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Exposing Children to Tobacco Smoke is Unacceptable | Balkan Diskurs
Tatjana Milovanović
April 30th, 2019
According to a study conducted by the World Bank, more than one million adults and two thousand children aged 10 to 14 in Bosnia and Herzegovina are daily tobacco users. Not only does tobacco usage impact the users, but also creates issues such as exposing non-smokers to second-hand smoke, and experts warn that even brief exposure warrants risk.
Medical doctor Stela Stojisavljevic says that passive smoking (inhaling tobacco smoke from the environment created by others who smoke tobacco and tobacco products) is harmful to the health of both children and adults.
“For people who have never smoked, inhaling of tobacco smoke causes severe difficulties in breathing, a feeling of constriction of the lungs, and coughing. Passive smoking also increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and lung cancer and is particularly detrimental to young children as it affects their growth and development,” she explains to Balkan Diskurs.
According to Stojisavljevic, children who are regularly exposed to smoking rooms are more likely to experience ear infections, bronchitis, asthma, and other respiratory illnesses.
“Even brief exposure to passive smoking is a risk to one’s health. In addition to the health effects, passive smoking also has economic consequences: smoking rooms must be painted more frequently, clothes must be washed more frequently, and the need to frequently “air out” rooms during the winter requires the use of additional heating,” she adds.
Another significant issue is the fact that smoking is still allowed inside of BiH schools, despite the numerous warnings of health care workers.
Nusreta Jamakovic, a teacher in Sarajevo, says that the most effective solution would be a complete ban on smoking inside of schools and school districts.
“Another option could be the placement of a cage-like smoking room next to the main building where everyone could see us. I think that many of us would be too ashamed to go out there to smoke and would, thus, opt not to do so,” she said.
One tobacco control measure that has proven most successful, according to Dr. Stela Stojisavljevic, is a ban on smoking in public places.
“A ban on smoking in public places results in a gradual decrease in the number of cigarettes smoked by smokers, which gradually leads to a decrease in the number of smokers. A ban on smoking in public places also reduces exposure to tobacco smoke for the non-smokers that make up the majority of the population,” she says.
The percentage of tobacco-related deaths in Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the largest in the world. A study conducted by the World Bank warns that passive smoking causes many respiratory illnesses, both in children and adults, and it is estimated that smoking results in nine thousand deaths a year, of which around ten percent are non-smokers who are exposed to tobacco smoke.
Stojisavljevic explains that by banning smoking in public places, a social message would be sent that smoking is not a socially acceptable behavior, which has a proven impact on the attitudes of young people about smoking, and, in turn, could mean they would be less likely to start smoking.
“Education and health care workers should serve as role models and, therefore, it is not advisable for them to expose young people to their smoking habits,” Stojisavljevic says.
As outlined by the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), effective measures to protect people against exposure to tobacco smoke require the complete elimination of tobacco smoke from public indoor places.
The draft Law on Control and Restricted Use of Tobacco, Tobacco Products and Other Smoking Products in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) and the draft Law on the Protection of the Population from Tobacco Products and Other Smoking Products in Republika Srpska (RS) fall in line with both the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and the European Tobacco Products Directive (EUTPD).
In the FBiH, this draft law has been positively assessed and adopted by the House of Representatives and the House of Peoples following the first reading and is currently awaiting its final adoption by the FBiH Parliament. The RS is still awaiting the adoption of the draft of their draft law.
It is a dismal reality that almost 60 percent of young people aged 13 to 15 are exposed to tobacco smoke in their own homes. Almost every BiH household has a parent that smokes and many young people are exposed to tobacco smoke in this way.
According to research results published in the Republika Srpska, 80.7% of adults were exposed to smoking in public places and 53.6% were exposed in the workplace. In addition, among young people aged 13 to 15, 8.6% of boys and 7.1% percent of girls are smokers.
Teacher Nusreta Jamakovic warns of another problem – the increasing consumption of hookahs, which medical workers claim is even more harmful than smoking.
“Hookah is very popular among primary school students and the State needs to find a way to get the use of hookahs under control. At the moment, there is no law dealing with this issue and it is something that needs to be dealt with immediately,” she warns.
Klima Bez Dima is part of the “Reducing Health Risk Factors in BiH” project supported by the Government of Switzerland and implemented by the World Bank in BiH in partnership with entity Ministries of Health, entity Public Health Institutes, and other local stakeholders. To learn more about the Klima Bez Dima initiative and to sign the pledge to protect BiH citizens from exposure to second-hand smoke, visit bit.ly/klimabezdima

created: April 30th, 2019

author: Tatjana Milovanović


text:
Investigating Mass Graves as a Means to Rectify Atrocities | Balkan Diskurs
Benedicte Pentz
May 8th, 2019
“Violent conflicts are social disasters which fundamentally change the trust relationships in a society. Trust is easy to lose, but takes a long time to rebuild.” – Kirsten Voigt Juhl, University of Stavanger –
“The key is to treat all victims equally, regardless of whose side they were on in the conflict. This builds trust, which is essential to societal safety,” says archaeologist Kirsten Voigt Juhl of the University of Stavanger (UiS) in Norway.
Juhl has participated in numerous forensic investigations of mass graves in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The understanding of what these investigations entail forms the basis of her Ph.D. work on risk management and societal safety at UiS.
Juhl has examined forensic investigations of mass graves as a social phenomenon, in which the aim is to rectify atrocities committed during violent conflicts and reconcile the various groups after the conflict has ended.
‘‘Violent conflicts are social disasters which fundamentally change the trust relationships in a society. Trust is easy to lose, but takes a long time to rebuild,” states Juhl.
Bloody and Complicated
From 1992 to 1995, Bosnia endured the bloodiest and most convoluted of the series of wars that erupted following the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia. The war claimed the lives of more than 100,000 people, 40 percent of whom were civilians. Genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and gross human rights violations were committed on a large scale and by all parties.
The atrocities that resulted from the war led to the establishment of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in 1993.
“By the end of the war, 31,500 people were missing, which accounted for almost 30 percent of the fatalities. That tells you something about the problem society was facing,” explains Juhl.
Against this backdrop, all parties to the conflict were tasked with rebuilding their trust in each other and in the authorities. How, in this environment of widespread mistrust, could this be accomplished?
A Social Trap
To find the answer to this question, Juhl examined the role of mass grave investigations played in the reconciliation and rebuilding process.
Juhl has been examining the outcomes of adopting a domestic Law on Missing Persons, which was passed in 2004 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, establishing a Missing Persons Institute at the state-level. The Institute, co-founded by the Council of Ministers of BiH and the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), was formally established in 2005, but only began to operate in 2008 – thirteen years after peace had been declared.
Until that time, ethnic-based missing persons commissions would search only for ‘their own’ missing persons. One commission – in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina – searched for Bosnian Croats and Bosnian Muslims (Bosniaks), while the other commission – located in the Republika Srpska – searched for Bosnian Serbs.
“The commissions thus perpetuated the polarization and distrust between the groups that had been created by war. To maintain ethnic divisions, however, poses a serious threat to future societal safety,” explains the researcher.
“They had become entangled in a ‘social trap.’ No one cooperated with one another since no one trusted that the ‘other side’ would cooperate. Experience had taught them that the ‘other side’ could not be trusted.”
A Way Out
“The system needed to shift from investigations based on ethnicity to investigations based on international humanitarian law and human rights,” states Juhl.
According to Juhl, “The shift enabled the authorities to demonstrate that all of the war’s victims were of equal worth and were equally represented. This was a vital step towards rebuilding trust.”
Among other sources, Juhl has based her research on interviews with key authorities responsible for investigating the mass graves as well as key representatives for the families of missing persons.
The Right to Know
The ICTY investigated mass graves with the aim to secure evidence for the trials in which the individual identity of the victim was not essential.
Instead, the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), established in 1996, has driven the process of identifying the individual victims. The organization developed a unique, cost-effective, and highly effective method of analyzing and matching DNA from bones to the DNA of living relatives.
International humanitarian law grants the families of missing persons the right to know the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones. This right is further defined as a human right by the UN.
As a result of intense pressure from the relatives of missing persons, the Law on Missing Persons was passed in 2004 giving families’ rights that went beyond the rights provided by international law. Among other things, it meant that the search for a missing person whose body had not been found would not be terminated even if that person was legally proclaimed dead.
“Families needed this legal proclamation so as to claim social and financial rights, such as inheritance, property transfers, life insurance, and social benefits – for instance, sole provider benefits,” states Juhl.
She continues, “It is one thing to acknowledge the rights of people with whom one sympathizes. Towards the people to whom one is not sympathetic, it becomes much more difficult. It is, however, crucial to overall societal safety that a state protects the rights of all members of society.”
Trust Creates Societal Safety
“Social trust is critical to societal safety. The population has to be able to trust that social functions and systems will work. Authorities who are not trusted – or who do not deserve the trust they are granted – will not be able to build trust between the different groups within a society or between people in general,” explains Juhl.
Contempt for Politicians
So what is the overall level of trust in BiH – both trust between groups and people’s trust in the authorities – more than 20 years since the war has ended?
“Trust in the police, the health services, courts, and other executive authorities is quite high, but there is widespread distrust of the legislative agencies and a strong contempt for politicians,” says Juhl.
She cites widespread corruption, 60 percent unemployment among young people, and that 20 percent of the population is living below the poverty line.
“These are the problems that concern people. Ethnic differences are less important,” says Juhl.
Juhl refers to a survey, which revealed that 96 percent of the population believe the search for missing persons should not be based on ethnicity or religion. The same survey found that 85 percent of the population supports joint memorials for all missing persons of the war.
“Three quarters also believe that the authorities actually work towards fulfilling the right to know what happened to the missing persons and that this work contributes to reconciliation and a better future for the country,” says Juhl.
31,500 people were missing at the end of the war. To date, approximately 23,000 have been found and identified. While one may look to the number of those still missing persons as evidence of failure, the results of the investigations of mass graves in BiH have been the most successful in history.
“The results are unprecedented and the methods have become a best practice for other countries around the world that are facing the same problems,” concludes Juhl.
This article was first published on the University of Stavanger website and has been republished on Balkan Diskurs with the consent of the author.
More about her the author and her publications can be found here.

