit that the municipality initiated against you regarding your stay in Rog?
I had to go to another hearing regarding the lawsuit, but now that the municipality seized Rog during the pandemic, they don't call me anymore.
Does this mean that the municipality has withdrawn the lawsuit?
Looks like it. I don't know for sure. The municipality sued me for violating the ban on staying in Rog. The municipality achieved the ban years ago with a lawsuit. I was asked to go to court to prove that I no longer live in Rog. The judge believed my arguments that I no longer live in Rog.
Before the court, I said to myself: I didn't kill anyone, I didn't rape anyone, I also didn't rob a bank, but these “pigs” in front of me lie and steal. They are responsible for failed businesses and destroyed families.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
I would like to finish college and travel. To Brazil, for example. I would like to have a job that won't exhaust me.
What in your social work brings someone else the greatest satisfaction?
My quality is that people trust me. Because I don't use them, I don't force them, I listen to them, I take my time, I don't drill into them.
This is an exceptional quality.
The people I work with have already experienced many failures in their lives. In the family circle, schools, from the Center for Social Work. I must not abuse their trust.
Who are the people you work with?
They can be people on the edge of survival, or they can be young people with mental problems who excel in school. Everyone needs someone they can trust.
What would you say to the world if everyone could hear you?
I wouldn't say anything. Let the example speak. I would like people to see these free spaces of ours and how it is possible to live with voluntary work and without hierarchy. People have a lot of social power and much more can be done bypassing the capitalist system.