text:
Vrbas Club from Banja Luka in the Fight for Greater Inclusivity | Balkan Diskurs
David Pavlović
February 14th, 2022
The Vrbas Table Tennis Club in Banja Luka, which gives people with disabilities the opportunity to be involved in sports and competitions, has won more than 600 medals, trophies, and awards. Yet, the club struggles with the problem of finding the necessary space for their training.
According to Vrbas representatives, including people with disabilities in sports contributes to their physical and mental health, as well as their general quality of life. By enabling them to push boundaries, it also builds their self-confidence. However, there are many obstacles that people with disabilities must overcome if they decide to play sports. These include, above all, widespread prejudice about their participation, but also the financial and logistical problems of attending training.
Bojana Vukotić started playing table tennis in order to break the double prejudice she faces—firstly as a woman, and secondly as a person with a disability. “Winning wasn’t important to me at all. That came as a result of my hard work. I also wanted to be active and stay healthy. Table tennis is a sport that is ideal for maintaining fitness, and the risk of injuries is minimal,” said Vukotić.
Among Vrbas Club’s most successful athletes is Haris Eminović, who was also the first table tennis player to represent BiH at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo in 2020.
“As a competitor, he has won three World Cup medals in Finland, the Czech Republic, and France, and fifth place at the World Cup in Egypt. In addition, he has earned two gold medals from the Balkan Cup and 20 medals and trophies from the European Cups. With his results, he managed to go to the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020. He is the champion of Bosnia and Herzegovina in his category for people with disabilities and one of the most promising competitors in Banja Luka (Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina), and the region,” said Jovica Šormaz, founder and coach of the Vrbas Table Tennis Club.
Despite the considerable successes they achieve, the Vrbas Table Tennis Club has been left without a training space after the City Administration of Banja Luka failed to grant them permission to continue using their previous premises, without granting them another. Therefore, Šormaz says, currently the club is officially non-operational, and is unable to conduct training practices. However, thanks to friends and acquaintances, many of the club’s athletes still manage to train, usually in garages.
More than 300 participants have passed through the Vrbas Table Tennis Club Vrbas from Banja Luka. They participate in competitions at the national level in Bosnia and Herzegovina in all disability categories. In total, more than 120 competitors from the club have competed in competitions. Šormaz said that they were the first in the country to introduce inclusivity in sports.
“I consider the moment when I include a young person with a disability in sports to be a victory, because through this, that person becomes an active part of society. Sport gives ability, not just health. Young people are becoming responsible towards themselves, towards life, and with such an approach they overcome life’s obstacles more easily,” said Šormaz.
Our society still has prejudices about sports for people with disabilities. Vukotić confirms this, explaining that prejudices also exist within associations for persons with disabilities, but also in some persons with disabilities as well.
Šormaz emphasizes the need to raise awareness of the importance of playing sports to people with disabilities, but also to their families, doctors, physical education teachers, and so on, because sports can be for everyone and has many physical as well as mental benefits. By including persons with disabilities in sports, we offer them the opportunity to leave the house, to realize that they can do something they didn’t know they could before, to raise their self-confidence and push boundaries.
Vukotić points out that when people with disabilities start playing sports, the conditions are very difficult, including in terms of finances, transportation, etc. This is why institutions should do more to provide funds and better promotion for these opportunities.
“There are 42 million registered table tennis players with disabilities in the world. It would be good for us to contribute to that number, because we have a lot of them who need some engagement within the framework of integration in society,” Vukotić said.
According to Vukotić, sports clubs for people with disabilities do not have the support of local authorities, although there is enormous potential for different institutions to help sports clubs like these. “The benefits are huge for the improvement of general health and mental health through sports successes and socializing with other athletes and traveling to various sports events. It is a special feeling for people with disabilities to win an award because this is exactly the area from which they are most excluded,” says Vukotić.
Coach Šormaz points out that playing sports is important because it contributes to quality of life as a whole: “Sports activities include various motor activities of a varying and dynamic character, through which a person satisfies the need to move, develops abilities, characteristics, and sports skills, as well as preserves and improves health. Also, through sports activities, people are provided with opportunities for sports expression and creativity and achieving sports results at all levels of competition.”
Despite the benefits of inclusion in sports for people with disabilities, Club Vrbas’ athletes no longer have a training space where they could regularly train for six to eight hours a day or have special preparations for competitions.
While trying to find a way to overcome the problem of space, the Club Vrbas is not giving up on their ambitions.
“We have the capacity to have two representatives at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. It is realistic that with Haris, we have a young competitor on the world sports scene. However, without sufficient support, it is difficult to make a positive step forward,” concludes Šormaz.

created: February 14th, 2022

author: David Pavlović


text:
Degradation and Violence Against Women Stem from Patriarchal Values | Balkan Diskurs
Elma Hasanspahić
February 15th, 2022
Patriarchy is often cited as one of the main causes of the degradation of women in society, and of gender-based violence. Tradition and custom in a patriarchal system prevent women from saying “No!” to such a system of false values. However, today we have newer generations of girls and women who are increasingly improving the status of women in BiH. society.
It all starts at home: why do we teach girls to be obedient and shy, and to listen without retort to others, while encouraging boys to be rebellious, courageous, and bold? Why do we teach girls to be ashamed of their body, sexuality, and natural female biological processes like menstruation and breastfeeding, while excusing boys from all manner of vulgarities?
Martina Planinić, a professor at the University of Mostar’s Faculty of Philosophy who teaches the course “Media and Gender Roles,” asserts that under the patriarchal system, people often mistakenly underestimate women’s role in society. She observes that everyday heroines are present in society achieving great things in sports, education, science, art, culture, and other professions traditionally assumed to be exclusively male spheres of activity.
Selima Dračo, a feminist activist and student at the Medical Faculty of the University of Zenica, explains that patriarchy is “a chronic virus of our society that does not cause as much damage until it is re-awakened.” She says that although the virus is always present, when it receives little attention, there is a widespread misconception that it does not exist.
“It is fascinating how many years it has existed, and worrying how many years it will continue to exist … I do not want to be pessimistic, far from it, but no matter how hard we try to eliminate it from planet Earth, every day a new male individual who is insidiously armed with patriarchal values will appear,” explains Dračo.
Despite the pervasiveness of patriarchy, the position of women and girls in Bosnian society is changing, albeit in small steps. Dračo points out that we have a new generation of brave and fearless fighters who are ready to repay their mothers for raising them properly.
The UN Women Handbook on Reporting on Gender-Based Violence states that women are victims of violence only because they are women, and because patriarchy attributes to them a lower social status. Depending on the context, this status predisposes them to verbal and physical violence, which may even extent to murder.
Professor Planinić explains that in patriarchal societies, many men are convinced they can abuse women without paying any consequences, despite laws criminalizing violence.
“Violence is not a private matter concerning spouses; it is a cancer of our community that threatens families. Because many women lose confidence in the stability of the family where there is a danger of violence, they tend to leave their families and communities. We must not forget that domestic violence also affects children who suffer physical and psychological consequences. Those who support the patriarchy should think about these facts because no woman deserves torture and misogyny during her life,” explained Professor Planinić.
Patriarchy spreads sexism, chauvinism, and misogyny, explains Professor Planinić. This type of negative behavior has become especially socially acceptable with the advent of the internet and social networks. According to her, these developments ushered in an era of online violence, revenge pornography, and other forms of virtual abuse. In addition, she emphasizes the support of the patriarchy in religious institutions where women who fail to submit to male authority are portrayed as sinners.
“Often religious leaders believe that only a submissive woman can be a good woman. Thus, many religions have male leaders who spread views on male superiority and female inferiority. In addition to religion, patriarchy greatly influences conservative political parties. Despite technological and social advances, the patriarchy has a well-built foundation that is resilient to any change.”
In order for Bosnian-Herzegovinian society to solve these problems, the professor explains that education needs to promote good will and a desire for change.
“Any education should be based on the clear principle that gender equality must be a value that is common for women and men. As many men as possible should be involved in various programs against violence against women and gender discrimination. Men who respect and honor women should be an example to bullies and those who abuse their power to the detriment of women. It is also necessary to eradicate harmful prejudices about masculinity, and male superiority, i.e., aggression, arrogance, and complacency must be understood as signs of cowardice’s helplessness, and behavior,” explained Professor Planinić. She adds that we should work on spreading women’s solidarity and mutual support, as well as normalize the fact that victims of violence are not guilty.
According to Dračo, the position of women in BiH is improving. She explains that while talking to middle-aged women, she realized that while many are hesitant to step out of their comfort zone because they think it’s too late, they nevertheless nurture, raise, and mold their daughters to be fearless in standing up for their rights and safety, fearing no one but God.
“This gives rise to a new generation of brave, fearless female fighters who are ready to repay the mothers who raised them properly by destroying something that made their mothers oppressed and timid without the courage to oppose misogynist men,” said Dračo.

