Wizard of Belgrave spends 85th birthday protesting at Tecoma Macca’s

SELF-PROCLAIMED wizard and healer Baba Desi spent his 85th birthday at his least favourite haunt, the McDonald’s outlet in Tecoma.

n36fp999 Baba Desi pictured in Main Street, Belgrave. He is losing his eyesight and already has to wear a patch over one eye.

THE Wizard of Belgrave spent his 85th birthday doing what he loves best — protesting outside McDonald’s in Tecoma.

Healer, protester, activist or humanist — whatever he is called — Baba Desi can be seen most days strolling around the main shopping strip of Belgrave in a flowing robe and turban with staff in hand.

Nearly every morning, he strides 1km down Burwood Highway to protest against the new McDonald’s outlet that opened in April.

And his birthday a few weeks ago was no different.

“We are going to keep fighting McDonald’s until the fat lady sings,” he said.

Baba Desi celebrates his 85th birthday outside McDonald's Tecoma.

It wasn’t always this way for Baba Desi.

Up until the age of 40, Des Bergen lived in Sandringham with his wife, children and a well-paying job as a manager at a city department store.

“I was a businessman before I became what I am now,” he said.

“I was ignorant and I didn’t question enough when I was younger.”

It was only after his divorce Baba Desi became involved in political activism.

He became immersed in a string of campaigns, including a stint on the South Melbourne Council and a shot at the Victorian Senate in which he attracted 26,000 votes.

Soon after he and his wife split, he says he discovered his healing abilities.

Among the miracles he says he performed was healing a young man who fell off a building and was in a coma in St Vincent’s ­Hospital.

“They were going to pull the plug, but the parents asked me to do a healing,” he said.

“In three days I had him out of a coma.”

He also claims he got rid of scars on a young girl who was burnt in a fire.

He said every second generation of his family had extraordinary healing abilities, but he was the first to take it to the public.

“Everybody has healing abilities, they just don’t now how to go about it,” he said.

“I feel the vibrations come from my body and through the hands.

Baba Desi moved to the hills about 25 years ago and now wouldn’t live anywhere else.

Despite not owning a computer, a Facebook page dedicated to the man has more than 11,500 likes.

He said he was not a wizard, but didn’t mind being called one. He wears an eye patch after glaucoma completely blinded his left eye.

He says that local children now call him the “Pirate of Belgrave”.

“It’s all publicity,” he said.