text:
BiH Diaspora: A Vague Perception of Home and Homeland | Balkan Diskurs
Léa Périllat
May 17th, 2022
The authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) should focus on young people and families leaving the country. The large diaspora can also be one of the possible sources of economic development of the home country. Moving abroad, as the diaspora says, does not erase memories or ties with the homeland, but creates a changing perception of what home is.
One of the main sentiments shared by almost every Bosnian living abroad when they visit home is conflicting feelings. First impressions are usually positive: some feel at home; most are overjoyed to reunite with their loved ones as well as happy to see the familiar environment in which they used to reside. Besides, members of the Bosnian diaspora usually visit during their vacations, enjoyable times with no worries. Shortly thereafter, reality takes over and spoils the idealized picture and feelings they have.
Balkan Diskurs received responses from 88 members of the diaspora, more than half of whom live in France, Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, or Norway. They claim to be disappointed that nothing has improved or changed in their homeland of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Most members of the diaspora agree that last year’s problems are also this year’s and will be the same when they come to BiH again. According to most, the prevailing impression is that the country is frozen in time and that while the Dayton Agreement ended the war, nothing has changed since then.
Politicians are largely to blame for the unchanged situation, precluding the country from going forward on a stable democratic, economic, and social path. “Disappointment and hopelessness for a better tomorrow have been present for many years … With such nationalist-oriented leadership, we have no progress! The feeling that even after 30 years, nothing is getting better, what’s more, the political situation is getting worse and worse …. It creates anger, repulsion, sadness in me,” described a 49-year-old, who lives in the Netherlands, situation in BiH.
A Bosnian woman from Sweden has a similar opinion, sadly admitting that “there is nothing new since the 90s, same theme, same politics.”
2.2 million people left Bosnia and Herzegovina during the war. Today, 30 years after the start of the war in BiH, more than 55 percent of Bosnian people do not live in their homeland. They have built new lives in other countries, mostly in Europe and the US. The reasons for staying in other countries even after the end of the war are, in most cases, the better economic conditions. Additionally, as some have started families with people from those countries, the school system is more reliable and efficient for their children. Return to BiH depends on socio-economic development but also on the political progress of the state.
Most respondents admit that they do not want to return due to the economic situation in BiH, which they say is “terrible and very unstable.” They condemn corruption, which they believe is ubiquitous and slows the country’s development in the right direction.
The diaspora admits that it is not easy for them to determine where their home is because time affects their perception of home. Homes from the past are not necessarily the same homes as those of the present, or those imagined for the future. In this sense, they feel torn between the “lost homeland” and the “host territory” in which they can never fully take root.
This ambiguous sense of ‘belonging’ to the Bosnian diaspora is particularly difficult to deal with. Interviewees admit that they feel like ‘Yugonostalgics,’ which means that they long for the former political, cultural, and economic climate. In this regard, they explained that they want to see BiH society grow into a place and patterns of interaction that are based on peaceful ethnic co-existence, multicultural curiosity and respect, and solidarity on the basis of dimensions of civic life that are common to all, regardless of particular ethnic belonging.
Moreover, some of them acknowledged that they do not feel legitimate in their native country anymore because they left. They explain that Bosnians sometimes resent the way they perceive the country and what they think about the current situation in BiH. In a way, the fact that they (willingly or unwillingly) left BiH a few years ago makes them feel that they don’t have a say in what is occurring insofar as they are indirect victims or witnesses. They feel like they are in opposition to their fellow Bosnian friends who remained in BiH and are dealing with the situation on a daily basis.
The Bosnian diaspora also fears the current political situation, which in their view poses a major threat to state stability. Many criticize human rights abuses, fragile democracy, and unchanging political figures who poison the entire system. They also condemn and fear enduring nationalist discourses that divide the country and hinder the creation of a united and harmonious state.
Russia’s current aggression on Ukraine has evoked painful memories with an unavoidable fear that deadly events in Ukraine could spill over into BiH. While some fear that a repeat of the 1992 scenario is possible, there are those who find the new conflict unthinkable and think that the current political crisis could lead to democratic and peaceful political reform.
The diaspora believes that BiH society is not ready to take up arms because of painful memories of past crimes. As a 63-year-old respondent who lives in France said, “I think that we have had enough death, hatred, and sorrow.”
Half of the diaspora, including a 36-year-old living in Switzerland, is convinced that in BiH, the people do not believe in the nationalist and belligerent discourses of the self-interested politicians and that, in the end, “people are not crazy enough to fight for the political goals of a corrupt government.”