source: news-balkandiskurs

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

author: Benedicte Pentz


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WARM Academy 2019: Call to Apply | Balkan Diskurs
Balkan Diskurs
May 14th, 2019
Are you a student, peacebuilding practitioner, artist, memory worker, journalist, or media maker interested in learning more about cutting-edge approaches to peacebuilding and conflict transformation?
If the answer is ‘Yes’, the WARM Foundation and the Post-Conflict Research Center (PCRC) invite you to apply for the 2019 WARM Academy taking place in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina from 8 to 13 July 2019.
The War Art Reporting and Memory (WARM) Academy is a multidisciplinary, educational and training program that focuses on developing participants’ knowledge, understanding, and critical skills in the fields of peacebuilding and conflict transformation. Taking place during Sarajevo’s annual WARM Festival, the Academy will feature a series of masterclasses, workshops, and interactive panel discussions that present cutting-edge approaches, innovative techniques, and best practices being utilized across the globe to address issues related to contemporary conflict and post-conflict transitions. The series will be delivered by world-class practitioners, academics, artists, and experts from the fields of media, transitional justice, historical memory preservation, journalism, art, violence prevention, human rights, and other related fields.
Selected participants will be given the opportunity to examine a variety of contemporary conflict and post-conflict themes and topics as part of the 2019 WARM Academy’s educational program, including:
Sarajevo’s annual WARM Festival brings together artists, journalists, academics, practitioners, international organization representatives, activists, and others from across the globe for a showcase of the most cutting-edge works in art, film, photography, and journalism dedicated to telling the stories of international conflict and post-conflict transition with excellence and integrity. Thus, in addition to the WARM Academy’s ground-breaking educational program, Academy participants will receive exclusive access to all WARM Festival events, which will include photography and art exhibitions, film screenings, book launches, and interactive discussions sessions with the Festival’s most prominent guests. Over the past six years, the WARM Festival has featured works from the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, therefore, Academy participants will be able to access the events and projects that most interest them as well as network with people from the regions they’d like to work in in the future.
This year’s Academy program will include a number of optional site visits to important Sarajevo locations, including Gallery 11/07/95 and the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina. A special site visit to the Srebrenica-Potočari Memorial Complex will also be organized for participants on 11 July, which marks the official commemoration day of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide.
This call to apply is open to students, researchers, artists, photographers, academics, journalists, and anyone with an interest in conflict transformation, peacebuilding, human rights, transitional justice, and other areas related to conflict and post-conflict transitions. Applicants must be 18+ years of age and possess advanced English language skills as the working language of the Academy is English. There are only 35 spots available (which include the spots reserved for participants who are eligible to receive scholarships), so be sure to apply today for your chance to be part of this year’s program!
The cost for participants residing outside of the Western Balkans is . This fee covers accommodation, workshop materials, museum and institution entrance fees, guided tours of Sarajevo, travel costs to Srebrenica, and some meals. Participants are responsible for covering their own airfare/travel costs to and from Sarajevo as well as any visa costs (if they are required for your country). If you are a resident of the Western Balkans, please see the section below for more information about our WARM Academy scholarships.
There are 15 scholarships available for participants who are nationals of any of the following Western Balkans countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, and Macedonia. A scholarship covers all program costs including your travel and accommodation. Please indicate whether you are applying for this scholarship in the designated section of the application form provided below.
To apply, please send us a completed application form (click the link below) and your current CV to [email protected] by.
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WARM Foundation is an international Foundation working on the world’s contemporary conflicts. WARM is dedicated to war reporting, war art, war memory and bringing together people – journalists, artists, historians, researchers, activists – with a common passion for “telling the story with excellence and integrity”. Learn more: www.warmfoundation.org.
Post-Conflict Research Center (PCRC) is an award-winning, peacebuilding NGO, founded in 2011 and dedicated to fostering a culture of peace and preventing violent conflict in the Western Balkans by creating, implementing and supporting unconventional and innovative approaches to peace education, post-conflict research, human rights, and transitional justice. Learn more: www.p-crc.org.

author: Balkan Diskurs


text:
A Smoking Ban as a Means to Attract More Tourists | Balkan Diskurs
Kristina Gadže
May 14th, 2019
Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is currently regarded as one of the most desirable countries for those who like tobacco. Tourist services come second to the constant consumption of tobacco products, so public places rarely have non-smoking areas.
Recent research on the health situation of the adult population in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) shows that as many as 44 percent of adults are regular smokers, of whom 56 percent are men and 31.6 percent are women, with an average consumption of 16.9 cigarettes a day.
Numerous cities in BiH are trying to halt this statistic, the city of Mostar included. This goal is also supported by the “Klima Bez Dima” initiative, which aims to support and promote no tobacco smoke in all catering spaces in BiH. The initiative was launched as part of the “Reduction of Health Risk Factors in BiH” project supported by the Government of Switzerland and implemented by the World Bank in BiH in partnership with entity health ministries, entity public health institutes, and other local stakeholders.
The Tourist Board of Hercegovacko-Neretva County (TZ HNZ) points out that the exact number of non-smoking establishments in Mostar is unknown, but that it is a condition that is most certainly required by tourists.
“Since Mostar is visited by tourists from countries with non-smoking laws in place with regard to enclosed public places, they have become accustomed to such conditions, so their stay in places where smoking is allowed definitely bothers them. We believe that the local shops, if technically feasible, should be asked to have separate spaces for smokers, especially in the areas where food is consumed,” says expert associate of HZ TZ, Ramiz Basic.
According to Basic, the decision to ban smoking in enclosed public places would significantly contribute to the improvement of Mostar’s reputation as a tourist destination where the latest catering sector trends are being monitored and rules that allow tourists to enjoy areas free of smoke are being adopted.
According to a public map of Mostar’s smoke-free locations, there are only three catering facilities that have a non-smoking area – the Teco coffee shop, the Kriva Cuprija Hotel, and the McDonald’s fast-food chain.
“We believe that a decision should be made to ban smoking at the bus and train stations, as well as at the Mostar airport, at the very least. We also think there is a need to increase efforts to ensure that a number of the restaurants located in areas most-frequently visited by tourists are non-smoking, “Basic said.
There are a large number of people from abroad that live in Mostar who must now adapt to this crazy way of life. “I know of only one cafe in Mostar that has a non-smoking area. It’s near the University of Mostar. Most places are best suited for smokers, which often worries me. I am concerned for the people’s health, especially that of the young people who smoke,” says Xiukun Meng, a Chinese language and culture lecturer at the University of Mostar.
According to the official Klima Bez Dima website, 9 out of 10 BiH citizens are exposed to tobacco smoke in a public place, while 85 percent of children are exposed to tobacco smoke in the living rooms of their own households.
“I often have to meet with business colleagues in smoky cafes, and that presents a problem because they don’t like such places. I only know of three places that support the non-smoking initiative, of which is Lux Bar at the INTERA Technology Park, so it’s very difficult if someone is looking for a nice meeting place that is free of tobacco smoke,” says Jonathan Trousdale, a representative of the “Every Student” association who has been living in Mostar for years.
The Klima Bez Dima initiative has visited numerous cities across BiH over the past couple of years, Mostar included, with the goal to spread awareness of the many problems living with tobacco smoke presents. The initiative ultimately aims to change BiH law on tobacco control in order to prohibit smoking in all indoor public spaces, therefore, if you would like to contribute to and support the creation of a smoke-free environment in BiH, please visit bit.ly/klimabezdima and sign the Klima Bez Dima petition today.