source: news-balkandiskurs

created: February 15th, 2022

license: Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

author: Elma Hasanspahić


text:
Keeping the Belongings of Genocide Victims near their Graves | Balkan Diskurs
Ahmo Mehmedović
February 21st, 2022
Personal documents, clothing, and photos which belonged to Azem Delić, a father killed in the Srebrenica genocide, were recently donated to the Srebrenica Memorial Center, along with a belt he made before his murder for his son Muhamed. “The items belong to the Srebrenica Memorial Center because they speak most about those killed if they are close to them,” said Azem’s surviving son, Muhamed Delić.
Objects found in mass graves throughout Eastern Bosnia and on the route of the Death March are being donated to the Srebrenica Memorial Center alongside the personal testimonies of those who donate them as part of one of the largest and most important projects in the Memorial Center’s history. This expansive permanent exhibition pays a profound tribute to the victims of the genocide in Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Memorial Center acknowledges that it is impossible to tell the story of Srebrenica without telling the story of the rest of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and thus, the invitation to donate objects, artifacts, and other documentary material is open to all.
This exhibition will also include the multimedia educational project “MEMENTO: Fragments of the Srebrenica Genocide.” Through the personal stories and photographs of genocide survivors and victims, MEMENTO paints a detailed picture of their lives and the struggle for survival during the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica. The project consists of a photo exhibition, photobook, audio testimonies of survivors, and a mobile application. MEMENTO was created by the Srebrenica Memorial Center in cooperation with the Post-Conflict Research Center.
The objects are donated by survivors of the genocide as well as the families of genocide victims. This includes Muhamed Delić, whose father Azem, grandfather Selim, and two uncles, Eniz and Aziz, were killed in the genocide. In an interview with Balkan Diskurs, he spoke about his last meeting with his father and grandfather, and about how he, his mother, and his sister were deported from Srebrenica in July 1995.
Muhamed lived in the village of Bijelo Polje near Srebrenica with his father Azem, mother Almasa, and sister Maida. They were mainly engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry, with Azem occasionally working construction to earn extra money.
“In his free time, my father liked to do handicrafts. On one occasion he surprised me with a belt. It was one of the most beautiful gifts then. Today, it’s the only memento I have of my father,” said Muhamed.
When Serbian military and police forces occupied Srebrenica on July 11, 1995, the Delić family parted ways in Babuljice. The father went through the forest in an effort to reach the free territory under the control of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH), while the mother, children, and grandfather, Selim, went to the United Nations base in Potočari, seeking help from the Dutch Battalion soldiers.
“I remember the moment of our last goodbye. My father told my mother not to worry about him being alone, and then he turned to me, stroked my head and said, ‘listen to your mother,’” Muhamed recalled.
Muhamed, along with his mother, sister, and grandfather, spent two days in front of the UN base. Apart from his grandfather, everyone was deported by bus to the settlement of Luka in Kladanj. “A soldier separated my grandfather as he led me to the bus,” Muhamed said.
Muhamed describes the deportation to Kladanj as long and difficult, and says they saw a lot of men along the road to Konjević Polje, which intensified their fear.
In just one week, beginning on July 11th, 1995, Serb military and police forces killed the men and boys who had fled through the woods as well as those who had been separated in Potočari from their families in Potočari or found elsewhere.
According to the verdicts of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), over 8,000 men and boys were killed in the Srebrenica genocide. Upwards of 1,000 men and boys were killed at mass execution sites in Kravica, Orahovac, Petkovci, Kozluk, and Branjevo. After the killings, the victims’ remains were scattered across mass graves throughout the wider area of Eastern Bosnia.
Muhamed’s father and his two brothers were unable to cross the forest to reach the territory controlled by ARBiH. Together with other prisoners, they were killed at mass execution sites. His grandfather Selim was also killed.
The family continued to hope that they were alive until 2003, when their remains were identified over a period of five months. Selim and his three sons (Azem, Aziz, and Eniz) were finally found.
The remains of Selim and Eniz were found in the mass grave of Pilica, near Zvornik. Azem’s remains were found in the mass grave in Kozluk. Although Aziz was killed in Kravica, his remains were found in the Ravnica mass grave.
The father and his three sons were buried on September 20, 2003, at the third collective funeral and the day of the official opening of the Srebrenica Memorial Center. For the first time, a father and three sons were buried at the same funeral in Potočari. Due to this great tragedy, the then President of the United States of America, Bill Clinton, paid tribute to the victims.

created: February 21st, 2022

author: Ahmo Mehmedović


text:
Why does gender-based violence go underreported? | Balkan Diskurs
Marijana Vukmirica
February 25th, 2022
Gender-based violence, to which girls and women are the most vulnerable in Bosnia and Herzegovina, is often not reported to the competent authorities, and if it is reported and charges are filed, the sentences are either short or suspended.
Reasons for not reporting violence include distrust in the institutional process, lack of empathy and knowledge among the authorities, patriarchal norms, lack of information on what to do, as well as fear of possible repercussions.
As many as 84% of women do not report violence to the police, according to a 2018 OSCE survey on the safety and well-being of women in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The general perception of women, as stated in the report, is that “institutions would react as though the victim was guilty and would side with the perpetrator.”
Representatives of non-governmental organizations fighting gender-based violence believe that the existing legal framework in BiH needs to be improved by implementing the provisions of the Istanbul Convention, educating institutional representatives to be more sensitive to victims of violence, but also encouraging victims to report violence because violence is not a private matter.
“The system in BiH was not built to act preventatively,” said Amina Dizdar, a program coordinator for the Sarajevo Open Center. She explained that that the law enforcement authorities and police often have the largest influence on the number of reported cases, depending on how they treat the victim or how much they are informed about the possibilities of protecting the victim.
The murders of 12 women in BiH in 2019 by their husbands or romantic partners were treated as domestic violence, not femicide. “What is characteristic of femicide is that the murder of a woman is not the first act of violence, but the result of previous acts of violence, which in most cases were reported by the victim,” Dizdar said.
Victims left on their own
When it comes to reporting violence, the possibility of sanctions, the unfavorable position of women, and the inadequate responses of institutions have been the subject of analysis. A July 2020 report by the United Women Foundation (Fondacija Udružene žene) in Banja Luka and the Women’s Rights Center (Centar ženskih prava) in Zenica monitored court proceedings in cases where women and children were the victims of gender-based violence. According to the report, women’s disadvantage is demonstrated by the lack of protection afforded victims and witnesses, the frequent issuance of warnings in place of stronger actions like prison sentences, which are notably rare. These factors enable and embolden perpetrators to continue to commit acts of gender-based violence.
“Victims are left on their own to fight. Apart from court proceedings, gender-based violence and sexual harassment victims do not fare better in other institutions. When victims of various forms of gender-based violence encounter an inadequate response from the system, they do not want to report violence and are discouraged from contacting institutions at all,” said Nada Golubović, president of the Board of the Fondacija Udružene žene in Banja Luka.
According to Dizdar, BiH’s obligations under the ratification of the Istanbul Convention include amending criminal laws to criminalize women’s genital mutilation, psychological violence, sexual harassment, persecution, and the like.
“The entity of Republika Srpska has largely harmonized the Criminal Code with the Istanbul Convention and amended the Law on Protection from Domestic Violence so that domestic violence can no longer be treated as a misdemeanor but exclusively as a criminal offense. The Federation and the Brčko District of BiH have not yet harmonized their laws,” Dizdar said.
In addition to the legal aspects, athe sensitivity of institutions in providing support to victims of gender-based violence is necessary.
“Institutions should be sufficiently sensitive in providing support to victims of gender-based violence. These positive practices would provide a greater sense of security for the victim and encourage others to report violence. There is room for improvement and development of more adequate mechanisms,” said Jasmina Buljić, a psychologist of the Foundation of Local Democracy from Sarajevo.
Golubović agrees that there is a need to educate judges and prosecutors to heighten their sensitivity to this issue. She also adds that if forms of violence are not properly sanctioned, families that have not received adequate protection will result in a generation of young women who view physical violence as a norm, and a generation of boys who believe they can bully and abuse women with impunity.
Encouraging women to speak up
The importance of education in the fight against gender-based violence is also demonstrated by the results of an OSCE survey which found that over 40% of the women surveyed in BiH do not know what to do if they experience violence. The survey found a lack of awareness among women about NGOs, the SOS Helpline, and safe houses. “Some women explained that they did not even know if these services were free, which discouraged them from contacting them,”the report stated.
Golubović explains that we must talk as much as possible about all forms of gender-based violence to encourage women to speak out and thus receive adequate protection. All available media should be utilized in this endeavor, including social networks, conducting street campaigns, organizing community forums, setting up billboards, handing out leaflets, and similar practices.
Buljić believes that it is important to inform women about the existence of the SOS hotline where they can report violence, as well as about the procedures for reporting violence.
Violence is not a private matter
According to statistics,the overwhelming majority of victims of gender-based violence are women and girls. “Probably because of gender stereotypes, they also have a problem with reporting violence because people will think that they are ‘weak’ and that they cannot ‘rule’ their wife,” Golubović points out.
The incidence of violence is higher among women who approve of patriarchal attitudes and among women whose partners have problems with alcohol and drug abuse.
According to the OSCE report, as many as 24 percent of women believe that domestic violence is a private problem that needs to be addressed within the family, which clearly shows the influence of patriarchal culture. According to Buljić, patriarchal culture leads to the creation of a society that is tolerant of gender-based violence.
“Patriarchal beliefs include that violence is a private matter, a woman’s shame, that the family must be saved for the sake of children at all costs, and the like. The patriarchal way of upbringing creates and maintains a society that does not recognize violence as such, tolerates it, and puts women in a subordinate position,”Buljić said.
According to Buljić, patriarchy is detrimental to men as well, because it imposes on them a certain position and ideas of masculinity that can sometimes be too burdensome or impossible to realize.This can result in mental health problems and an inability to view themselves as adequate partners.
Gender-based violence is often not reported out of fears of losing custody over children or breaking up the family, especially when children are small. Other inhibitions include the fear of violent retaliation, of not being believed, of social stigma, and of losing the financial stability provided by some abusive relationships.
“Finally, it is important to emphasize that violence is not a private matter. The perpetrator is always responsible, and violence should be reported to the police, social work centers, or via the SOS hotline,” Buljić concluded.
The SOS hotline’s toll-free numbers are available 24 hours a day: 1264 (Republika Srpska) and 1265 (Federation of BiH).