author: Léa Périllat


text:
Antifa walks through Zagreb: A tour of the city from the perspective of war and resistance | Balkan Diskurs
Anja Zulić
May 20th, 2022
As part of the pre-program of Trnjanski kresovi to commemorate the liberation of Zagreb by the partisans on May 7th, the Zagreb Antifascist Network Zagreb organized Anti walks in cooperation with Documenta and researcher Tena Banjeglav.
Because citizens, and especially young people, know little about the events of the Second World War, Banjeglav emphasizes that it is important to mark the places of suffering and resistance.
“We need to constantly find new, innovative, and interesting ways to bring this history closer to young people. There’s no need for formal memorials or monuments. It would be enough to set up info-boards, which would located next to some important sites and would give information to all interested parties about what happened at those locations,” said Banjeglav, researcher at Documenta – Center for Dealing with the Past.
Artistic approaches are a good way of recognizing places of suffering and resistance. According to Banjeglav, this would bring attention to these sites as well as offer a dignified commemoration of the events which occurred there.
The concept of the memorial walk was created after Documenta published the guide “Zagreb in War, Resistance, Creativity and Memory” in March 2021. The guide includes over 50 locations in the city which are connected to wartime suffering as well as the anti-fascist resistance and authors who wrote about Zagreb.  In addition, they looked for a way to bring the topics they deal with and places closer to citizens, especially young people.
“To date, we have held a dozen walks for the citizens of Zagreb, and many more for students of interested schools and colleges, and several walks for foreign guests. We are satisfied with the reaction to them so far, as well as the interest in them. They have proven to be a good format for more successful and easier communication about these difficult, sometimes controversial topics, as well as for exchanging experiences and information,” said Banjeglav. She added that the concept of memorial walks, such as this one in Zagreb, are an interesting way to provide citizens with new knowledge about locations in the city that they pass by every day.
For Banjeglav, the closeness that develops from visiting a place is very important, especially for young people, who are thus better able to remember the stories of events which occurred at the places around them.
“It is very important to deal with local history and engage young people and citizens in studying and researching the history of their city, neighborhood, or even street. I think that in this way, we further motivate them to learn about and come to terms with history, which has the greatest influence on them. I have heard many times from the people of Zagreb that it is interesting to be a tourist in your own city and to get to know and explore it further,” said Banjeglav.
Balkan Diskurs youth correspondent Anja Zulić went on an Antifa walk through Zagreb, together with about twenty citizens.
“We gathered in front of the Zagreb Student Center (SC), today an unavoidable place in the daily lives of students. The area of today’s SC and the surrounding buildings such as the French pavilion, which serves as a gallery space, do not show that there was a transit camp for Jews, Serbs, communists, illegals, and other ‘unfit’ people in that location, in Zagreb’s dark past. From there, these people were transported to the first concentration camps in the then NDH (Independent State of Croatia). The area of SC and the former Zagreb Choir, that is, the Zagreb Fair, became a transit camp when the Ustasha came to power in 1941,” says Banjeglav at the beginning of the Antifa walk.
The location of the SC suited the Ustasha because of its size and connection with the railway. People were brought to the transit camp from Zagreb and other cities like Varaždin, Karlovac, and Koprivnica. They would spend four or five days there before being taken to other camps in Croatia. First was the Danica camp, near Koprivnica, which was the first to be established, then to the Gospić camp system (Gospić, Jadovno, Slana and Metajna on Pag), and later to Jasenovac and the local camps. Conditions in the transit camp, as in other camps, were awful. During their short stays in transit camps, people slept on the floors. They only had food if members of their family or community brought it to them. There Jewish community played a very important role, providing meals for fellow Jews interred in the camp. At night or early in the morning, people were brought to the camps in cattle cars. The transit camp operated at that location from May 1941 to August 1941 when it was closed, presumably due to its proximity to the city center. Residents of surrounding buildings could see what was happening, and those on the top floors of the buildings were prohibited from opening their windows. As a result, the camp was relocated to the former Kristalum textile factory in Zavrtnica, which was farther on the periphery then than it is today, where it operated until October 1941. After that, transit camps ceased to exist in Zagreb, but many prisons remained.
We continue our walk to the Botanical Garden and Runjaninova Street, where today, a Health Center is located, which was formerly a home for Ustasha youth. There is a memorial in front of the entrance to the Health Center, as well as writing carved into the Botanical Garden walls. However, due to inadequate maintenance, it is impossible to read the writing, and there is little indication that these sites are symbols of anti-fascist resistance.
On August 4th, 1941, in response to the murder of a colleague who was a law student, twelve members of the League of Communist Youth of Yugoslavia (SKOJ) attacked the home for Ustasha youth, as its residents lined up at noon. The SKOJ managed to drop bombs as planned, but they had not anticipated a machine gun being mounted on the roof. Three of the 12 were arrested, while the others managed to escape. Nevertheless, this action, although unsuccessful, is considered one of the first significant operations of the Partisans. It was carried out in close proximity to the Nazi headquarters as well as the Ustasha police, who arrived on the scene quickly.