author: Kristina Gadže


text:
My Quitting Journey | Balkan Diskurs
Mirnes Bakija
May 26th, 2019
Anyone who has quit smoking knows how difficult and painstaking the process is. From the time I was in high school until the age of 29, I saw cigarettes as a reward, a comfort, a five-minute break from work or lectures, and an ideal way to spend time while waiting for city transport.
It’s been exactly one year, seven months, and 28 days since I smoked my last cigarette.
Anyone who has quit smoking knows how difficult and painstaking the process is. From the time I was in high school until the age of 29, I saw cigarettes as a reward, a comfort, a five-minute break from work or lectures, and an ideal way to spend time while waiting for city transport, but, in reality, it was just a habit that was very difficult to give up on.
As usual, I would prepare my cigarettes and coffee right after I woke up. The combination of that morning coffee and a cigarette is really good. So good that even today, nearly two years after I quit smoking, I still envy smokers for being able to partake in that morning ritual.
I never imagined that I would say goodbye to my long-standing habit that morning.
In the latter days of my addiction, I noticed that I began to cough a lot, but I didn’t pay much attention to it. My mother was very worried, and she said that I should stop smoking, to which I always responded negatively, although I really did wan a life without cigarettes. Some smokers advised me to switch cigarettes, but I was so loyal to the brand I was consuming that even that seemed like a big change for which I didn’t have the courage.
It was a pleasant, sunny September day when I went with friends to the local pool. I packed my cigarettes and went to go take part in one of my favorite activities – swimming. I remember it well, there were five cigarettes left in the box, which I determined would be enough to last the duration of my stay at the pool.
Although I was already coughing, I lit a third cigarette to go along with my afternoon coffee. Suddenly I began to think about how my fitness will deteriorate more and more in the future and, at that moment, something just snapped inside of me. As I was holding a cigarette in my hand, I turned to a group of my friends and announced that this was my last cigarette. I remember how they laughed, thinking I was kidding. However, rather than enjoying what was once one of my favorite activities, swimming now often turned into torture due to my lack of physical fitness, which I had difficulties accepting. I knew that smokers were less fit and got tired more quickly than did non-smokers, but that was truly the day that convinced me of that fact.
To this day, I’ve kept the box that holds those two remaining cigarettes as a reminder of how hard it was to quit, but also as a proud reminder of the decision I made and stuck with it.
The Day After My Emotional Break-up with Cigarettes
On that first morning without a cigarette, a coffee without a cigarette, the mere thought of life without cigarettes sounded terrible. I was very nervous, and I had to let some steam off on someone because I guess I thought there must be a culprit for the difficult situation I was in.
The second day was twice as hard and I remember how I managed to get in a fight with almost anyone with whom I came into contact, so I made the decision to stay home. I thought I would probably lose all my friends if I continued to fight with everyone. I was lazy that day, and I laid around wondering why cigarettes were so important to me and what they represented.
When someone wants to quit smoking, then they simply have to learn to live without cigarettes. From today’s perspective, to quit smoking is to learn how to do all the things we did as smokers, but now as non-smokers. If we “survive” all the situations where cigarettes were an important factor, then I believe that we would be fortunate enough to say that we are truly non-smokers.
Phone Apps to Quit Smoking are Really Motivating
The mobile app that I used at the start of my journey, and that even still use today, is called “Smoke-Free”. I felt a new sense of motivation each night when I received an electronic badge in the app that marked another day without cigarettes. Collecting those electronic badges gave me immense satisfaction for some reason.
A mere 20 minutes after quitting, your blood pressure decreases, and your heart rate normalizes. The app informed me that the carbon monoxide in my blood had dropped to normal levels within 12 hours. I received a second notification that my circulation had improved significantly and that my lung function had increased, which was noticeable when I breathed. I experienced an occasional cough for the first nine months, which then disappeared right around the time the app informed that the coughing would subside.
After almost a year and 8 months of nicotine abstinence, the app says that the risk of pulmonary carcinoma has decreased by 16% and that the risk of a heart attack has decreased by 11%. These statistics tell us how much cigarettes actually damage our organs, and it takes up to 10 years to fully recover.
Today, the 603rd day since I gave up smoking, the application shows me that I have saved 2,657.00 BAM. I now use that money to travel, which makes me happy and keeps me far away from the temptation of cigarettes.
Physical Activity is a Good Ally
For many, weight gain after quitting is a common occurrence, so you should try to increase your physical activity and adjust your diet as much as possible. I decided to eat whatever I wanted for the first month until the worst part had passed. The fact that I was already thin made it a bit easier, so the eight kilograms I gained wasn’t so terrible.
Walking after work gave me great pleasure because I was finally able to walk five kilometers without experiencing difficulties breathing. Every time cigarettes entered my mind, I would get up and go take a walk through nature or the city. After a certain period of time, I started running, and the first time I ran five kilometers was really a special day for me.
It all felt like I was being reborn. You simply feel healthier and more energized. You can easily wake up in the morning and your brain works much better.
One of My Best Life Decisions
Quitting cigarettes requires a lot of work and effort, but today I consider it one of my best life decisions.
It wouldn’t be honest to say that I never think about cigarettes, but unlike the first days and months after I quit, the thought now only crosses my mind for a few here and there. No matter how strong our bond with cigarettes is, we very often only smoke out of boredom.
In 2018, the World Health Organization stated that tobacco is the leading cause of preventable deaths. Eight million people die annually from the effects of active or passive smoking, and one smoker dies every six seconds. Lung disease, stroke, heart attack, and cancer are the major diseases associated with the consumption of cigarettes. In the 20th century alone, more people died from the effects of smoking than in the First and Second World War combined.
Today, I read every text that presents information about the harmful effects of smoking, whereas before and I would skip such media content. And, every time I read about the consequences of smoking, I’m proud and happy that I’m no longer a part of those dark statistics.
This article was submitted as part of the Klima Bez Dima Multimedia Contest. Klima Bez Dima is part of the “Reducing Health Risk Factors in BiH” project supported by the Government of Switzerland and implemented by the World Bank in BiH in partnership with entity Ministries of Health, entity Public Health Institutes, and other local stakeholders. To learn more about the Klima Bez Dima initiative visit bit.ly/klimabezdima and sign the petition to support a smoke-free BiH.
FOLLOW KLIMA BEZ DIMA ON FACEBOOK (@KlimaBezDima) AND INSTAGRAM (@klimabezdima) FOR CONTEST ANNOUNCEMENTS AND UPDATES!

author: Mirnes Bakija


text:
Rohingya: Faces of a Humanitarian Crisis | Balkan Diskurs
Nasif Imtiaz
May 28th, 2019
Rohingya Muslims are one of many minority groups in Myanmar. After stripping the Rohingya of their citizenship, the predominantly Buddhist country purged the Muslim minority from Myanmar by conducting military raids, killing thousands of Rohingya, and forcing many more to flee.
The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything. – Albert Einstein –
Photography by Nasif Imtiaz
Text by Nasif Imtiaz and Dakota Peterson
Ayub stands with the sun at his back, remembering the atrocity that befell his community in the land he once called home. “I was in Myanmar… One night, a group of rough men came and ruffled up our house. Some soldiers from the Myanmar army raped my wife and sister-in-law in front of my eyes. My hands and legs were had been bound. They were about to kill me, but, in the end, they spared my life… My wife died 6 months after we escaped to Bangladesh. I cannot forget the torture they bestowed upon us… They are not human, they are animals.”
Myanmar is home to many minority groups, including the Rohingya Muslims who predominantly reside in the country’s Rakhine State situated on the western coast and who have been plagued by violence, siege, and mass exodus since the country’s military began executing a strategically planned genocidal campaign in August of 2017. What initially began as the military’s response attacks on police and military posts by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), has morphed into the world’s fastest-growing crisis; ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya people that has been unfolding over the past two years. After stripping the Rohingya of their citizenship, the majority Buddhist country then purged the Muslim minority from the country by conducting military raids, killing thousands, and forcing many more to flee.
Janob Bahar’s family was torn apart by the ethnic cleansing as she and her children were forced to watch as her parents were ruthlessly killed by members of the Myanmar army.
The Rakhine State has been rife with ethnic division and the Rohingya have faced discriminatory practices since gaining independence from the United Kingdom in 1948. British colonial rule allowed laborers from India and Bangladesh to migrate to Burma, something unfavorable in the eyes of the native population and the government. Thus, the State has labeled the Rohingya people as illegal immigrants and has targeted the vulnerable community. While the international community has condemned the crimes against humanity that are unfolding, nearly 700,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar to seek refuge in Bangladesh and various other places overseas.
Those who have crossed into Bangladesh have primarily sought refuge in Kutupalong and Balukhali, now Bangladesh’s largest refugee settlements, as well as other surrounding makeshift camps that were established in an attempt to deal with the refugee overflow.
Although many refugees report having access to doctors, hospitals, and education, the issue of scarce resources remains and, thus, many of their basic needs often go unfulfilled. Even the UN’s appeal for $951 million USD in assistance would still not be enough to secure the basic needs nor provide services required by Bangladesh’s 1.2 million Rohingya refugees. To make matters worse, only 18% of the requested amount has been received. As a result, Rohingya face exceedingly extreme conditions as a result of the over-populated camps, a lack of hygiene, the spread of disease, and malnutrition.
The solution to escape Myanmar’s ethnic cleansing by fleeing to Bangladesh is certainly an imperfect one, but as many of the refugees and the United Nations have reported, the hardships they must face in Bangladesh pale in comparison to the danger that awaits them if they return to the Rakhine State. It is only a matter of time until the Rohingya are forced to return to their home country, therefore, the question is when. For Bangladesh, repatriation must occur soon as the developing nation does not possess the capacity to manage the copious number of refugees. The UN Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, has urged Bangladesh to refrain from expelling refugees and has declared that the UN agency would not facilitate the repatriations.
Homeless, unwanted, and forced to move from one place to the next like pawns on a chessboard, refugees must endure some of life’s most difficult hardships. However, we must not lose sight of the burden the displaced carry on their shoulders, nor should we forget about their untapped potentials and the truths they have yet to tell that could unlock possible approaches to better address the refugee and migrant crises currently taking place across the globe.
ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER:
Nasif Imtiaz is a documentary photographer from Bangladesh. His work focuses on human rights issues, the underprivileged or deprived societies of Bangladesh and people who are denied their basic human rights.

