Soccer Laduma readers, we hope you will understand and accept our decision to use this space to pay tribute to one of our fallen heroes, Dejan Miladinovic, who has worked with this publication on a number of projects, one of which was the Soccer Laduma Supporters Club. Dejan passed away a day after Richards Bay FC's captain and midfielder, Siphamandla Mtolo, collapsed and died at training. Please read more about his passing on page 14. Masilo Machaka knew Dejan better than most. At the end of the day, Soccer Laduma is a people's publication and therefore it is a no-brainer that we have to pay homage to Dejan. Over to you, Chaks! – Editor.
Thank you so much, guys, I really appreciate Soccer Laduma giving me a chance to pay tribute to my brother and friend. Dejan is Serbian and he arrived in the country in 1992 with his uncle as they were running away from a war (Bosnian war) in their country. He was lucky to get a job at Spar and then he told his manager that he wanted to buy tickets for the 2010 FIFA World Cup so that he could watch a couple of games live. The manager agreed that that was a good idea. The World Cup came and it was time for him to take some time off to watch the games. The manager told him he couldn't take time off because the shop was busy and they needed all hands on deck. So, there was not even going to be time for everyone to watch the games, unless they were off or the games played after their shifts finished. Dejan told the manager, "No, man! You agreed for me to buy the tickets and now this? My friend, thank you very much for your job!" That was the last time they saw him at Spar and that speaks to the passion the man had for football. He really enjoyed the World Cup and even took me to some places after Serbia's games.
A few weeks ago, me and him were watching cricket at the Wanderers Stadium and he told me he wasn't feeling well. I thought he was just being moody or bored, so I told him, "My man, you know unlike football, cricket is where we spend the whole day at the stadium, relaxing. What's wrong with you?" He begged me to take him home because he wasn't well and now I could also see that he wasn't himself. We left the stadium and drove home. The next day, I took him to hospital and he was admitted. People don't know that we've been sharing a flat for the past three years or so, therefore we did pretty much everything together, every day! I'm really devastated by his passing because I last saw him on Tuesday. Before my visit, I called to check if there was anything he wanted me to bring him and I could hear that he was really struggling to even complete a sentence. That's when I decided to rush to the hospital. When I got there, I could see that he wasn't well at all, as he was even struggling to breathe. I asked the doctor what was going on and they told me his blood wasn't flowing properly, so they were going to take blood samples and send them to the lab to see what was the real issue. I was there for about two hours and we were relaxing and talking.
One thing he mentioned, which really got to me, was that two people had died in that ward the previous day. I didn't want to entertain the conversation about death because I could see that he was concerned. I told him not to worry about it because he was going to be fine after the results came back from the lab. Before that, I gave him the clean clothes that I brought him so that I could take his laundry home. I also brought him some fruit and he told me to take the fruit back, and also added some of the fruit he said he was brought by his church people because he was vomiting every time he ate, so it was pointless to keep them there. Dejan is a stubborn character! I tried to convince him to keep some of the stuff in case he gets hungry, but he wouldn't budge. He said I mustn't even try to force him to eat because he won't. Then I told him I was going to bring his laundry back the next day. He asked, "Why bring them back? Go and wash the clothes, man, you know what to do! Don't bring them back, I will see you next week." I just kept quiet and when it was time to leave, he gave me his hand to say goodbye, we embraced and I promised to call him later and come see him the next day.
On Wednesday afternoon, at work, I received a call from the hospital to tell me my brother is no more! That really broke my heart and I couldn't stop crying. I remembered the time my father died in front of me and how that felt. Losing Dejan was the closest thing to the pain I felt after losing my dad. This was the second time I cried that much and my colleagues didn't know what was going on. I told them about Dejan and that I needed to rush to the hospital. When I got there, his lifeless body was still in his bed. I just stood there and told him, "We will meet on the other side, my friend." You know, this guy didn't want me to tell anyone that he was in hospital and our friendship didn't allow us to disrespect each other's wishes or keep secrets from each other. If he opens up to me, and doesn't want anyone else to know, it stays between us, and the same goes for me. There are a lot of things people said to him about me and they'd ask him not to say a word to me, the moment he comes back home, he will shout, "Chaks!" even before he walks into the house because he can't wait to tell me what had happened. I will forever cherish the moments we shared together. One thing about my brother, he was an honest person who would never betray you, no matter what! He was a loyal friend. If he doesn't want something, he just doesn't want it. I worked with him on a number of projects and he was always the same person, never changed. He really played his part because he was always available to assist. We were doing football, rugby, cricket, boxing – you name it and we'd be there.
He's a proud Orlando Pirates supporter and no sportsperson can say they don't know him because he was everywhere. He was involved in projects with legends and travelled all over the country with different sporting codes, spreading a positive message. We always argued about almost everything because he's such a stubborn character. Even when we decided to stay together, he flatly refused to leave his apartment, which he had been staying in for over two decades. So, I had to vacate mine and join him because I had been in mine for eight years, while he was at his for 25 years. We shared a lot of stuff together. When he woke up, I had to be up. We ate breakfast together and we'd attend matches together, whether rugby or cricket, Bafana Bafana and then we'd only go our separate ways when it was a Soweto Derby, but we'd meet up after the final whistle again. I'm shattered by your death, my brother, and I know this is a wound that will take forever to heal. May your soul rest in peace. You've played your part and all we can really do is to release you in peace and hold on to the memories we created. Rest in peace, Dejan!
Masilo Machaka