Another Zagreb location that testifies to the success of the resistance is the building of the Main Post Office at 13 Jurišićeva Street, which has not been in use since the earthquake in 2020. The communist attack in 1941 on the Main Post Office was the largest action carried out in Zagreb. The facility was used for all long-distance and interstate calls, and for that reason was bugged by the Gestapo authorities. During the operation, explosive devices were placed in the building and activated the next day, after the postal workers were informed of the impending attack to ensure they were able to leave the premises beforehand. After the operation, the Ustasha arrested many people and shot 50 Jews and partisans. Today, there are no markers at the post office commemorating this important historical event.
During the two-hour walk, we also stopped at the Central Train Station, a significant place in the context of the Second World War. Stations were important for both sides: trains transported prisoners, camp inmates, and those consigned to forced labor, but were also used by partisans and their sympathizers who later joined the ranks of the opposition. Beginning in 1941, the Ustasha authorities deported Jews and Serbs from the Central Station to camps in the Independent State of Croatia and Europe. The women and children rescued by Diana Budisavljević from numerous camps were first brought to the Central Station, from where they were sent to shelters for children and women of the Orthodox faith.
Today, the black steam locomotive Katica can be seen at the Main Station, which, according to official information, is on display because it is one of the oldest in Croatia. It is less known that Katica, or a locomotive similar to it, transported the first detainees to Danica camp.
In 2022, a monument to the victims of the Holocaust and the Ustasha regime was erected at the Central Station, around which, as Banjeglav tells us, various controversies revolve. The monument consists of stacked suitcases representing the seized luggage of the victims.
“From the beginning, this monument was intended to commemorate the suffering of Jews, all six million killed in the world. Therefore, the artistic representation chosen is actually more a symbol of the suffering of the Jews, not very universalistic and inclusive. After victims’ associations, as well as anti-fascist and other organizations, protested the original idea in the course of long negotiations, we got this compromise solution – the victims of the Holocaust and the Ustasha regime,” said researcher of Documenta.
According to her, if you take a closer look at the inscription and read everything that is written on it, it still seems that the text is intended to commemorate only the Jews who were deported to Auschwitz in 1942.
The memorial walk also took us to Praška Street, in the immediate vicinity of Ban Josip Jelačić Square, where the synagogue was located. The founding of the Independent State of Croatia was followed by the persecution of the Jewish community, culminating in the demolition of the synagogue. Today there is a parking lot in this area. The entire process of destroying the synagogue was photographed, filmed, and  exhibited at one of the anti-Jewish exhibitions in the Independent State of Croatia.
To complete the memorial walk, we visited the location of today’s so-called “Mosque,” the Croatian Society of Fine Artists, located on the Square of Victims of Fascism, formerly Kulina Ban Square. Buildings in this area were once the sites of the former Gestapo prison and the headquarters of the Ustasha Surveillance Service. Although this building was a mosque for only a very short time and did not officially function as a mosque, the name has remained and continues to be used among the people of Zagreb.
Right next to the “Mosque,” at 2 Zvonimirova Street, is the building where the Ustasha supervisory service and the secret police were based. The basement of the building was used as a prison, which is notorious for the horrific torture carried out there. The most famous prisoners of detained there were two sisters, Rajka and Zdenka Baković. Rajka was arrested for being a member of SKOJ, and Zdenka, for being a sympathizer. Both were brutally tortured in prison. Rajka was transported to the hospital where she died, and Zdenka jumped from the third floor of the building and died as a result of the impact.
Although this anti-fascist walk demonstrates that Zagreb has a rich anti-fascist history, Banjeglav explains that from her previous experience working and leading walks, citizens know little about Ustasha crimes, and even less about anti-fascist resistance.
“The situation is somewhat better with older citizens, those who were educated in Yugoslavia. For them, at least a part of that material was in the compulsory curriculum, so they know something. However, young people, those educated in the Republic of Croatia, know almost nothing, especially about topics and events related to anti-fascist resistance. While there is some talk about crimes and suffering in the Independent State of Croatia, at least by more motivated teachers, anti-fascism and resistance are very rarely topics in our schools. Even final year history students told me that they had not heard of many of the locations and didn’t know about many of the events we mentioned during the walks,” said Banjeglav.
Her impression, as she explained, is that in Croatia, anti-fascism is present only as part of the Constitution, but it is very unpopular to say that you are an anti-fascist or to deal with these topics. While other European countries, as she said, are proud of their anti-fascist history and often refer to it, in Croatia, it is almost a shame.