author: Nasif Imtiaz


text:
Choose Health, Not Tobacco! | Balkan Diskurs
Amila Žunić
June 12th, 2019
The best argument against the use of tobacco products is the fact that one of the more than three billion smokers in the world dies every eight seconds.
The best argument against the use of tobacco products is the fact that one of the more than three billion smokers in the world dies every eight seconds. This is something that is well known and regularly reiterated.
Smoking increases the risk of many diseases, especially cardiovascular disease and stroke. The risk of lung cancer increases the earlier you start smoking and every time a cigarette is smoked, smoke is inhaled, and half-smoked cigarettes are re-lit.
Though most are aware of the facts, a large number of people still fail to deal with this problem. In addition to the harmful health effects, smoking also poses a threat to other people’s health and pollutes the environment.
How much we truly care about our health, the health of others, and the environment we live in will become apparent only if we think hard about the things mentioned. The harms are evident and reminded of this every day, but a change in our mindset is needed to elicit a reaction. It’s better to switch our mindset than succumb to illness.
Do you want a healthier life, family, and environment? The decision is yours.
This essay was submitted as part of the Klima Bez Dima Multimedia Contest. Klima Bez Dima is part of the “Reducing Health Risk Factors in BiH” project supported by the Government of Switzerland and implemented by the World Bank in BiH in partnership with entity Ministries of Health, entity Public Health Institutes, and other local stakeholders. To learn more about the Klima Bez Dima initiative visit bit.ly/klimabezdima and sign the petition to support a smoke-free BiH.
FOLLOW KLIMA BEZ DIMA ON FACEBOOK (@KlimaBezDima) AND INSTAGRAM(@klimabezdima) FOR CONTEST ANNOUNCEMENTS AND UPDATES!

author: Amila Žunić


text:
That is How I Realized What a Bad Habit Was | Balkan Diskurs
Katarina Rendić
June 20th, 2019
My aunt was my support, my love, and my attention. When I think of her, I think about the authority she had. She never needed to raise her tone. When I think of her, I think about her modesty and how even the most ordinary flower could make her happy, regardless of the fact that she could afford everything she ever wanted.
A beauty, lush black hair and big dark eyes, she could go toe to toe with the most beautiful women in the world. Her eyes were filled with hope and tranquility, and her lips blossomed out of understanding, no matter how bad her life was.
Since she didn’t have her own children, I realized that she often thought of me as the daughter she never had. She gave her all to me and my life more than anyone else ever did.
She was a smoker and I watched how she seemed soothed every time she lit a cigarette. My aunt was always calm. Because of her, I believe that calm people, like herself, have the most problems because they keep everything to themselves in order to avoid being a burden on others.
As the years passed by, I felt, deep in my heart, that something was wrong.
It was in March of 2016 that my aunt was diagnosed with lung cancer. It had metastasized throughout her body. Her lungs were blackened from tobacco smoke. I remember being extremely unsettled during those days. I cried day and night. The feeling of learning that you’re losing that which is most important to you cannot be described. When I went to the hospital the doctors said that it was a matter of days, not months. I didn’t sleep at all during those days and nights. I was just looking at her and holding her thin frail hand.
She was getting weaker, which was horrible to watch. Cancer is a disgusting disease that humiliates a person so much that it makes it kneel before life, making it impossible to get up again.
The last day was the hardest. I remember sitting next to her in the hospital. She was almost delirious from the pain. That’s when I realized that death is near. She was uttering names of the people she once cared about from some half-dreamlike state. The people she once cared about were actually people that were no longer alive, which is why I’m mentioning this.
That’s the moment when I also found out that she had had a child who had died a long time ago as a baby. This news was a terrible shock to me. She managed to squeeze my hand once more and said to me: “Honey, give me a cigarette.“ I refused, and at that moment she raised her heavy eyelids and said: “My little babe, your auntie is going to heaven soon. Let her enjoy her final moments as much as she can.”
That is the day I realized what addiction is and what cigarettes are. Tears started to race down my cheeks. I lit her cigarette for her. She could not smoke it because she was so weak and frail, she was only inhaling the smoke. As I put out the cigarette, I felt as if my aunt’s life slowly fade away. She looked at me with her big eyes and whispered quietly, “Watch yourself, for you are the only one who’s worth it,” and then she withdrew into eternal sleep.
The pain I felt cannot be described. My hatred for bad habits, especially smoking, was stronger than anything else in that moment. Infuriated, I crushed all the cigarettes and swore on her body that I would never start smoking. To this day I am honoring that promise and I am vigorously fighting against cigarettes. I believe that smokers will understand one day that they have to appreciate their health because they need to be healthy for not only themselves but also for their loved ones.
This essay was submitted as part of the Klima Bez Dima Multimedia Contest. Klima Bez Dima is part of the “Reducing Health Risk Factors in BiH” project supported by the Government of Switzerland and implemented by the World Bank in BiH in partnership with entity Ministries of Health, entity Public Health Institutes, and other local stakeholders. To learn more about the Klima Bez Dima initiative visit bit.ly/klimabezdima and sign the petition to support a smoke-free BiH.
FOLLOW KLIMA BEZ DIMA ON FACEBOOK (@KlimaBezDima) AND INSTAGRAM(@klimabezdima) FOR CONTEST ANNOUNCEMENTS AND UPDATES!

author: Katarina Rendić


text:
Svetlana Jankovic: A Lieutenant, Mother, and Winner of All Battles | Balkan Diskurs
Sara Velaga
July 3rd, 2019
Being a woman in a “man’s shoes” is never easy, especially if they’re the shoes of a military man.
Svetlana Jankovic is a woman with three professional loves in her life: journalism, sports, and donning her military uniform. As a student of Political Science, she was not sure which uniform she would one day wear, but in March of 1983, an opportunity would present itself. Following the first-ever recruitment of women, she went to serve in the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA), and after completing her military service, she became a reserve lieutenant.
The moment I realized that Svetlana Jankovic was a fighter who never gives up was when she said that she came out of all battles a winner. Among the many honors she received, her most valuable badge of honor is her son. She is a woman fights to overcome obstacles, no matter how great the challenges are. A lieutenant, mother, activist, and one who is not afraid to speak up for what she believes in.
When asked if she felt her treatment during the JNA recruitment process was equal to that of her male colleagues, she said that she didn’t look at things the same way then as she does today. Back then, she thought only of the challenges that entering into a man’s business would entail and about doing something meaningful with her life. Her main motive was to be the best she could be and, in that regard, she was successful, finishing at the top of her class of traffic service officers in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). Even to this day, she remains the only woman in this service to ever serve as an officer.
Svetlana’s military career began in 1984 near the town of Zadar, Croatia where she served alongside an army of all men for three months. The initial months of 1984 were also notable as they saw the first four women to ever serve as JNA pilots.
She explains that she has always been patient and committed when it comes to her work. Always completely dedicated and willing to assume all the risks involved. Once, there was a situation in which she was responsible for selecting a soldier to be a driver for the commander of her unit. Despite the opposition and prejudice she received after suggesting a driver from Albania, she stood firmly behind her choice, believing that the importance lies not in how people identify you but how you do your job. The commander followed her advice, and her choice turned out to be a good one.
“Perhaps the greatest challenge is when you no longer try to portray yourself as a woman. You just want to be like a buddy to them [the men]. My male colleagues didn’t share my point of view, but, for me, professionalism was always a top priority,” says Svetlana.
Later down the line, she was presented with a new challenge – motherhood. Shortly after giving birth to her son the war started, and she was faced with a decision to make – should she leave, or should she stay with her unit? She felt a huge maternal responsibility to make the right choice. Svetlana was also anxious to announce the news to her mother. “I was still just a child myself when I decided to move 600 kilometers away to work. I also have no father or siblings.”
Despite her willingness to leave everything behind, she made the decision to stay in Zadar with the people she worked with. “You have to exhibit strong character. You cannot stand for one thing and do another. That would like a firefighter who starts fires instead of puts them out,” she says.
She remained in Zadar until the opportunity came for her to return to her hometown of Cacak, Serbia. Moving back to Cacak, however, presented a new set of challenges as people there had led normal lives and had not experienced the things she had experienced. Only then did she see how much the general perception in Serbia differed to that in Croatia.
“When I returned to my birth town, many of the duties I performed as an officer during war were no longer necessary in times of peace,” says Svetlana. “Nevertheless, life ultimately makes your decisions for you, but this often turns out for the best. You can go back and question every decision, but if you consider where you were in your life at that moment, your decisions were likely the best ones possible at the time.”
Svetlana would go on to serve for a number of different armies over the coming years. First, it was the JNA followed by the Army of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the Army of Serbia and Montenegro, and, finally, the Army of Serbia.
In 2001, she finished a master’s degree and created a photography exhibition that she displayed in Cacak, Podgorica, and Tara. In 2008, she left the army and went to work for the Institute for Strategic Research where she remained until her retirement. When asked if she has any regrets, she replied sincerely: “I only regret that I did not have more children.”
Svetlana loved all of her lives passions in their own ways and she is happy she made sacrifices for the things she loved. A lot of courage is required for such endeavors, and that is one thing Svetlana was truly never short on.
This publication has been selected as part of the Srđan Aleksić Youth Competition, a regional storytelling competition that challenges youth to actively engage with their own communities to discover, document, and share stories of moral courage, interethnic cooperation, and positive social change. The competition is a primary component of the Post-Conflict Research Center’s award-winning Ordinary Heroes Peacebuilding Program, which utilizes international stories of rescuer behavior and moral courage to promote interethnic understanding and peace among the citizens of the Western Balkans.
The Balkan Diskurs Youth Correspondent Program is made possible by funding from the Robert Bosch Stiftung and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