created: February 25th, 2022

author: Marijana Vukmirica


text:
Višegrad Eco Disaster: A Landfill on the Beautiful Drina | Balkan Diskurs
Amira Banjić
February 28th, 2022
The Drina River, which once formed the border between the Eastern and Western parts of the Roman Empire, and today, in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, forms a natural border with neighboring Serbia, has been facing a waste problem for years
At the beginning of 2021, there was an ecological catastrophe. Due to the cracking of the sprocket, approximately four thousand cubic meters of water were deposited on the crown of the dam of the Višegrad Hydroelectric Power Plant. Everything that the river picked up from the shores, be it from wild dumps or waste deliberately thrown into the riverbeds, found its place in Lake Drina. The disaster also posed a danger to the work of the power plant itself. The Eco Center Višegrad Association is aware of the problem and is fighting in various ways to solve the problem of waste disposal as efficiently as possible.
“The ecological catastrophe on the Drina River is a long-term problem we are facing. It is a result of inadequate waste disposal. There are numerous landfills on the banks of the Drina River which, due to heavy rainfall and high water levels, are washed from the banks into the water and end up in Višegrad,” points out Dejan Furtula, president of the Association.
The Association believes that the problem of waste cannot be solved easily. It is a painstaking process and the issue has been affecting the Drina River for 20 years.
“Years ago, catenaries were installed to stop waste in certain parts, but without success. The problem needs to be solved from the very root, and these are the landfills located on the banks of the rivers Drina and Lim,” says Furtula.
Two years ago, a trilateral meeting was held between the responsible ministries of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Serbia and Montenegro, and the mayors of municipalities in the Drina basin. The focus of the meeting was the waste issue. According to Furtula, the meeting announced the formation of teams that would work on the registration of illegal landfills in all three countries and the installation of video surveillance in certain parts and banks of the rivers. Unfortunately, the plans have yet to be implemented.
This has not stopped activists from warning and reminding these institutions to take notice of this problem, because the entire ecosystem is gradually being endangered.
“This is a very serious problem, so much waste in the Drina River certainly endangers the entire ecosystem. Microplastics and many toxins are now part of our river, unfortunately. Years ago, we also found medical waste there, so the question is: how does it get into the river?” asks Furtula.
The Drina, he recalls, is known as a river rich in fish. Many fishermen come to fish, and this fish is then consumed by the citizens. There is also an official city landfill nearby, where the extracted floating waste from the river has been disposed of for years. But the waste is often ignited, polluting the air with toxins.
“So it’s a vicious cycle affecting both humans and wildlife,” says Furtula.
The Drina River is formed by the confluence of the Montenegrin rivers Tara and Piva on Šćepan Polje, the current border between BiH and Montenegro. It has as much as 346 kilometers of flow through BiH, passing through Foča, Goražde and Višegrad, and several smaller and larger rivers flow into it.
Once a river full of rapids, carved canyons and gorges, it was irreversibly changed by the construction of hydroelectric power plants in Višegrad and Bajina Bašta. The Drina is considered one of the most beautiful rivers in the former Yugoslavia. In the past, it was known for its wildlife and the rafters that tamed its waves.
North of Višegrad, the longest canyon of the river Drina runs for 34 kilometers. Its cliffs rise over a thousand meters above sea level, which makes this canyon one of the deepest in the world. The green color of the river Drina and high, rocky cliffs – sometimes bare and sometimes thickly carpeted with trees – create the impression that you are entering a fairy-tale world, completely different from the one littered with waste near the Višegrad Hydroelectric Power Plant.
To date, three hydroelectric power plants have been built on the Drina, which have turned most of the river into a peaceful lake area. There are no rafts or rafters on the river today but thanks to the creation of artificial lakes, the Drina is accessible to tourist boats, along with organized river cruises. Višegrad itself is a city on two artificial lakes which were made by hydroelectric power plants on the Drina – Visegradsko, which is located upstream, and Perućac, a lake downstream of the city.
The citizens of Višegrad, like others throughout BiH, are aware of the waste problem on the Drina. Džemila Agić, director of the Tuzla Center for Ecology and Energy, offers possible solutions that, she says, should be considered seriously.
“If we did an experiment with setting up a net of a certain diameter, we would see how much solid waste would accumulate on that net. This is to be expected, because according to available data, only about 60% of households in BiH have regular waste collection. The question is what happens to the waste produced by the other 40% of households. A small part of that waste is illegally disposed of in existing containers, but most of that waste is dumped on the banks of rivers, streams or in nature,” she says.
Džemila explains that the first necessary step is to introduce regular waste collection for all households and businesses in BiH.
“There is no one who does not create waste, nor is there a way for someone to dispose of it in a harmless way. The next step is the introduction of mandatory supervision and punitive measures. We do have laws according to which this is not permissible, which means that there is a lack of oversight,” adds Agić.
She also points out how important it is to behave responsibly towards the environment, because there are other living beings living there, to whom our harmful influence can cause direct consequences. The environment is a space that we share with others, a space in which our ancestors lived, but in which our descendants will also live, so it is important, Agić says, to treat it like the home in which we live.
“Environmental pollution has very harmful consequences for the environment and our health. Many studies have shown that, for example, polluted air is carcinogenic, that it has a detrimental effect on reproductive health that thousands of people die every year due to polluted air, that mortality due to the COVID-19 virus increases, etc. When you think about the importance of the environment, just remember how good you feel when you are in a city, village, by a river, or in a mountain where there is no pollution. How much better do you think we would have it if we lived in such an environment all the time?” she asks.
Although the problem of the ecological catastrophe has already affected the Drina River, the president of the Eco Center Association from Višegrad, Dejan Furtula, tells us that the citizens of that city are now tired of this problem. They have listened to repeated empty promises but are still confronted with this problem that has not gone away. The Eco Center Višegrad Association continues to pressure the institutions to finally deal with this problem, which, he says, gives him hope that a solution will be found in the near future.
“We are trying to introduce the whole world to this issue, and we have succeeded. Since the beginning of the year, over 20 TV crews from the entire region and Europe have come to Višegrad, so now everyone knows about this, and they are offering us their help. We hope that this will not happen again and that someone will finally bear responsibility,” concludes Furtula.

