An unmarked burial tomb becomes home to Serbian man who says it’s safer than living on the streets
A homeless man in Serbia explains he has been sleeping with the dead when he moved into a cemetery 15 years ago and made an empty burial tomb his new home. Bratislav Stojanovic, 43, has been squatting in a barely marked plot along with the ashes of a family who died over more than 100 years ago in Nis, Serbia. The family who owned the tomb is unknown as their names have eroded from the gravestone.
Photo: Sasa Djodievic
Although he is a former construction worker, Mr. Stojanovic says he has never held a regular job and after running up debts he became homeless. While looking around for candles to use in abandoned homes he would frequent around where he lived, he discovered the old cemetery that wasn’t being used anymore.
Searching for a new home that was as “cozy as possible,” he settled in a random empty tomb. He says he feels at home and admits it’s not a palace. “Things were hard in the beginning, but now I’m more afraid of the living than the dead.”
Sasa Djordievic
Mr. Stojanovic commented that he checks if there’s anyone around before crawling out of his tomb, otherwise he could scare a person to death.
Photo: Reuters
Photo: Reuters