created: July 3rd, 2019

author: Sara Velaga


text:
The White City and the “Invisible” Photographer | Balkan Diskurs
Patrick McGovern
September 26th, 2019
The Bosnian city of Bijeljina, nestled in the northeast, takes its name from the word “bijela” meaning “white”. Despite an absence of visual evidence as to why the city has been given this name, it nonetheless seems fitting. This is not due to an abundance of white buildings, of which there are few, but because the city possesses a muted, uniform complexion, lacking in pigmentation and expression.
t has the appearance of a purpose-built grid city; however, today it remains unclear what the original purpose was. The wide, straight roads that carve through the city are littered with small and quiet shops. In the backdrop, young girls glide in and around the lots of ex-communist buildings on roller blades, moving in concentric circles with seemingly no destination in mind. You get the impression that if you were to stay in the same place for long enough, you would see them several times throughout the evening.
In June of this year, the city held its first photography exhibition by local photojournalist Mitar Simikic. His photographs capture the lived experience of local people who have suffered economic, psychological, and political isolation from society. The exhibition was held in the city’s new art gallery – a large glass structure resembling an airport terminal, situated in one corner of the main square. The building’s primary function seemed to be its non-descript café and bar. Hidden away, behind the café was the exhibition room. The previous gallery, an older and more handsome building, stood in the same square. This transfer bears witness to the negligible role of art in Bijeljina and this exhibition would be the first time the projector has ever been used in the new gallery, which has been open for ten years now.
It comes across as strange that Mitar’s work, which focuses on local issues, is only now being exhibited. Mitar has not struggled to get recognition elsewhere – he has received several prestigious international awards for his work. However, it seems his photography is the most unknown in his hometown. His reticence to showcase his work comes from his apprehension of how it may be received by the town’s citizens. Photojournalism is not a particularly recognized profession in this city and Mitar has no photographer friends locally. In Bijeljina, he explains, the only photographers are commercial.
In addition to Mitar’s personal reservations, there are structural impediments to exhibiting work in Bijeljina. In any conversation, Mitar is quick to insist on the importance of local governor Mustafa Gradascevic’s role in the opening of his exhibition; a man whom Mitar didn’t think was a real politician when they first met. When I first sat down with Mitar, to my surprise, he brought the governor to lunch with us. In an unlikely alliance between local politician and artist, they have formed a close friendship, which has served as the driving force behind the recent display of Mitar’s work.
Mitar says it would have been very difficult for the exhibition to have taken place without the support of Mustafa. In fact, the exhibition was Mustafa’s suggestion. This is not to detract from Mitar’s talent, suggesting he should need special favors from local politicians but, rather, serves as a shameful reflection on the political environment aspiring photojournalists must navigate to make a name for themselves in this country. It seems difficult to envisage progress when artists hope their work will fall under the gaze of one of the few supportive politicians. Unsurprisingly, Mitar punctuates much of his conversation with appreciation towards Mustafa.
What seems to unite both Mitar and Mustafa, is their belief in helping the community. Mitar explains, how Mustafa is not an ordinary politician; he pays special attention to the people, spending as much time out of the office as possible, meeting with local citizens and trying to understand those who he represents. Without such an approach, the chances that he would have met with Mitar in the first place would be slim.
Similarly, Mitar maintains the same focus on the community. One of the joys Mitar finds in his work is the dignity he restores to his photographic subjects – those who are seemingly invisible and living on the margins of society. Mitar discusses the pride they experience when they find out someone wants to document their lives, how their children jump up and down with excitement when they are presented with photos of themselves – photos that transform the invisible into the visible.
Mitar further explains how, in the future, he wants his work towards bringing people from the town together and for his exhibitions to serve a social function, opening people up to his work and providing the inhabitants with a space to congregate. Furthermore, he would like to use his work to create connections between Bijeljina and other cities. In this regard, his artwork intends to both reflect a broken community as well as to heal it. Fittingly, Mitar seemed to be most satisfied with the fact that people from all different walks of life came to view his work – from total strangers to his proud boss who had previously not indicated an interest in photography.
Mitar’s close connection with the community is also reflected in his photographic style and content, in which one barely notices the intrusion of the camera. He explains that he aims to become “invisible”, which he achieves through a deep understanding of his subjects by spending long periods of time with them.
Mitar’s approach endows him with the ability to capture an unembellished portrayal of reality through his photos, making such realities more difficult to ignore. His photos contrast aestheticism with the plights of his subjects, revealing a macabre and unseen beauty in the most difficult of situations. In many ways, a photographer’s vision of the world is expressed in his or her choice of subject, and Mitar is no exception. “If you want to know about me, look at what I document,” he said. In a world dominated by the artificial contentment projected through Facebook and Instagram, he argues that photojournalism has never been more important. In a society where people only want their “15 minutes of glory online”, he feels compelled to proffer up his own undistorted version of reality.
This is not to say that Mitar’s work only holds value for those who live Bijeljina or BiH. Perhaps most impressive is his ability to blend the particular and the universal. Each of his stories presents a specific situation that expresses a wider message about humanity. I offered him the following quote from John Berger: “A photograph, whilst recording what has been seen, always and by its nature refers to what is not seen.”
He reacted with interest and said he agreed with the quote. He then noted one particular project during which he spent six months with Ranko Mijatovic-Sarac – his father’s cousin and a man who suffered from a severe case of post-traumatic stress disorder. With the Sarac project, he had a personal attachment as a family member, but Sarac came to represent the destructive effects of war on the country and humanity as a whole. The images of the isolated Sarac in a family setting are particularly powerful. Mitar explains how these images developed into a story about Sarac’s relationship with his family members who do not appear in the photographs. Traditional Bosnian families are large and stay together, therefore, these images not only demonstrate the destruction of Sarac but of the traditional Bosnian family.
Sarac had one favorite photograph of himself, a particular image that made him feel like a cowboy from an American movie. When he died, his son placed this photo in his living room. Mitar explained, “I show his isolation in the photos, but also try to show the connections between him and society.”
Mitar concluded our interview with a positive message, explaining that determination and the intervention of good people like Mustafa demonstrate you can make it in this country if you work hard enough. Throughout our more casual conversations, Mitar would quietly and reservedly give praise to Bijeljina and its people, not with boastful arrogance, but with shy sincerity. It seems that he hasn’t given up on his city and, in the end, he doesn’t need to.
To find out more about Mitar and his work visit https://mitarsimikic.com/.