source: news-balkandiskurs

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

author: Anja Zulić


text:
ON.design: Concrete as a Decorative Material | Balkan Diskurs
Danica Novaković
May 23rd, 2022
A young architect from Sarajevo, Emina Arapčić (32), has been experimenting and working with concrete for a long time. ON.design emerged in 2016 as a project to bring together and showcase her work to a wider audience.
Out of concrete, Emina makes decorative items such as flowerpots, lamps, jewelry and key rings. Among so many beautiful products, it is difficult to single out a favorite. “The concrete flowerpots of various shapes and sizes are my favorites among the products, despite them being the most demanding in their process of designing and making. Their sizes vary from small pots for cacti and succulents, to medium sizes, to in fact whatever size a customer wants,” she says.
In addition to following her intuition, she also listens to what customers are interested in, and reveals to us which pieces come out as favorites: “When it comes to customers, they will of course have discovered what they like best, and it often varies. But jewelry and small pots are generally the best-selling products.”
Emina’s pieces are beautiful but also of high quality, and the biggest proof of this is that she has customers from Berlin to Abu Dhabi. She collaborates with foreign companies One Piece Concept Store and BerlinLinie, both of whom recognized the quality and originality of her work. Although concrete is very difficult to work with, she has gained experience and expertise.
“Concrete as a material is very difficult to shape. I mostly use molds for my products, which are made from various different materials. At the beginning, I used single-use molds but over time I have worked to develop reusable ones, as they give better and more precise final results when casting concrete,” she explains.
Emina uses a number of tools to make one product, which she selects depending on the product. The most important tools for concrete casting are, of course, the mold, vibrating table, grinding machines, and tools for polishing. The final processing also requires its own variety of different tools.
“I experimented with acrylic paints for tinting the concrete. Now, for that purpose I use oxide pigments. During grinding and polishing, I coat the castings with resins that are used to protect concrete, which achieves special effects in their final texture,” she reveals.
The process of making concrete objects is very demanding and includes various stages, starting from mixing the concrete, pouring into molds, and drying, followed by a series of stages of grinding and polishing. For some products, Emina has procured silicone molds that are used to work with epoxy resins. Concrete products usually come in geometric forms of different dimensions but in order to increase the range of shapes and dimensions of her products, she has also made several types of molds herself.
“The concrete mixture (made up of sand, granular stone, cement, pigment and water) is poured into molds. After 24 hours, the piece is removed from the mold and left to dry for another 5 to 10 days, after which it is ready for grinding and polishing. The process of making concrete products is time-consuming, so it takes an average of 15-20 days to make one product,” she explains.
Although difficult to process and mostly associated with construction sites and large concrete mixers, Emina emphasizes that this is only one use of concrete. This material has been used in interiors for a very long time and combines very well with other materials. As a material, it has the advantage of not only strength, but elegance as well.
“I make a lot of my products from two or more materials, so I often combine concrete with warmer materials, such as cork, wood or wool. I want the cold material – namely, concrete – to have its impact on the soul through the texture and shape of the designed products. Every new product is a new challenge for me,” she says.
In the end, Emina says that the best recognition is when someone likes your work and wants to have it, and she encourages everyone to pursue what they love just as she has.

