“Money is a curse”: he gave all his money and lives in a cave 20 years ago | the Chronicle

Peace addicted to loneliness is for some a perfect combo to experience “far from trouble” that they bring life together, and that despite the little comfort they can have, they enjoy another way of living.

This is the case of Panta petrovic (70 years old), who 20 years ago left the city to live in a small cave in serbia to avoid contact with the company.

It should be noted that the cave where Petrovic lives can only be reached after a steep climb, and it’s not for the faint of heart. It is equipped with a rusty bathtub which serves as a toilet, a few benches, and a haystack which serves as a bed.

Petrovic is from the nearby town of Pirot, where he worked as a black market laborer, as he did overseas for some time. He got married several times, in a lifestyle that takes into account “hectic”.

This nature lover gradually discovers that isolating himself from society gives him a freedom he had never known before.

“I was not free in town. There is always someone in your way, you argue with your wife, neighbors or the police”, Petrovic said. “Nobody bothers me here”, he added with a smile that revealed his unkempt teeth.

Life surrounded by animals

Petrovic tends to eat mushrooms and fish that he comes out of a nearby ravine, but also goes down into town in search of remains in the dumps.

His visits to the city have become more frequent lately because after wolves killed some of the animals he had near the cave, Petrovic decided to move them to a hut that high on the outskirts of town where you think they will be safe.

In addition, he had several goats, chickens, around 30 cats and dogs, and his favorite, an adult wild boar named Mara. When Petrovic found her eight years ago, it was a little pig trapped in the bushes, and treated until he recovered. Now the intimidating 200-kilo creature is playing in the stream and eating apples from Petrovic’s hand.

“She is everything to me, I love her and she listens to me. There is no money that can buy something like that, a real pet”, commented. He also has three cats whose mother was killed by a wolf, and now he feeds them with a syringe.

Last year, during one of his visits to the village, the man with the pigtails and the long beard discovered that there was a pandemic. When vaccines against covid-19, has been inoculated and now invites everyone to do the same.

The virus “Do not choose, you will come here too, in my cave”, the 70-year-old told the agency AFP, in the forested mountain of Stara Planina in southern Serbia.

Petrovic receives social assistance, but also it depends on donated food and animal supplies. When the vaccines were available, he rolled up his sleeves and put them on.

Petrovic said he did not understand the complaints made by some skeptics and claimed to believe in a process to eradicate the diseases. “I want to receive the three doses, including the extra dose, I call on all citizens to be vaccinated, each of them”, Express.

Before isolating himself, Petrovic donated all the money he had to the community, funding the construction of three small bridges in the town.. “Money is a curse, it spoils people. I think nothing corrupts people like money”, Petrovic expressed his opinion.

On one of the bridges, Petrovic has built a dovecote which he, despite his advanced age, climbs to leave crumbs of bread that he collects while rummaging in the trash cans.