created: September 26th, 2019

author: Patrick McGovern


text:
Educational Exclusion of BiH’s Most Vulnerable: An Introduction | Balkan Diskurs
Amer Macedonci | Christoffer Kjeldsen | Patrick McGovern
December 4th, 2019
In the aftermath of conflict, societies are faced with the challenge of rebuilding their education systems under the auspices of new political landscapes. Oftentimes, those that suffer most from these broken education systems are children, especially those physical, mental, or emotional disabilities.
Editor’s note: Recently, Sabina Ćudić, a member of the opposition party ‘Naša stranka’ (‘Our Party’), released photographs showing the terrible conditions within the Pazaric Institute, a care home for children with special needs, after the ruling parties refused to address the problems. Her action sparked protests across the country.
In light of the recent events, Balkan Diskurs has been working on a series about the challenges faced by children with special needs and their families. In a context where caring for children who so desperately need it is far from a governmental priority, none of the mothers with whom Balkan Diskurs spoke will have been surprised by the recent disclosures – callous indifference to their children’s suffering is an everyday reality, with which they must cope.
In the aftermath of conflict, societies are faced with the challenge of rebuilding their education systems under the auspices of new political landscapes. Confronted by weak governance structures, civil society in a state of disarray, and a lack of dependable sources of funding, educators in post-conflict societies begin on the back-foot. Oftentimes, those that suffer most from these broken education systems are children, especially those physical, mental, or emotional disabilities.
In the absence of state support, parents and caretakers are often compelled to find their own solutions to the challenges presented as a result of these broken systems. In light of the recent allegations of abuse and mistreatment of disabled children by State-run institutions, Balkan Diskurs will publish a multi-part series featuring interviews with people who have to come up with their own solutions to BiH’s educational problems. We aim to provide them with the opportunity to tell their story and capture the breadth of reasons children are ostracized by the education system in contemporary BiH. Focusing on the consequences of the education system’s structural problems can furnish us with great insight into the potential steps we can take to improve the lives of vulnerable children and families.
Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) provides us with a textbook example of the educational challenges post-conflict societies must face. The Dayton Agreement, which was successful in bringing the war of the 1990s to an end, was used as a constitutional document to govern modern-day BiH. This has, in turn, served to maintain divides, both political and territorial, between the country’s three primary ethnic enclaves – Bosnian Croat, Bosnian Serb, and Bosnian Muslim.
With regard to BiH’s education system, this division manifests itself as the ‘two schools under one roof’ phenomenon. Throughout the school day, students split off into different classrooms to learn the curriculum that corresponds to their ethnic identity. Segregated classes include history, religion, and language (of course, almost all impartial linguists regard these as a single language, only distinguished by accents and regional dialects). Furthermore, each entity, canton, and district have different policies and their own budget, which results in the uneven implementation of educational policies and curriculum.
We all know that what’s taught in schools will be taken into society. In BiH, the way the education system is set-up perpetuates ethnic divisions and performative nationalism before class even begins. The system links identity and space – it regards society as comprised of distinguishable collective units that must be kept separate. The individual is dispensable to the extent they do not fit within one of the collective frameworks. Where ‘two schools under one roof’ policies are implemented, those who do not fit into either are excluded from both.
The widespread exclusion of schoolchildren in BiH transcends even ethnic divides, and it is often children with special needs, those with troubled backgrounds, and those who are members of minority groups that suffer most. This is compounded by a weak political structure, which has no mechanism for facilitating the inclusion of children in the education system.[1]
Social stigma accompanies any health issue that isn’t immediately visible. A widespread and collective perception of ‘problematic children’ affects those who have been diagnosed with special needs, as well as those coming from troubled backgrounds. A recent example involves a taxi driver who ejected an autistic child from his taxi because he didn’t understand the condition and, thus, responded inappropriately.[2] These children, who lose out on education for a seemingly endless variety of reasons, are the true victims of the broken post-conflict educational system.
Children with any kind of disability have difficulty enrolling, and re-entering, schools. Education for All (EDUS), a not-for-profit organization for the advancement of education of children, points out there is no record kept regarding the number of children with disabilities who are not attending school. A cantonal interagency group was formed to analyze the problem “but had never met”. EDUS estimates that 2.7 million BAM is necessary to properly implement a “strategy for inclusion,” but the government only allocated 600,000 BAM. This situation both characterizes and perpetuates the broken system.
There have, however, been a few successful cases in which kids were readmitted to school after experiencing discrimination. In 2015, then 16-year-old Slavko Mršević, from the city of Rudo in the Republika Srpska, enrolled in a local high school, but a diagnosis of a mild form of autism complicated his ability to successfully focus on his studies. Slavko was expelled without any explanation, preventing him from graduating high school alongside his peers. According to his father, Nenad Mršević, Slavko was expelled because his diagnosis made it difficult to fulfill the school’s requirements.[3] After three years of legal battles between the school and the Mršević family, who were supported by legal representative, Bojan Bajić, Human Rights Watch sent an open letter to Natalija Trivić, the Minister of Education and Culture of Republika Srpska. The letter drew attention to Trivić’s failure to comply with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified in 1993, which guarantees the rights of children to education without discrimination. On April 12th, the day after Human Rights Watch sent the letter and following three years of legal battles, it was announced that Slavko could finally return to school.
[1] https://www.unicef.org/media_5356.html
[2] https://www.klix.ba/vijesti/bih/sarajevo-taxi-ce-kazniti-vozaca-koji-je-iz-vozila-izbacio-autisticno-dijete/190602002

created: December 4th, 2019


text:
Educational Exclusion of BiH’s Most Vulnerable (Part II): Mahmut’s Story | Balkan Diskurs
Amer Macedonci | Christoffer Kjeldsen | Patrick McGovern
January 20th, 2020
Mahmut is a nine-year-old boy with autism. His mother, Samija, noticed he was having problems when he was just one and a half years old. Until that time, he had been developing like any typical child.
I didn’t need help, I needed understanding.
Editor’s note: Recently, photos were released showing the terrible conditions within the Pazaric Institute, a care home for children with special needs, after the ruling parties refused to address the problems. This action sparked protests across the country.  In light of the recent events, Balkan Diskurs has been working on a series about the challenges faced by Bosnian children with special needs and their families. These are their stories. To begin at Part I of this series, click here.
Mahmut is a nine-year-old boy with autism. His mother, Samija, noticed he was having problems when he was just one and a half years old. Until that time, he had been developing like any typical child. It wasn’t until the age of four that he was diagnosed with autism, and this was only after traveling to Belgrade, on his mother’s initiative, to see a specialist. In the two years leading up to Mahmut’s diagnosis, repeated breakdowns in communication between Samija and medical staff had led to a deterioration in his condition.
Since Mahmut was born, Samija has been unable to work; depriving her of financial independence, a social life, and a sense of purpose outside of her role as her son’s caretaker. Caring for her son has become an exhausting twenty-four hour a day occupation, for which she has received no support. She’s resigned to her circumstances, stating with an exasperated sigh, “I will never work, I will never have a pension.” From inept caretakers and medical staff to defective state facilities, a lack of support has become a recurring theme in her life when it comes to caring for an autistic son.
Samija has no choice but to continue her battle with BiH’s inadequate and dysfunctional government, medical, and education systems. Were she able to afford it, she would be willing to uproot her life and go elsewhere. Instead, she’s trapped in a society where the State provides little or no assistance to families with autistic children and where very few people have the salaries necessary to pay for private assistance.
Mahmut’s early years were dominated by regular and abrupt changes, moving from one kindergarten class to another in his mother’s search for an adequate learning environment. He was isolated, both from other children and from his teachers — at one kindergarten, the teachers even managed to lose track of him. He was often teased by the other children and, without any viable outlet for his distress, would take his frustrations out on himself. Despite the many challenges, however, Mahmut often achieved the best possible grades at whichever school he was attending. Thankfully, after two years of searching, he is now at a school that recognizes his autism and can provide him with the support necessary for his healthy development.
Similar to Samija’s search for a diagnosis for Mahmut, improvements in his condition only came as a result of her independent persistence and determination. She went directly to the Minister of Education, who then referred Mahmut to his current school. Samija believes that this is the best yet, not only because the facilities are markedly better than those he had previously been enrolled in, but because Mahmut now has a teacher that understands him and works to accommodate his particular needs.
Samija explains that the most difficult aspect of her and Mahmut’s journey, however, has been society’s reaction to his autism; she said, “the main thing I needed was understanding from people.” This makes sense: a common understanding and empathy for children with special needs is a precondition for a functional support system. Social stigmatization mirrors the isolation those living with disabilities are already experiencing from the State and undermines any real progress towards such an ideal. Samija regularly feels judged by people who think Mahmut’s behavior is a result of bad parenting. Consequently, Samija takes pride in the elements of her son’s appearance that she can control, making every effort to ensure he is presentable and dressed in the best clothes. She reserves special praise for Colibri, an association founded by parents of special needs children, because they are seemingly the only people who show a true understanding of the condition children like her son face.
Even with the existence of groups like Colibri, however, Samija knows that she will still have to predominantly rely on herself and the support of her family to overcome the challenges that still lie ahead. Left to fend for herself, she somehow always manages to find a way to ensure her child has the best possible upbringing, but this comes at a price: she often goes months without meeting anyone for a coffee and has gone three years without going to the movies. And although she may feel she allows her son to watch more cartoons than he should, at least she knows he’s safe.
It’s not surprising that Samija’s biggest fear is what lies ahead. She is consumed with uncertainty about how society, and the State, will react to Mahmut as he transitions into adulthood. This has developed into a paranoia, of sorts, about her own life. What will happen to him if the system does not improve and she is no longer on this earth to fight for and protect him?
Samija’s fear of her separation from Mahmut is, indeed, a logical response to the harsh reality in which she finds herself – since “the country does nothing”, she is responsible for everything. And, as the conversation draws to a close, it is clear that her fears can only be assuaged if social recognition and understanding of autism become commonplace.
**Note: The names have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals.
Part I – Educational Exclusion of BiH’s Most Vulnerable: An Introduction
Visit the following links to learn more about the work of EDUS and Colibri:
http://edusbih.org/en/
https://www.facebook.com/CentarColibri/