created: February 28th, 2022

author: Amira Banjić


text:
Podgorica Plenum “Quo Vadis Balkan:” Regional Solutions to Right-Wing Extremism | Balkan Diskurs
Balkan Diskurs
March 2nd, 2022
The importance of regional cooperation and solidarity in the fight against right-wing extremism are part of the conclusions of the Podgorica Plenum “Quo Vadis Balkan,” held from February 10th to 12th in Montenegro, with prominent intellectual, academic, and political leaders from the region.
The two-day regional event was organized by the Center for Civic Education, the Regional Academy for Democratic Development, and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. Bringing together politicians, historians, journalists, publicists, writers, representatives of international and non-governmental organizations, and other participants from across the region, the Plenum focused on discussing ways to fight problems of growing nationalism, chauvinism, and extremism. Solutions emphasized empowering progressive forces to overcome these problems in order to ensure the stability and security of the region.
Historians spoke about radicalization and fascism in the Western Balkans, discussing the continual practice whereby political structures legitimize themselves by abusing history. “Marriage between politics and historiography is always a bad match,” said historian Ivo Goldstein.
Professor Husnija Kamberović analyzed the dramatic situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and identified different narratives. As he said, talking about national historiographies means giving them the importance of scientific historiography, which certainly cannot be the case.
“History is a science about the present, not the past,” according to historian Dubravka Stojanović. She went on to stress that a distinction should be made between the revision of history and revisionism, as the latter implies the conscious, malicious, ideological, and targeted manipulation of historical facts and the abuse of the past.
During the panel “How to better project our voice?” publicists, journalists, and writers from the region emphasized the important role and influence of the media on the problems facing the region. Velma Šarić, the founder and president of the Post-Conflict Research Center and an experienced journalist, also highlighted the role of religious leaders in shaping politics in Bosnia and Herzegovina. As she noted, rather than promoting peace and stability, these figures have long contributed to destabilization and the dissemination of hatred in the country.
According to Šarić, the recent adoption of the Law on the Prohibition of Genocide Denial in Bosnia and Herzegovina was urgently needed. While the country is facing serious problems in the wake of its adoption, it is a law without which the future of young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina would be even more uncertain.
Journalist Vesna Mališić from Serbia said that one of the main problems in the region is hate speech, which is interpreted as freedom of speech, while Professor Vladimir Vojinović spoke about the dangers of introducing religious education in Montenegrin schools.
Benjamina Karić, the mayor of Sarajevo, was at the panel along with Stipe Mesić, the former President of the Republic of Croatia, Danijel Server, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, and Ivan Vuković, the mayor of Podgorica. Mayor Karić pointed out that the ideas of social democracy are of timeless importance and will persist despite efforts to stop them. She says that rather than discussing the disappearance of ideologies, we should be talking about strengthening and empowering social democracy and anti-fascism, because these are universal ideas that have nothing to do with religion, nationality, or political conflicts.
Saša Magazinović, a Member of the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliament, also spoke about the influence of social democracy at the panel together with Vesna Pusić, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, Josip Juratović, Member of the German Bundestag, Ranko Krivokapić, former President of the Parliament of Montenegro, Duško Marković, Member of the Parliament and former Montenegrin Prime Minister, and Nataša Vučković, Executive Director of the Center for democracy in Belgrade.
They spoke openly about the problems facing leftists in the region. Magazinović stressed that the countries of the region want to become members of the European Union and “we must have the same values and rules that apply in the EU,” without any political comprises.
Daniel Serwer, one of the top international experts on the Balkans, noted that the situation in the region is extremely difficult and that all Balkan countries are economically dependent on aid from the European Union. He characterized flourishing ethnic populism in the Balkans as “a fertile ground for the actions of Russia, China and Turkey,” stating that one way to counter these influences was by “empowering progressive politicians who must act in cooperation with civil society.”
Serbia’s statement regarding the Russian-Ukrainian conflict was one of the main issues discussed by participants. Balša Božović, President of the Executive Board of the Regional Academy for Democratic Development, said that the Russian-Ukrainian crisis and Russia’s latest actions, as well as the responses of the European Union and Western democracies, faced Serbia with the dilemma of whether to harmonize its foreign policy with the EU or take a neutral stance under various pretexts, which would show, once again, that they are not a reliable EU partner.

created: March 2nd, 2022

author: Balkan Diskurs


text:
A uniform approach for victims of violence | Balkan Diskurs
Luka Čavar
March 4th, 2022
According to experts, the legal regulations on domestic violence and violence against women in Bosnia and Herzegovina are relatively good, but their consistent implementation is still necessary, as is securing equal access to the system throughout the country.
Domestic violence is defined as any act of physical, sexual, psychological, or economic violence that occurs within the family or domestic unit, or between former or current spouses or partners, regardless of whether the perpetrator resides at the same residence as the victim. This definition is an integral part of the Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, which was adopted by the Council of Europe in Istanbul on May 11th, 2011.
Bosnia and Herzegovina has ratified this Convention, known as the Istanbul Convention, thus committing to the legal establishment of an efficient system for preventing and combating violence against women.
Azra Berbić, a lawyer and activist, believes that the Istanbul Convention has not been fully implemented in the sense that institutions do not have clearly developed procedures for how to respond to cases of violence.
“Bosnia and Herzegovina has committed itself to ratifying the victim protection system with the standards of the Convention, but there are still no harmonized mechanisms. We also have a legal framework that is somewhat in line with the Convention, but it is not being implemented effectively, and that is a big problem,” Berbić said.
Fatima Bećirović, an expert in the field of domestic violence and violence against women, believes that domestic violence should be defined as a crime with clear provisions for the adequate and timely punishment of perpetrators. Legal regulations should also clearly define mechanisms for assisting and protecting victims, including through social, psychological, and economic support, as well as medical care, legal aid, and other protective measures.
The problem of domestic violence and violence against women in Bosnia and Herzegovina has become visible in the last 10 to 15 years. According to available data, 52.8 percent of women in Bosnia and Herzegovina have suffered some form of violence. There are laws and strategies for the protection from domestic violence at both the entity and state levels.
“Legal regulations which define violence as a crime have been adopted. There are ratified international documents, trained experts, specialized non-governmental organizations and functioning safe houses, a free SOS hotline for victims of violence, a handful of professional events and campaigns, and the continuing adoption of strategic documents. To a lesser extent, preventive programs are also being implemented,” Bećirović explained.
As Berbić states, it is difficult to identify all cases of gender-based violence because women themselves often do not recognize that they are victims of it. Even if they are aware, Berbić believes that it is very rare for women to report a case of physical violence when it happens for the first time.
“After violence, repentance by the perpetrator usually occurs. Life turns into a fairy tale for a while as the perpetrator tries to redeem himself with his behavior. Then, he slowly tests the limits of that life again and physical violence is repeated. Reports mostly arise from situations when a woman feels truly threatened for the first time or when she really doesn’t see a way out of the situation anymore,” said Berbić.
According to Berbić, the various institutions responsible for taking care of domestic violence victims as well as for preventing the recurrence of violence are not well connected. She also believes that police officers, who are the first to arrive on the scene after violence is reported, do not respond adequately to domestic violence because they are not sufficiently trained to do so.
Bećirović believes that inequalities in the responses of authorities as well as in access to support systems are a bigger problem than legal provisions, which she considers to be relatively good. Therefore, Bećirović concludes that education is necessary to bring about a shift in the awareness and understanding of experts as well as in that of the general public.
“Preventive programs, continuous and obligatory training, campaigns, and other things are hugely important to make the process of protecting victims of violence more effective and comprehensive, and to ensure perpetrators of violence are more strictly and adequately punished with longer sentences,” says Bećirović.

