All socialist regimes, including the Yugoslav one, placed workers as the focus of their ideology. The worker, especially one from heavy industry, was a symbol of strength and progress, so it was often found on the banknotes of communist countries. One of those workers was Arif Heralic.
Arif, like many others at that time, moved to the city in the 50s, in his case to Zenica, where he got a job in the local ironworks. The well-known photo that ended up on the banknote was the work of a “Borba” news photographer Nikola Bibic, who visited the Zenica ironworks in 1954. Arif was a “Shock worker”. He was awarded the Order of Labour and Order, Second Class Order, as well as a medal for labor.
The photo was chosen carefully, the happy worker had deep symbolism for the Yugoslav authorities.
The banknote with Arif’s face was put into circulation in 1955, with a nominal value of one thousand dinars. It survived multiple attempts to reform the Yugoslav monetary system, so already in 1965 it was given a new value of 10 dinars and was used until the end of the 80s of the last century.
However, Arif did not benefit much from appearing on the banknote, on the contrary, he said that he “had a heart attack” after it was put into circulation. He was allegedly beaten up after it was falsely rumored that he had received two million dinars from the authorities.
He also tried to get compensation for appearing on the banknotes through the courts, but in the end, he was told that his photo was not on the money, but a drawing, and evidence was presented in court that he had signed the use of his likeness for a symbolic sum of money.
He indulged in alcohol, and in an interview with TV Zagreb, he said that he drank “half a liter” every day.
Four years before his death, the documentary film “Devaluation of a Smile” directed by Vojdrag Bercic, produced by “Zagreb Film” and SDF, was broadcast. When TV Zagreb broadcast a film about the exploited and rejected labor hero, a huge scandal broke out.
As this kind of story destroyed the regime’s narrative about the happy worker, TV Zagreb had to apologize to the viewers after the broadcast of the film, calling it a political and programming error, while the editor of the film program resigned.
As a war invalid, Arif died in severe poverty and misery on June 16th, 1971 at the age of 49. He had 12 children, seven of whom reached school age, Klix.ba reports.