created: January 20th, 2020


text:
Vojkan Krstic: A Link in a Chain of Good Deeds | Balkan Diskurs
Mirnes Bakija
January 27th, 2020
Vojkan Krstic is a humanitarian and entrepreneur from Belgrade who has become well-known for his good deeds, which include helping people in difficult financial situations. He says he does not care about people’s religion or nationality, he is a man who sees with his heart and that is why he decided to help Hamid and Hakija Sabanovic, brothers and returnees to the Bosnian town of Visegrad.
Krstic donated all the necessary building materials to reconstruct a precarious house, allowing the Sabanovic brothers to spend their latter part of their lives in worthy conditions. He often stays near Visegrad in the village of Vardiste, which is how he came across the tale of Hamid and Hakija.
“There are many people who simply do not wish to talk about the ordeals that have befallen them and, for various reasons, do not want to publicize their problems. I try and recognize such people when I come across them and do what I can to help them. That’s how I make real and honest friendships, and I’m very proud of those connections,” says Krstic.
With his human acts of kindness, he wants to show that people in need deserve help, respect, and kindness regardless of where they come from. He believes that such values should be taught to children so that they may be protected from the evils of the past.
“Across the world, there are examples of neighboring countries that have had disagreements and have been able to overcome them and find a common understanding. The primary requirement for such an outcome is respect. It is not at all easy and it takes time, but it is possible. What I did for Hamid and Hakija Sabanovic is just one example of how finding common ground can lead to great things,” Krstic adds.
Krstic explains that his good deeds are not planned. Rather, he helps whenever the opportunity arises. When asked where his passion for helping others comes from, he recalls a time when he became ill. He was 24 at the time and the doctors’ prognoses were not good. This experience helped him to understand how it feels to be sick and without the means to deal with such a hardship. It was then that he decided to change his life.
He has participated in many humanitarian campaigns and often can’t remember all of the times he’s helped someone out until he meets them on the street, and they remind him. He says their smiles bring him joy.
Krstic is most proud, however, when he sees that the people he has helped continue the chain of good deeds and pay it forward to others who are in need.
In addition to his humanitarian efforts, 36-year-old Vojkan Krstic is also the owner of a successful construction company in Belgrade.
“I have personally experienced both the good and the bad sides of life. Poverty and wealth. And I know that sense of helplessness you feel when you don’t know how to solve a problem. That’s why, in addition to my work to help others, I am also dedicated to working with young people and motivating them to become successful businessmen and athletes. I want to raise their awareness about the importance of doing something selfless for someone else and working together to change people’s lives for the better. We are at our strongest when we are united in our efforts, after all,” says Krstic.
As with the Sabanovic brothers, Krstic continues his life’s mission to help people return to their (pre-war) homes. His most recent donation: a house for a family of five.
This publication has been selected as part of the Srđan Aleksić Youth Competition, a regional storytelling competition that challenges youth to actively engage with their own communities to discover, document, and share stories of moral courage, interethnic cooperation, and positive social change. The competition is a primary component of the Post-Conflict Research Center’s award-winning Ordinary Heroes Peacebuilding Program, which utilizes international stories of rescuer behavior and moral courage to promote interethnic understanding and peace among the citizens of the Western Balkans.
The Balkan Diskurs Youth Correspondent Program is made possible by funding from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

created: January 27th, 2020


text:
Hasan Jusovic, aka “Good Soul” | Balkan Diskurs
Fatima Mahmutović
January 29th, 2020
Hasan Jusovic and Aco Nenadic met in Sarajevo before the war during times of peace. Hasan worked as a driver for General Vojislav Djurdjevac of the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA), while Aco served in the JNA military in the Bosnian capital city.
War is a great walking evil,
It comes into your house; it enters your soul,
And takes both of them.  – Abdulah Sidran –
Hasan Jusovic and Aco Nenadic met in Sarajevo before the war during times of peace. Hasan worked as a driver for General Vojislav Djurdjevac of the Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA), while Aco served in the JNA military in the Bosnian capital city. Unfortunately, their nationalities would soon be weaponized in a war that would attempt to divide a country and pit friends and neighbors against each other.
When the war hit Sarajevo, Hasan decided to join the Territorial Defense Unit (later known as the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina). Aco had to remain with the JNA, but he helped Hasan to make his transition.  Just a few short months later, and under a completely different set of circumstances, fate would again bring the two men together on Sarajevo’s Dobrovoljacka Street.
On May 3, 1992 members of the then Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina intercepted a convoy of JNA soldiers that was set to leave Sarajevo under the auspices of a safe withdrawal – an agreement made between the two army factions just one day before the incident. This agreement, however, came after the JNA attempted to occupy Sarajevo’s city center and held the then-BiH Presidency Chairman Ali Izetbegovic, his daughter, and his negotiating team member Zlatko Lagumdzija captive at the JNA barracks in Lukavica.
The JNA convoy had begun its journey at the barracks at Bistrik with plans to travel to Lukavica, today’s Eastern Sarajevo. The convoy was stopped on Dobrovoljacka Street and 215 soldiers were taken captive. Among them was Aco Nenadic, just nineteen years old at that time.
Aco was forced to lie on the tarmac with his head facing down. Someone kicked him and, as he turned his head, he saw a familiar face. It was Hasan Jusovic, better known as “Good Soul”, a nickname that had followed him throughout his life.
When Hassan saw Aco, he knew he had to do something to save him.
“My first thought was: ‘How he is going to survive this?’ In this war that was now unfolding across the country, people were being killed. At that moment, I was only thinking of how to save him. How to return him to his parents alive,” says Hasan.
Hasan was standing near the FIS Market when the prisoners were instructed to walk towards him.
“When the group was lined up next to me, I talked the commander into letting me take Aco,” Hasan recalls.
The young man was still wearing his JNA uniform when the two of them knocked on the door of an apartment. After a lady opened the door, Hasan asked her if she could give Aco a shirt and a pair of pants, which she did. Aco changed his clothes and Hasan told him that if anyone should ask his name, he should tell them it’s Mirsad. Then, in complete silence, they ventured to Hasan’s house in Sarajevo’s Sedrenik neighborhood.
Hasan’s family and neighbors accepted Aco with open arms. He always says that he had a good time with them, which still surprises him, considering the fact that it was wartime. Fear was also ever-present, but he was one of the lucky ones; no one ever attacked him or committed any wrongs against him.
After staying in Sedrenik for a month, Hasan and one of his neighbors made the move to help Aco escape and were able to get him to Spicasta Stijena (Pointy Cliff), a place known as one of the most dangerous sniper strongholds during the three-year siege of Sarajevo. Aco managed to cross enemy lines to a territory controlled by the Bosnian Serb Army.
Hasan, or “Good Soul”, and Aco met again in 2008 and have remained touch to this day.
“We talk often. I’m constantly in touch with him and his family and I’m happy to have that relationship,” Hasan says.
Hasan now works as a taxi driver in Sarajevo. When asked if he would make the same decisions as before if he found himself in a similar situation, he responded “Yes,” without a moment of hesitation.
“Of course I would. I always want to help. It makes me very happy when I’m able to help someone. I guess that’s why they call me Good Soul,” he says with a smile.
The story of Hasan and Aco is one about good people in difficult times. It is a story that awakens the hope that humanity and goodness will prevail no matter the circumstances, even those as horrific as war.
The war in Bosnia and Herzegovina resulted in mass killings, suffering, and sadness, but it also showed that, in such dark times, the light of good people shines bright and many ordinary heroes who risked everything to step forward and save the lives of others.
This publication has been selected as part of the Srđan Aleksić Youth Competition, a regional storytelling competition that challenges youth to actively engage with their own communities to discover, document, and share stories of moral courage, interethnic cooperation, and positive social change. The competition is a primary component of the Post-Conflict Research Center’s award-winning Ordinary Heroes Peacebuilding Program, which utilizes international stories of rescuer behavior and moral courage to promote interethnic understanding and peace among the citizens of the Western Balkans.
The Balkan Diskurs Youth Correspondent Program is made possible by funding from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

created: January 29th, 2020

author: Fatima Mahmutović


text:
In the Foothills of Livno, the Wild Horses Run Free | Balkan Diskurs
Sanela Tufekčić
January 31st, 2020
The foothills below Mount Cincar, not far from the town of Livno in southwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), have been home to around 400 wild horses for nearly 50 years.
Photos and text by Sanela Tufekcic
The foothills below Mount Cincar, not far from the town of Livno in southwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), have been home to around 400 wild horses for nearly 50 years. They have managed to adapt to the harsh weather conditions and survive poachers and predators for all these years. In a landscape of vast pastures and forests, these majestic animals are a unique phenomenon in this part of Europe.
Up until the 1950s, their ancestors were used for agricultural purposes, but when owners began using a more mechanized means of agricultural production, the horses became too great of an expense and were abandoned.
Although the wild horses of Livno mainly gather in the Krug plateau area below Mount Cincar, they have also been spotted traversing the Borova Glava mountain pass on the border between Livno and Kupres.
In the summer months, people who travel across the Cincar Mountains will have the chance to see the horses in their journey to find sustenance. The horses must also cross the main road along which there are two watering holes – the only source of water in an area with no rivers or lakes. Because water is so difficult to find, the watering holes were made explicitly for the horses by members of the Borova Glava Mountaineering and Ecological Society.
Crossing the main road, however, presents its risks. There was once an incident involving the mayor of Knin, a city in neighboring Croatia, when his vehicle struck one of the horses, leaving it with a broken leg. It is very difficult for a horse to recover from a broken leg. Thus, as is often the case in this situation, the horse had to put down. Although this was quite a tragic event, there was a silver lining. The incident brought a lot of attention to the herd and Livno’s Borova Glava Mountaineering and Ecological Society has taken extra measures to ensure that the horses are protected and cared for.
The local government has also taken an initiative to better protect the wild horse population by passing a regulation that makes hunting them illegal. Since the regulation was passed, there have been no reports of poaching. Previously, poachers were killing horses for their meat, so this comes as great news. Predators still present some problems for the horses, however, and there have been a few cases of wolves attacking the herd.
Livno’s wild horse population has risen from 286 in 2013 to 418 in 2019 with 65 new foals that were born in 2019. They have become an attraction to a large number of people who come watch and photograph them.
The horses currently have 145 square kilometers for grazing and living, which is sufficient to sustain the current population for now. The creation of a new watering hole, located at the base of Mount Cincar, is also underway.
Livno’s wild horses have become one of the area’s most popular tourist attractions and many visitors from across the world come to see one of the few instances of wild horses that still exists in Europe. Seven different herds have been identified and some horses have broken away from the herds to wander across the landscapes alone.
The Balkan Diskurs Youth Correspondent Program is made possible by funding from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