created: March 4th, 2022

author: Luka Čavar


text:
Open Data Kosovo: New Professions Highlight Women’s Potential | Balkan Diskurs
Irma Ahmetspahić
March 7th, 2022
“Marriage is traditionally the destiny offered to women by society,” wrote Simone de Beauvoir in her 1949 treatise The Other Sex. Seventy-two years later and many women continue to face social pressure forcing them to decide: family or career?
No society has achieved full gender equality. According to research by Plan International, “even in the most gender-equitable countries in the world, harmful and discriminatory gender norms will continue to hamper girls and women until 2030, and even later.”
Even after getting a job in their profession, many women from Kosovo begin to lose or minimize their ambitions, even those with qualifications. Often, just earning money for oneself can seem like a big step. Kosovo society, however, is one that encourages change and ways to break free of the shackles of stereotypes.
Blerta Thaci is the Executive Director of Open Data Kosovo (ODK) and the founder of Girls Coding Kosovo. Its main goal is to help Kosovo’s youth build their capacity in the technology industry. Her ambition is to contribute to the formation of ‘smart institutions’ that will provide high quality services to the citizens of Kosovo.
As the Executive Director of the ODK, Blerta has always encouraged young women to participate in the events and workshops they have organized, and has provided internship opportunities to numerous participants. She studied electrical engineering and computer engineering at the University of Priština and then won the FIDES Award for Philanthropy in 2016 and the Women in ICT Award in 2017. She was previously listed in Forbes’ ‘30 Under 30’ for her work on Open Data Kosovo, which recognized the organization as one of the most successful initiatives to contribute to improving law and policy-making in Europe.
ODK team consists of software developers, program managers, financial officers and marketers, and they are mostly women.
“Several colleagues and I started a software development company while we were studying. That company became very successful and I worked there for five years. I say ‘successful’ because it was constantly growing, but the team consisted only of men. Even though they supported me and even though I was privileged in the company, because I was one of the few women there, it inspired me to think about why we have a shortage of women in the IT field,” says Blerta Thaci.
From there, the idea for the Girls Coding Kosovo initiative was born. Blerta also started cooperating with Open Data Kosovo, which she later joined.
“I did this voluntarily. We gathered a lot of people, mostly girls, who wanted to learn how to code. I first started as a project manager in ODK and, after a year, was nominated to lead the organization. I was chosen by the board as executive director,” she adds.
The organization was founded by Canadian George Labreche, who found himself in Kosovo working on his master’s thesis. He found that the biggest problem he encountered was a lack of access to data. “After three years, having completed the greatest part of his mission, he gathered together a team of local people from Kosovo. He joined the board to support the organization, but left everything else to the care of the people of Kosovo,” says Blerta.
Similarly, Girls Coding Kosovo is another technology-oriented organization that was born out of necessity and is all about bringing people together. Prompted by the situation and the stigma they experience, women from Kosovo are taking the opportunity to realize their own accomplishments, in line with the times in which we find ourselves.
Blerta says the idea behind Girls Coding Kosovo was to create a community that inspires girls to join technology-oriented jobs and to create a place where women can develop their ideas. Both Girls Coding Kosovo and ODK work on the use of technology for the public good.
“For me, as a software engineer, it was very interesting to find myself on this career path. I find it very fascinating how you can build open access data technology and then give people access. It was not just technology, but much more than that, and that is why I continued my career with ODK. I left Girl Coding Kosovo to the capable hands of women who know how to use their opportunity to create new ones,” explains Blerta.
More than 70 percent of Kosovo’s population is under the age of 30. The only industry with a positive balance is IT. Blerta says that she wanted girls in rural areas and cities outside Priština to consider career opportunities in the industry.
“I just wanted to let them know that there are a lot of open positions and demand in the market and that they can take advantage of that, that they can think about studying in this field or take some classes or trainings and learn to code. We worked on a lot of projects and people started to understand why we started this. But with each new beginning, people have a lot of questions,” she explains.
Blerta is proud of the fact that she has a team made up mostly of women programmers and project managers.
“We do everything in the technological sphere, which is very inspiring. I can see that trends are changing as well. This profession is becoming more recognizable, and people are taking it more into consideration, especially women. I have a feeling that this means that things are changing for the better,” Blerta adds.
ODK is a haven for the young generations who want to make a difference through new, up-to-date ways of working.  They regularly hold a boot camp for new members, where team members and lecturers share experiences and knowledge gained during previous projects. Before the Coronavirus pandemic, the organization’s premises were used to organize a whole host of meetings and events. In fact, people could come and visit at any time: their door was wide open for anyone.  Generally, the space is used on weekdays for project work and on weekends workshops and educational events are organized there.
“Bootcamp is now held virtually. It is very successful and participants often tell us that it inspired them and that they learned more than they did during a whole year at university. It helps to clarify concept and ideas for them, and thanks to this they are able to produce the right projects for their portfolio,” explains Blerta.
She adds that the Government is not always ready to make a technological transition and respect the importance of the profession in which she works. It was the fact that the pandemic took away a number of opportunities that meant they had the opportunity to realize the importance of having data available in a digital format.
For ODK’s Executive Director, accessibility and community are paramount. “Even now that we have moved to a virtual space, we have a lot of open calls and we try to avoid bureaucracy. There are many ways people can become part of our community,” says Blerta.

created: March 7th, 2022

author: Irma Ahmetspahić


text:
To preserve and return religious items means to respect multiethnicity in Bosnia and Herzegovina | Balkan Diskurs
Alem Bajramović | Kristina Gadže
March 11th, 2022
During the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, many religious buildings and structures were demolished, and items, including Holy Books (the Qur’an, Bible, Torah, and Haggadah), were burned or displaced. Numerous families of different ethnicities have preserved some of these items and once they got the opportunity, they returned them to where they belong.
Numerous examples of the safekeeping and return of religious items can be found in Sarajevo, Goražde, Foča and Mostar, that is, in most parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where people have chosen sacredness and respect for other ethnicities over destruction.
Representatives of various religious institutions agree that in Bosnia and Herzegovina, people have respected each other and the richness of their diversity for centuries. The Preservation and return of religious items, according to Fadil Effendi Arifović, is a lighthouse and serves as a message against retrograde thinking and politics, because in the end, good defeats evil.
Eli Tauber, Advisor for Culture and Religion to the Jewish Community in BiH, believes returning religious items to be invaluable in terms of preserving the identity of a believer and a specific religious community.
„What adorns the people of Bosnia is that special relationship towards different groups that is implanted within them and the fact that someone belongs to another nation and professes another religion is not something which divides us, but rather, what unites and connects us. There has always been that trust and understanding here, in both good times and bad. But above all, honesty and respect veils Bosnian people. Particular care is taken not to let a child sing if someone else is grieving, but if someone’s days of joy have come, we rejoice that just as they do“, said Tauber.
According to Professor Dino Abazović from the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Sarajevo, the return of religious objects is important in terms of restoring trust in building interpersonal relations, in other words that despite the ongoing political and social climate it is possible to live in Bosnia and Herzegovina while cherishing the values of humanity and civilization.
Jasmin Mujagić from Goražde found a Bible (Catholic Holy Book) in the attic of a house his family bought in 2007. When he found the Bible, he said, he thought of nothing but to leave and preserve it. After 13 or 14 years, Mujagić returned the Bible to the Parish Office of the Church of the Drina Martyrs in Goražde.
„Everyone is happy when someone makes you happy, so you should make someone happy. That’s how I look at it, we need to appreciate each other. It is important for me to know that it returned to where it belongs,“ Mujagić said.
Josip Tadić, pastor of the Church of the Drina Martyrs in Goražde, said that a man, a muslim man, respects the Holy Book, just as he, as a Catholic, respects the Qur’an.
„That Bible has no financial value, but it will look nice in a museum of antiques we plan to open one day. The Bible now is in our office. It’s of a great value because it’s old and well-preserved,“ fra Tadić said.
The example of the return of a Holy Book can also be found in Foča, where a resident who wished to remain anonymous returned the Qur’an to the Aladža (Hasan Nazir) mosque in the spring of 2019. After the bombing of the Aladža mosque in Foča, a brave resident kept the Qur’an for 27 years. For security reasons, she returned the Qur’an through Mensur Kadrić from Goražde, asking him to pray for her.
Fadil Effendi Arifović, imam of the Aladža mosque, said that the return of the Qur’an was a clear sign that, despite all the unfortunate events that befell Foča and its Bosniak population, there is hope for a brighter future.
,,On the one hand, this isn’t surprising because we have had such cases throughout our history in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Here, people have respected each other for centuries, differences have been respected, including religious beliefs. So that is one sign of a brighter future. It is up to us to try to help ourselves and all returnees and all people, if we are able. We need to build that relationship between Muslims, who are  minority in Foča, and the neighbors of the Orthodox faith, who are the dominant majority, to create an environment for our people to feel comfortable and safe here“, said Effendi Arifović.
Religious icons have been returned to the Serbian Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Mostar. Nedžad Jašarević obeyed the wish of his father, who for years kept the icons he found in one part of a demolished Orthodox Church and in the Cathedral during the war.
Someone told Nedžad’s father, who was a police officer, “Here is what I found.” He kept them until the Orthodox population returned, but unfortunately, he passed away last year. Before his death, Nedžad learned about icons. He agreed with his mother to donate them around Orthodox Christmas, January 7.
Jašarević said that the reaction of the Orthodox population and officials was incredible, even though they have known each other for a long time and are on good terms.
,,This is a human thing to do. We are familiar with the return of religious objects to other denominations as well. There is only one difference here: good and evil, good and bad people. Let’s say that the politics are clouds high in the sky, and that ordinary people have their feet on the ground. Ordinary people work and socialize and drink coffee, have barbeques and are the godfathers of other people’s kids. And then watch news in the evening and see that the political ideologies poison relations among ordinary people. I just hope these ideologies will not win over, even though it was politicians that started the wars and not ordinary people,“ said Jašarević.
The priest, Duško Kojić, the parish priest of Mostar, said that he had been on religious duty in Mostar for two years and that he had never had an unpleasant experience or felt like a minority.
,,The people of Mostar perceive this church as their own, regardless of their religion or nationality. And that’s nice. Of course no one is happy that this church was demolished, but it’s nice to be part of the restoration in this way, because we are all trying to reconstruct it and we are all happy about it“, said Father Duško, commenting on the humanitarian act of the Jašarević family.
The Sarajevo Haggadah, a Jewish ritual book containing biblical stories, prayers and psalms related to the Passover holiday dedicated to the liberation of the Jews from Egyptian slavery, was returned to BiH last year, to the National Museum, where it was open to visitors.
Tauber said the Haggadah is undoubted proof of the survival and human flourishing of the Jewish community in the neighborhood. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, as he said, there has always been trust and understanding, but above all honesty and respect.
,,Every war takes away a large number of relics and thus impoverishes one religious group presenting a heavy blow to civilization in general. A portion of the Jewish religious books perished in the fire that engulfed the City Hall. One part was also saved, but never returned to the synagogue. During World War II numerous Torah and religious books were burned or displaced. Sarajevo was left without its copy of the Torah. It is fortunate that in Travnik they preserved one scroll of Torah in the monastery in Travnik, and after the war they brought it to Sarajevo and handed it over to the synagogue“, stated Tauber.
What unites all the people who have preserved religious items and returned them to where they belong is the pursuit of good and mutual respect. Jašarević said that he teaches his children to look at others only to see if they are good or bad people.
,,If your relative is someone bad, it doesn’t mean you need to take care of him, you can help him, but you can’t take care of someone who isn’t good. On the other hand, if someone is of another faith, and he is a good person, then it cannot be ruled out that you will go to the cinema together, to the sea, that you will drink coffee together. Young people should be careful and socialize, not to ask who is who. These are very simple divisions: good and bad“, explained Jašarević.
Effendi Arifović said that he does not like the word coexistence, which is being used more and more. „The word coexistence is imposed upon us. As soon as you have coexistence or tolerance, then you have to endure someone. But reality is different, because people in the Balkans have lived together, not next to each other, but together. They shared both good and evil. We are trying to promote these beautiful gestures and to show that no savages, no barbarians live here who need to be taught about tolerance“, believes Effendi Arifović.
The parish priest of Mostar, Father Kojić, does not think that those that live, work and socialize with people of different identities are a minority. There are many people who live, work and socialize with people of different identities, but such people do not have enough media exposure. Mujagić says that he was the happiest when he had the opportunity to make Catholics happy in Goražde, and Tauber believes that being different from others is not something that divides people, but on the contrary, connects.
„These examples of return are extremely important for restoring trust in building better interpersonal relationships,“ Abazović said. In terms of dealing with the past, Professor Abazović said that we are witnessing a positive side of religious memory that is based on forgiveness and not resentment: „Forgiveness certainly does not mean forgetting, but opposing resentment.“
Due to the prevailing climate of mistrust in our post-conflict society and the severely impaired capacities of so many to distinguish good from bad, Abazović explains that, although gestures of humanity to return religious items may seem too late, it is never too late to be good.

