Pensioners, who survive on incomes far below the poverty line, are one (of many) groups suffering as a result of the government’s economic plans. After the government repeatedly refused to accommodate their requests for updated pension plans and access to essential medications, retirees began protesting weekly outside of the congress. They have been met with extreme force from the police and mass detentions without basis.

After Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic held power for nearly a decade, a group of students formed the movement Otpor! (“Resistance”) to drive him out of office using civil resistance. By 1998, Milosevic’s power was heavily entrenched which left the students little space to dissent within the system. Instead, they redirected their energy towards the tool they understood was most important for lowering fear and increasing participation from their fellow citizens: humor.