We present Edis Sijarić, our lifeguard instructor who has been a lifeguard at organized beaches for 21 years, since he was 18 years old. Edis lives in the southernmost municipality in Montenegro, Ulcinj, and as a child, he witnessed many situations where the need for a lifeguard was high. It was during these moments that he developed a desire to complete the lifeguard training course.

“Ulcinj, the city where I live and work, is unique because it is located on the open sea and has long sandy beaches that can be very dangerous due to deviant phenomena in the sea. I lost count of how many rescues I’ve had after that number exceeded 100.

There have been many situations, but I would emphasize that as I gained experience over the years, I focused more on prevention and good organization, which over time reduced the number of interventions on an annual basis.”

Edis especially highlights one situation that will stay with him for life: “Like every lifeguard, I have a daily training session at 5 PM. That day was no different; the weather conditions were good, but while I was swimming, I heard screams and shouting from the water. When I lifted my head to see what was going on, I saw two women and a boy, about 200 meters away, who seemed to be playing; at first, I didn’t realize it was a drowning situation, until I heard the shouts again. It turned out that the daughter, in panic and losing her sense of the ground, suddenly attacked her mother, and a struggle for survival began between them. I quickly swam to the mother, pushed the daughter away from her, who was still drowning, took care of the mother, and then went back to save the daughter, who was seconds away from certain death. They were lucky I was at the right place, at the right time, otherwise, the consequences would have been fatal.”

Photo: Water rescue and Edis Sijarić

The Red Cross of Montenegro has trained 644 lifeguards for the summer season of 2024, who will ensure the safety of visitors at our organized beaches.