created: March 11th, 2022

author: Alem Bajramović | Kristina Gadže


text:
Job Scarcity Drives Balkan Youth Away | Balkan Diskurs
Adnita Pacolli | Ilda Kurti | Redžo Efendić
March 14th, 2022
During the past decade, unemployment among youth in the Western Balkans has been a persistent issue. Young people from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo are leaving the Balkans massively in search of better job opportunities and a chance for a higher quality of life.
“Although there is unemployment in Kosovo, I think that doctors, lawyers, architects would not be left without a job. But salaries are very low; most doctors in Kosovo also work privately [on the side] to make a living just above the average, because the salary from the state alone is not enough,” said Genista, a 20 year old woman from Kosovo, who is now studying biochemistry at the University of Tetova, wishing to transfer to medical school at the same university.
Genista lives in a crowded apartment with five other roommates in Tetova, so we waited until she found a quiet room. It is the beginning of the academic year, and she is far from Ferizaj in Kosovo, her hometown. Leaving her family, friends, and hometown to chase her dream wasn’t easy. Just like those who leave the country because of the lack of jobs, she is also leaving her hometown in search of a better education and ultimately, to improve her chances of getting a decent job.
“Honestly, if I didn’t study to become a doctor, I would have gone abroad, somewhere in Europe, to study something else, to work and to have a better life. I wouldn’t stay in Kosovo,” Genista says.
According to KAS, Kosovo Agency of Statistics, in 2013, youth unemployment in Kosovo reached 31.0%.
Things haven’t changed for the better. Just last year, the youth unemployment rate amounted to 30.5%. One might think this was also due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but the situation was even worse in 2019, when the youth unemployment rate in Kosovo reached 34.7%.
Bosnia and Herzegovina has been facing a lot of political issues for years, and yet another crisis is not helping.
Erol Handžar (25), a young journalist from Sarajevo, claimed that the political situation has been getting worse over the course of years, it didn’t simply happen in one day. According to Handžar, citizens fall prey to the empty promises of politicians, who use words such as, “prosperity and progress only during campaigning; singing us serenades about a better life. In the end, citizens will try to get their plane tickets to some better promised lands because the situation is not going to get better in any way.”
The straw that broke the camel’s back was when the youth of Bosnia and Herzegovina was spoon-fed the narrative of a “possible conflict” that could take place.
Following Valentin Inzko’s decision as the previous High Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina on imposing a law that prohibits genocide denial, and making it a crime punishable by law. It stirred a lot of tension when Milorad Dodik, Presidency member representing ethnic Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina, used this as yet another excuse to block the functionality of the state institutions.
Due to the unstable political situation, the youth generation of Bosnia and Herzegovina will try even harder to leave the country.
Youth unemployment rates are causing problems for Western Balkans because their futures are insecure. Jobs are scarce and the general lack of economic standards and financial safety is driving more and more younger persons to leave.
Western Balkans has had an unemployment issue for years now. According to BHAS, the Agency of Statistics of BiH, the percentage of unemployed persons in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2019 was 15.7%.
In Albania, the highest percentage of youth unemployment was registered during 2010, when 31.5% of  young people were unemployed. Many students blame the education system and the lack of internship culture in Albania for this state of affairs, urging that there needs to be a way to incorporate internships as a thorough part of the curriculum, and not as a mere formality.
“The main reason for youth unemployment is the fact that students rarely get practical experience during their university studies and work practices that take place mainly as part of the curriculum are more of a formality than a good experience to build students professionally. As a result, most students are not ready to enter a job market as most of these places also require experience,” said Gevio Tabaku, representative of the National Student Board [Bordi Kombëtar Studentor].
In 2019, the percentage of unemployed youth reached 26.6% according to INSTAT, the Institute of Statistics of Albania. Although there has been a slight decrease over the past decade, the percentage of unemployment rate remains high.
Djellza Kryeziu, a 27-year-old woman who left for Germany this January, stated that she does not believe that she would stay, “at least not nowadays in Kosovo.”
When she first moved to Germany, she was working as a nanny, but soon after she started an apprenticeship or Ausbildung. It is a unique study program that incorporates learning, working, and earning money, which sadly does not have an equivalent in any of the Western Balkan countries.
“At state institutions, in 99% of cases people are hired by friends and relatives, usurping the place of someone who studied and is better at this job, but who does not know ‘the right people,’” said Kryeziu.
More than 11.5 million Euros have been allocated by the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sports of Kosovo in the Youth Strategy 2019-2023, aiming to improve the situation of young people aged 15-24.
Osman Gashi, the head of communications at the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sports, stated that the ministry has launched the programme for practical work for students of the University of Prishtina “Hasan Prishtina”.
“During 2021, MCYS has developed several programmes to stimulate youth employment: Entrepreneurship and business skills training programmes; Grants programme to support young entrepreneurs; Internship programme for students of the University of Prishtina “Hasan Prishtina”, and Economic Revival Programme. The financial value is about 1,400,000.00 Euro,” he wrote.
When asked about the results of these programmes, we didn’t receive any response.
At the EU level, there has been ongoing cooperation with the local authorities towards improving the education system in all countries aspiring to join the EU, and the conclusions from Riga aim at improving vocational education and training, a policy that will be executed between 2021-2030.
Also, from mid-September 2020, the European Union funded the project “Education for Employment,” as a part of the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance. The general goal of which is the development of human resources in accordance with the needs of the labour market, “increasing the relevance of education for the labour market through career development and quality in higher education, as well as improving the capacity of human resources at all levels of education.”
As of  October 22, 2021, Albania invested almost half a billion Euros [51,540,000,000 ALL] by approving the new National Strategy for Education 2021-2026, aiming at connecting the higher education system to the needs of the job market.
Besides this, three previous National Strategies for Employment and Skills have been implemented, 2019-2022; 2017-2021; 2014-2018. However, when we asked the Ministry of Education of Albania about the outcome of the previous strategies, we neither received a response about the results achieved, nor about the costs. We only received information about the National Internship Programme that has been hiring freshly graduated students in public administration for a period of 3 months, “and up to 200 of the best are offered a 1-year contract.” This practice has been implemented in 2017-2021.
“Because of unemployment, youth of Western Balkans are left without hope,” said Djellza.
Decades of corruption, nepotism, and bad policies left the Western Balkans job market barren of opportunities for young people. Governments of the Western Balkans countries should start working actively towards improving the situation of the youth generation, otherwise they are at high risk of having constant “brain drain”, while the rest of the working population is aging.