created: January 31st, 2020

author: Sanela Tufekčić


text:
The Bullet that Sparked a Friendship | Balkan Diskurs
Armin Durgut
February 5th, 2020
Daut Tihic, a former soldier of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Dane Vasic, a former soldier of the Republika Srpska Army, met on the Skelani frontlines near Srebrenica in the fall of 1992. Daut shot Dane and, for 14 years, lived with the belief that he had killed him. That was until they met again and under completely different circumstances.
The place of the men’s reunification was not a greenhouse; cooperation in this area would develop later. It was in a local tavern that the two would meet again for the first time after that fateful day on the frontlines of Skelani. Daut immediately recognized the man he thought he’d killed, and this unexpected tavern meeting would soon transform his and Dane’s relationship from war enemies to best friends.
In 1994, Daut left for Sweden. After a few years, he returned to Bosnia; first to the town of Breza near Sarajevo and then to his native village of Skelani on the Drina River. He started up a cow farm and began selling milk. One day, after spotting Dane at a local tavern, Daut turned to his friends in awe and said: “I killed this man!” He then turned to Dane, exclaiming: “I killed you!” Dane laughed and replied: “How did you kill me when you can clearly see that I’m alive?”
Dane was alive, indeed, and from that day forward they began to see each other regularly. He now lives just 3 kilometers away from Skelani in the town of Bajina Basta, Serbia, located on the opposite side of the Drina River. He deals in medicinal herbs and forest fruits, has his own storage freezer, and owns a chain of souvenir shops. Every time the two men met, their conversations would become more detailed and, soon, they began sharing their war memories and present-day experiences with one another. They also had many discussions about agriculture and medicinal herbs, which is how their idea to cooperate came about.
It wasn’t long before the two men hatched a plan to start a business together. They decided to build a processing factory for converting milk into cheese and cream using traditional methods. As part of their plan, they would also bigger storage freezer and construct a small plant for processing forest plants. They managed to raise all the money they needed for construction and got all the necessary approvals from the mayor. Unfortunately, a change in government administration brought everything to a halt and they were unable to move forward with their plans. It was politics, as usual, that got in the way of ordinary people who were working together to try something new and create a better life for themselves and those around them.
“Ordinary citizens aren’t the root of the problems, it’s the politicians. There is an ever-present fear that if you don’t abide by their will, they will send the police to your door. It doesn’t matter whether you are a Serb or a Bosniak,” says Daut.
He believes that cooperation and good relationships among people are often not in the best interest of those in power. “The politicians would prefer that we quarrel and live in our own national ‘herds’. We are more easily governed under such circumstances,” he adds.
Dane says that, regardless of the political roadblocks, he and Daut are determined to work together and he is confident that they will succeed. When the men think back to their days on the battlefield, both have the same sentiments: neither wanted to wage war. They are just a couple of the many ordinary soldiers who believe the same thing; that the war never brought any good to anyone. Now, these two friends have a chance to right some wrongs and neither will allow such an opportunity to pass him by.
This publication has been selected as part of the Srđan Aleksić Youth Competition, a regional storytelling competition that challenges youth to actively engage with their own communities to discover, document, and share stories of moral courage, interethnic cooperation, and positive social change. The competition is a primary component of the Post-Conflict Research Center’s award-winning Ordinary Heroes Peacebuilding Program, which utilizes international stories of rescuer behavior and moral courage to promote interethnic understanding and peace among the citizens of the Western Balkans.
The Balkan Diskurs Youth Correspondent Program is made possible by funding from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

created: February 5th, 2020

author: Armin Durgut


text:
Kemal Nedzibovic: “Growing up in the Balkans is the toughest challenge there is” | Balkan Diskurs
Kristina Gadže
February 7th, 2020
Kemal Nedzibovic is a pure example of how a young person from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) can turn activism into action. At just 24 years old, this young Tuzlak (a person from Tuzla) is already considered an expert in European law, policy, and integration.
Kemal’s dedication to activism started “at a young age”. In primary school he was elected as the student leader of the Slavinovici Elementary School, followed by a chairmanship on the High School Student Council. He then took several part-time jobs working on projects for the US Embassy in BiH, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, CENSOR, and the University of Flensburg.
“Growing up in the Balkans, especially in BiH, is very challenging for young people,” Kemal explains, adding that his peers, born in Western European countries, have every opportunity for personal growth and development at their fingertips. Young people in BiH, however, must contend with the many obstacles and difficulties that go hand in hand with living in a post-war society.
Kemal views BiH’s youth as the future drivers of progress but explains that they are systematically discriminated against, politically unsupported and underrepresented, and economically disempowered. The country’s young people, therefore, often envision their futures elsewhere, in countries where the system will support them, where the corruption isn’t all-encompassing, and where education and job opportunities are accessible.
“We cannot blame young people for our country’s current situation, but we can empower them to demand institutional change through voting, constantly inquiring the authorities about important issues, protesting, and organizing public gatherings,” Kemal says.
He believes that the main problems in Bosnian society include corruption, nepotism, tender fraud, job acquisition through bribery, fictional ethnic tensions, and a strategically underdeveloped economy.
“25 years after the war, some positive developments are visible, but we are far from where we need to be. I believe we must find new ways to combat the political mafia, eliminate corruption, and elect professional people to power. Only through knowledge can we change our current situation. No other alternative will not work,” says Kemal.
Kemal began receiving educational offers in Germany during high school but decided to stay in BiH until he finished his undergraduate studies. He then went to Germany’s University of Flensburg on a scholarship from the Konrad Adenauer Foundation to pursue a Master’s degree in European Studies, with a special research focus on the migration and integration of Bosnian-Herzegovinian diaspora in Germany.
The recipient of the European Forum Alpbach 2019’s European Award for Performance and Commitment to European Integration, Kemal believes that serving as an advocate for BiH is one of his central missions in life. He, therefore, feels a great responsibility to serve as an ambassador at various events and conferences.
“All the problems that our society faces make this a difficult task, but the ability to speak skillfully about the positive things in BiH can be derived from our love for our homeland. Our homeland is its people. It is its plains, hills, and beautiful neighborhoods. It is the soul that is the Bosnian mountains and the Herzegovinian barrens. I don’t mean to sound like a poet, but Bosnia is like a song,” Kemal says.
The young man holds strong to his belief that it is possible to raise the standard of living in BiH and is passionate about issues related to intercultural and cross-border cooperation, reconciliation, and bringing young people together. He has accumulated an impressive number of awards in his young career and was recently one of five young people from Central and Eastern Europe to receive the Erhard Busek Award for outstanding dedication and commitment to European integration. He was also awarded the “Best Youth Project in BiH” by UNICEF and given the Schuler Helfen Leben Award for cross-border cooperation, among other accolades.
He feels that the highlight of his career, however, is the upcoming publication of his first book, which includes data from his Master’s thesis on the topic of Bosnian-Herzegovinian diaspora migration and integration in Germany.
“As part of the research I conducted in the two German provinces of Baden-Würtemberg and Schleswig-Holstein, I was trying to explore the reasons why our citizens migrated to certain German areas, why they decided to leave BiH, and how they view their integration into German society,” he explains. He adds that the results are encouraging when it comes to economic integration, but continued progress will depend on the BiH diaspora community as well as German society more broadly.
Through his education and professional experience, he has not only expanded his own knowledge but also created mechanisms that can help further BiH’s development.
“My plan is to support our population’s German integration process, monitor their progress, and provide suggestions on how we can help our country from the outside. We should be aware that more than half of our population currently lives outside of BiH and our diaspora is made up of professionals, academics, successful businessmen, athletes, and politicians. They represent a resource that can re-invest in our homeland and help us to deal with problems that are hindering our ability to thrive,” Kemal believes.
Although Kemal has received numerous offers to work abroad, he ultimately has decided to return the region to work for the Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO) based in Tirana, Albania. He explains that RYCO is an intergovernmental institution mandated to connect young people across the region and to provide them with opportunities to learn from and collaborate with one another.
“When I was implementing my youth projects as a student, I was greatly encouraged by the establishment of the RYCO. It gave me hope that our region could be better, which makes me really happy despite the fact that, today, there is an abundance of negative political messaging and administrative barriers are continuing to impede the success of our region’s young people. The minimal budgets allocated for youth development hinders young people’s ability to plan for their future within the borders their home countries, and this is something we must address,” he concludes.
This publication has been selected as part of the Srđan Aleksić Youth Competition, a regional storytelling competition that challenges youth to actively engage with their own communities to discover, document, and share stories of moral courage, interethnic cooperation, and positive social change. The competition is a primary component of the Post-Conflict Research Center’s award-winning Ordinary Heroes Peacebuilding Program, which utilizes international stories of rescuer behavior and moral courage to promote interethnic understanding and peace among the citizens of the Western Balkans.
The Balkan Diskurs Youth Correspondent Program is made possible by funding from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

created: February 7th, 2020