created: March 14th, 2022


text:
“It still feels like you are here” | Balkan Diskurs
Alexandra Karppi | Amina Sejfić
March 18th, 2022
The story could have started like this: I have one child, a son, the apple of my eye, my pride and joy. The story could also have started like this: we live our “happily ever after,” and our two kids are chasing their dreams. Life is nice, comfortable. He has a job and I take care of the kids and the house. We are happy. It even could have started like this: I have a mother and a sister. We are inseparable. We could chat over a cup of coffee for hours.
Ramiza, Đema and Fikreta could have been women from these stories. They still speak of life before the War and Genocide, when their houses and hearts were full, just like this. But out of the blue, the war trumpets sounded and they, along with the other mothers of Srebrenica, were left with nothing but memories of once joy-filled lives.
Ramiza does not remember days and dates anymore. She wanders aimlessly in the labyrinthine of her mind, looking for once-known acquaintances. She thinks about what would have happened if her son had gone to America. At least he could come back to visit. Đema shares the same wish. For years she was waiting to hug and kiss her two boys, but the truth – that they were never coming home – tore her to pieces. If you observe Đema carefully you can see the shadows of love in her eyes, love for the boys for which she still yearns. Fikreta quietly endures her pain, thinking often of her sister and words left unsaid between them. She finds salvation from the overwhelming pain in her faith.
Ajša Bektić, Begajeta Nukić, Bida Smajlović, Fikreta Bečić, Hadžira Suljić, Hatidža Habibović, Kada Đema Pašić, Magbula Divović, Ramiza Begić and Šehida Abdurahmanović share the same destiny. A destiny which screams in silence. A destiny which embraces memories. A destiny which pervades the air. Srebrenica seems to be stuck in time, with its white fields kissing green grass. The cemetery looms above it – an unavoidable part of the history of the city, a dignified memorial to lives taken mercilessly. But another memorial to these lost souls has finally found its way to Srebrenica. Today the town is home to 8,372 fildžani cups. These mothers donated 93 of them.
The cups are part of the installation of a nomadic monument to the Srebrenica Genocide called ŠTO TE NEMA. Artist Aida Šehović started the project in 2006. Until 2020, the monument moved from city to city each year. Annually on 11 July, Aida and a team of volunteers lay out a cup for each victim and fill it with traditional Bosnian coffee. The cups represent the souls of those who were stripped of the opportunity to drink coffee with their families ever again. The monument was always set up in busy city centers, with the idea that passersby could come and engage with the monument if they wished, either by joining in discussions or by helping to pour the coffee themselves. The monument has been all over Europe and the United States and has even made a trip to the United Nations Headquarters.
In 2020, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Genocide and 15th anniversary of the monument, ŠTO TE NEMA moved permanently to Srebrenica, where it will now be exhibited at the Srebrenica-Potočari Memorial Center in its final form. The Post-Conflict Research Center (PCRC) partnered with the Memorial Center to gather fildžani cups for the monument from a range of notable individuals, including from the mothers themselves. In the lead up to the commemoration on 11 July 2020, PCRC worked closely with the mothers to gather their stories, in an effort to protect the memories that the cups represent. Throughout July, PCRC ran a social media campaign that highlighted those who had donated to ŠTO TE NEMA. The campaign featured local and international politicians, representatives from various organizations all around the world, artists, other genocide survivors and many others. The support for the monument, both locally and internationally, was overwhelming.
In the end, the monument’s move to Srebrenica was fitting. The cups, representing the souls of each man and boy killed at Srebrenica, were finally coming home. The desire, or rather the need, to return home, to the very site of the killings, is a feeling that the mothers of Srebrenica understand well. Many women returned to Srebrenica after the War and Genocide, believing it was the only place that they could protect the precious memories of their loved ones and their life together before the war. As Hadžira, who lost six family members in the Genocide and now lives in the ruins of her parents’ house in Srebrenica, says, “As long as I live, the memories of these people and these events will live on. Of these spaces that we selfishly guard.”
Bida, who lost three family members, was one of the first returnees to Srebrenica, and lived there without electrical power for at least a year. She agrees that she couldn’t live anywhere else, and says that without the support of her mother, sister and other women in Srebrenica, she could not have lived with the grief.
Many women first returned to Srebrenica after the War and Genocide, while waiting to be reunited with their families. The mothers say they are still waiting, unable to accept a loss so great. Hatidža, who lost four of her family members, explains, “I don’t know, child, whether these sorrows will ever pass and whether these tears will ever dry. Whether we will ever stop waiting for them to come back to us…I don’t know…”
For many the wait is not just psychological. Countless women in Srebrenica are still waiting for the remains of their loved ones to be found and have been searching for them for decades. Through tears, Ajša, who lost at least fifteen family members, says that all she wants is to bury her son before she dies. She describes how identifying his remains this past March shook her to her core.
“If only there were people, we have cups,” says Magbula, who lost over twelve relatives in the Genocide. These women’s’ stories should have been written differently. But they have no happy ending. These stories are more tragic than Shakespeare’s tragedies, and they carry more pain and sorrow than Hamlet’s destiny. The mothers of Srebrenica will never get their loved ones back. Not ever. At least, not in this world. Except on every 11 July when everything comes back to life: their tears and laughter, their dreams and first steps, their embraces and kisses. But the mothers are not filled with hatred, only with hope that they will all meet again.
All these mothers have left are the memories of their family members and of life before the Genocide. It is these memories to which ŠTO TE NEMA stands as a testament. This is what Begajeta, who lost eight family members, was thinking when she found several fildžani in the ruins of her house in Srebrenica, and why she later chose to donate them to ŠTO TE NEMA. Many other mothers have joined her in donating to the monument to preserve the memory of their loved ones.
In a three-day virtual event held in June 2020, PCRC highlighted how Aida’s monument has created a culture of remembrance in Bosnia and abroad. It is PCRC’s belief that protecting the memories of the mothers of Srebrenica will contribute to this culture of remembrance.
ŠTO TE NEMA’s return to Srebrenica represents a commitment to safeguarding these memories for future generations. Šehida, who lost seven family members in the Genocide, believes that those left in Srebrenica must help lay the foundation for a peaceful future in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Despite everything, she says it is a privilege to look outside her window every day and see the Potočari cemetery.
Using art as a bridge to peace, ŠTO TE NEMA has united different peoples and brought young people closer to one another, as it is they who are the bearers of the future and protectors of the truth. With support from PCRC and the Srebrenica Memorial Center, the monument can now continue to serve as a reminder of this commitment for future generations.

created: March 18th, 2022

author: Alexandra Karppi | Amina Sejfić


text:
The Impact of Online Platforms on Children and Young People | Balkan Diskurs
Nataša Tomić
March 21st, 2022
YouTube is a product of our capitalist society, but children and young people follow YouTubers feeling they are authentic and independent in their opinions.
Some of the behaviors and opinions they are exposed to can in fact be dangerous to them, and there is agreement among all interested parties, from parents to sociologists to the YouTubers themselves, that educating parents, children and young people on the issue is of vital importance.
Shortly after the YouTube video service was founded in 2005, people started creating their own channels. Although YouTube was primarily created to promote talent, its power was soon capitalized on by companies that began paying popular content creators to advertise their products in their videos. One of the earliest examples of such collaborations dates back to 2011, when Evan, then a five-year-old from the United States, posted a video on his YouTube channel playing with Lego cubes. Encouraged by the reactions of his peers, he continued filming and publishing, and this was noticed by the toy manufacturers who offered him sponsorship. Today, Evan is one of the most famous YouTubers, earning one million dollars per year.
Similarly, in the countries of the Western Balkans YouTubers can earn large sums of money advertizing products. They are gaining more and more popularity, and their sizeable influence on the behavior, opinions and attitudes of their audiences is hard to miss. And while some YouTube content is useful, or promotes healthy values and habits, there are also those who behave controversially or encourage questionable attitudes and ideas with little regard for their impact. Unfortunately, many of them do not think about the impact they have on young people, but only about amassing followers and therefore money.
Aleksandra Latinović Štula, a mother of two from Banja Luka, noticed the bad influence of YouTube on her children. She says she has found that her children pronounce many words incorrectly, in their own native language.
“Knowing that they are not taught such pronunciation at school, and that we do not use those expletives and swear words at home, the suspicion fell on the YouTubers they occasionally watch. So, I started paying more attention to the pronunciation of the YouTubers they follow. My doubts were confirmed. Then I shared my observation on my Facebook profile to ask other parents how they deal with it and what they recommend,” she says.
Svjetlana Ostojić from Vukovar had a similar experience, but she adds that her son also recorded videos for YouTube when he was still a child. They thought that they should not ban him from doing so, but instead explained to him that there was a chance he would not succeed. They told him to try it out and see if it was for him. Svjetlana herself follows some YouTubers who are mainly engaged in making handicrafts, but she believes that YouTubers followed by young people usually have no idea what they are doing and what impression they leave.
“As a parent, I think that they are extremely irresponsible and not aware of the impact they have on children. What they convey is that every young person can create a comfortable life for themselves by working on YouTube. I think that such behavior – sharing such lies with kids who are developing and building their identities – is not socially responsible,” she adds.
Dragana Mozek from Belgrade points out that among elementary school students who follow content on YouTube there is a noticeable change in their ability to communicate.
“I would call their communication, to put it mildly, primitive. Of course, I do not dispute that there are YouTubers that offer quality content, whether it is about movies, games, ‘Do it yourself’ tutorials and the like, but they are not the ones who get media coverage or gain popularity globally among the general public,” she emphasizes.
Adnan Husović’s from Montenegro creates YouTube content focused on video games. He owns the Adnanbro YouTube channel and says he is aware of the impact it has on young people. As with any social network, YouTube offers a variety of content, but he believes that it is parents’ responsibility to guide their children on the right path.
“I do try to make my content suitable for younger audiences, but in a way that older people can enjoy it as well. It’s going just great so far. I get positive feedback in my comment section and on the street when meeting people who follow my channel. My content is fun, but I definitely do something smart here and there, give a lesson or help people learn something in the game or program,” he says. Adnan adds that he only promotes products that he has tested himself and that he knows will please his audience.
Croatian YouTuber Luka Hrvatić talks about photography and filming in his videos, and points out that his goal is to give value to the viewer with each video. He believes his content is a hub for those who are genuinely interested in the subject.
“I have fantastic communication with my viewers and followers – first on YouTube and the comment section, then on Instagram, and in a private group with the closest and most loyal followers. I listen to their ideas and I respect their opinions and I tell them in advance what I am recording and when,” says Hrvatić.
Aleksandra Štrbac, from the Zdravo Da Ste association in Banja Luka, which deals with the protection of children’s rights, confirms that children have gained new role models with the appearance of YouTube. She points out that new technologies have made the content of YouTube more accessible, so it is much easier to occupy the attention of children and form elements of their behavior.
“There are all sorts of YouTubers. Unfortunately, those who promote antisocial or violent behavior, or problematic values, are more popular. Children and young people who have not formed a rational defence against such content are strongly influenced, because they believe that by adopting similar values and behaviors, they themselves will become popular in their peer groups, in real life or online,” she says.
Štrbac also points out the problem that children and young people who follow such content simply end up spending a lot of time in front of the screen.
“If they don’t have self-control or parental control, it can disrupt their attention span, create mental fatigue, and disrupt sleep schedules and general healthy habits. It can become an addiction. But it is precisely these effects that are used to serve advertisements and content from which YouTubers make money. The basis of their content is attracting as much attention as possible and keeping users and followers on their profiles for as long as possible,” claims Aleksandra.
She adds that children and young people who are uneducated about this phenomenon can hardly defend themselves. The consequences are not harmful if they watch useful content, but care should still be taken to ensure that children access the content in a healthy way.
“The role of parents is very important, especially because school programs do not pay enough attention to educating children to cope with and overcome the risks of the Internet. Yet it is not enough to fully protect children. A significant number of today’s parents are lagging behind in computer literacy, and they themselves are not aware of the risks, mechanisms and principles on which the work of YouTubers is based,” says Aleksandra.
Sociologist Dalibor Petrović from Belgrade says the rapid development of technology, the state of general distrust among young people, and the use of YouTube channels as means of information explain the popularity of YouTubers and influencers.
“Young people have the impression that no one is telling them the truth except some rare individuals who are not controlled by anyone. That is why they turn to YouTube as the ones telling them the truth. Young people and teenagers who are looking for authentic voices are especially susceptible to this. They are looking for more raw, unfiltered information and images, they are looking for something authentic. That is why they are ready to uncritically accept these influencers,” says Petrović.
The whole industry of influencers developed on the foundations of capitalism and values of quick success, money and power, contrary to the belief that success requires effort and work. However, Petrović believes that society exaggerates the influence of YouTube.
“There is a lot of unnecessary panic and fear, but not too much research on the topic of influencers having a negative impact on young people. They are certainly influential because they encourage consumerism and put material values in the foreground. They only emphasize what are already elements of the society we live in, and those are consumerism, consumption, speed, and values that are not based on work and sacrifice,” explains Petrović.
Many believe that YouTubers are fooling children and young people. However, Petrović insists that they simply see their followers as numbers so that children and young people become part of a uniform crowd.
“Every kind of universalization leads to average content – a lowest common denominator effect. If you have content that is receptive to millions of people at the same time then that content cannot be too sophisticated because the masses could not experience it in the same way. We can certainly say that these most popular YouTubers do not encourage originality or creativity. I would not say that they are brainwashing, but neither would I say that they provide food for thought,” says Petrović. He adds that just because young people watch such content does not mean that they automatically adopt it.
The positive change that YouTubers have brought about is that people today have the opportunity to communicate with each other, share their experiences, and learn from each other like never before. However, those positive things can turn into negative ones if we have an inexperienced and young audience that does not have built-in defence mechanisms.
“All those who have great power can use their power and influence to dictate trends and encourage materialism, egoism, a kind of uniform thinking that does not encourage creativity and originality but actually pushes young people towards some kind of crowd psychology,” claims Petrović.
Dragana Mozek points out that she would not ban it, regardless of the fact that she does not like this kind of content.
“I believe that the role of parents is not to protect a child from the world, but to teach a child to be critical of it. If we position ourselves in such a way that we explicitly ban certain content, we actually lose the chance to discuss with our child the values and pattern of behavior to which they will certainly be exposed among their peers. It is a dangerous thing. So, parents should take an interest in the content that is interesting to their child and critically approach it through friendly debate,” she says.
Education about YouTube in the family, school, children’s centers, youth centers and youth associations is very important. The media can also be a good channel for education, but the way of communicating and conveying messages needs to be adapted to the needs and habits of young people and children.
“Also, the overall atmosphere in the family and the family values that are nurtured can be an adequate counterbalance to some negative values promoted by YouTubers, so their final impact on children does not have to be serious, even when they follow this content. Content that is risky and has a negative effect will be most dangerous to vulnerable children with a lack of self-esteem who, by appropriating those influences, want to please their peers and take a different position in the peer hierarchy,” concludes Aleksandra Štrbac.

created: March 21st, 2022

author: Nataša Tomić


text:
Three-day Peace Festival ‘22 opened in Vitez | Balkan Diskurs
Balkan Diskurs
March 24th, 2022
The Post-Conflict Research Center and Balkan Diskurs opened the three-day Peace Festival ‘22 in the Čardaci Ethno Village in Vitez to talk to young people, activists, and journalists from across Bosnia and Herzegovina about the importance of peace, counteracting divisions, and respect for human rights.
Velma Šarić, president and founder of the Post-Conflict Research Center, said that the goal of the Festival is to bring together young people from all over the country to work together to preserve peace at a time when their peers in Ukraine are living through the horrors of war.
“In the city of Vitez, in Central Bosnia, we gathered young people from all over Bosnia and Herzegovina. We want to learn and work together through our multimedia and art program, educate young people about the need to preserve sustainable peace and prevent potential conflicts,” said Šarić, emphasizing that the Peace Festival is part of the larger “Peace Museum” project, which includes the annual publication of the magazine Mir which will be launched soon.
Ambassador Kathleen Kavalec, head of the OSCE Mission to BiH, said smaller communities like Vitez are often a steppingstone to change and sustainable peace.
“Events such as the Festival offer an opportunity to change the prevailing narrative of division and show that citizens want to unite in support of peace. In order to change this narrative, we must raise the voices – especially the younger ones – of those who are committed to a peaceful and cohesive society without discrimination, and with full respect for human rights and the rule of law,” Kavalec said.
Consul Patrik Turošik, Deputy Head of Mission of the Slovak Embassy in BiH, said that in such a difficult time for Europe, young people are very important “because you are the future.”
“I wonder what peace is and whether it is finding yourself. For me, peace is security, especially because of what is happening in Ukraine,” said Turošik, thanking all the young people for coming and for the opportunity to exchange views.
The participants of the Festival had the opportunity to watch the OSCE documentary “Maglaj, War and Peace,” which tells the stories of three war veterans who share an important message about the futility of war and the importance of defending peace.
“The tragic events in Ukraine once again remind us how fragile peace can be and that all those affected by war pay a high price,” Kavalec said.
Peace Festival ‘22 aims to empower young people to take initiative in peacebuilding and thus become an active part of a strong democratic society in which all are equal.
The Festival is organized by the Post-Conflict Research Center – an organization which has received multiple awards for its dedicated work on peacebuilding in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Western Balkans – along with the multimedia platform Balkan Diskurs, a platform which elevates the voices of young people, giving them the opportunity to express their opinions through writing.
The Festival is also organized in partnership with the OSCE Mission to BiH, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Slovak Embassy in BiH, European Union in BiH, AlJeezera Balkans, Vitez City Youth Theater, Slovak Aid and Čardaci Ethno Village.

created: March 24th, 2022