author: Danica Novaković


text:
Premiere of the film „Kapija ’95“ at the Srebrenica Memorial Center | Balkan Diskurs
Amina Sejfić
May 25th, 2022
On the 27th anniversary of the crimes against Tuzla’s youth, the Srebrenica Memorial Center premiered the film „Kapija ’95“, produced by the Post-Conflict Research Center, the Srebrenica Memorial Center, and the British production company Pinch Media.
Ševket Hafizović, President of the Board of Directors of the Srebrenica Memorial Center, believes that the crime against Tuzla’s youth is one of the most horrific crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is why it is our obligation to be constantly reminded of it.
„Lives of these mothers have become a memory. It’s only us who think that these mothers are alive. This was an attempt to kill a life. We remember well what they did to us and it is our obligation to remind everybody of that,“ said Hafizović.
The horrific crime was committed on May 25, 1995 at Kapija, a meeting place for Tuzla’s youth, on the promenade in the city center. On that occasion, 71 young people were killed, and about 140 were seriously and lightly wounded.
„The crime at Kapija did not only happen to Tuzla. It is also our experience. We here [at the Memorial Center] want to document every crime, and it is in places like this one that words change their meaning,“ said Emir Suljagić, director of the Srebrenica Memorial Center and executive producer of the film „Kapija ’95.“
Dino Kalesić experienced the greatest fear as a parent – a grenade fired from the position of the Army of the Republika Srpska on Ozren mountain killed his three-year-old son Sandro. He is the youngest victim of this massacre.
„Facts are our path towards the truth. Our path is the story of Kapija, Srebrenica, white armbands… We must not allow new generations to question what happened,“ said Kalesić. He added that the path to reconciliation and the future is in textbooks that will be the voice of truth in an impartial way.
Mirko Pincelli, cinematographer and director of the film, pointed out that the importance of documenting such crimes is of enormous value for the families of the victims: „We here know what happened. But this is Tuzla’s story. To help these families live in dignity, we have to tell difficult stories.“
Nataša Perić, chairwoman of the Tuzla City Council, said that it is important to use documentary content, such as this film, to remind others of this crime, because only in this way will we preserve the truth about what was done. She added that no reason can dispute this crime.
„May is the cruelest month for Tuzla,“ Perić pointed out.
Velma Šarić, president and founder of the Post-Conflict Research Center, said that the shooting of this film was a great responsibility because there was a big gap in the world of film when it comes to this crime.
„To mark the 27th anniversary of the massacre against Tuzla’s youth is just one step in a broader strategy to commemorate crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina,“ said Šarić, who has produced several documentaries on crimes committed in our country.
Although the 27th anniversary of the crimes against Tuzla’s youth is being held on May 25, 2022, the only person held accountable for this crime is Novak Đukić, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison. However, he was released from serving his sentence due to the application of the provisions of the criminal law from the former Yugoslavia. He went to Serbia, which did not take over the verdict and its execution due to the explanation that Đukić is in poor health.

author: Amina Sejfić


text:
Sarajevo Open Air Gallery | Balkan Diskurs
Amina Sejfić | Benisa Bibuljica
May 27th, 2022
Plagued by nationalist-political narratives and rabble-rousing rhetoric, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is facing its worst political crisis since the end of the 1992-1995 conflict. However, street art in the country’s capital points to the possibility of reconciliation and peaceful coexistence in a society still polarized by the wounds of war.
With their creative street art, artists in Sarajevo are turning the capital city into one big open-air gallery. Grandiose colorful murals adorn some of the neglected and dilapidated walls along Sarajevo’s streets, sending messages of peace, friendship, and a better future, as well as emphasizing the city’s defiance and resilience. Art created as a street language is often equated with vandalism, but Sarajevo resists this attitude with artwork that overcomes the everyday grayness. The city’s murals are making a significant contribution to broadening citizens’ perceptions of artistic expression and its value.
The members of the BiH organization Obojena Klapa have played an important role in this, turning Sarajevo’s gloomy facades into works of art that are making a big impression even outside the country’s borders. The goal of this organization is to create open air art gallery on the streets of Sarajevo.
“We want to make Sarajevo a city of color and a synonym for street art in the region. This means the affirmation of this type of art in society and the recognition of its importance by our fellow citizens, the government, and other sectors of society,” said Benjamin Čengić, well-known muralist and president of Obojena Klapa.
Mirjana Ćuskić from the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights points out that art sends important messages to the social community and has the power to change social and political trajectories. “Art resists nationalism and draws attention to real problems in society, such as corruption, the non-transparent spending of public funds, political leaders’ manipulation of the media and judiciary, and so on,” Ćuskić said.
Davorin Popović, Michael Schumacher, Milena Mrazović, and Goran Čengić wave to passersby from the facades of Sarajevo’s building, taking art outside of galleries and reminding Sarajevans of the legendary personas who made lasting contributions to the BiH capital.
Čengić says that Schumacher’s mural is the least Sarajevo can do to honor the seven-time Formula 1 champion. “We decided to paint this mural because Schumacher deserves a tribute from Sarajevans to thank him for the donations and help he provided us with during and after the war. Besides, he is a person who has always given his maximum. He is a true symbol of that state of mind,” explained Čengić.
Schumacher’s mural is located at the place where the champion was photographed in 1997 with Sarajevo children who suffered injuries from war mines. Schumacher himself suffered a severe head injury in 2013, but Sarajevo has not forgotten his benevolence.
Murals in Sarajevo often appear in places of importance in the collective memory of its citizens, according to Aida Abadžić-Hodžić, professor of art history at the University of Sarajevo’s Faculty of Philosophy.
The colorful mural dedicated to the musician Davorin Popović, popularly called “Pimpek,” stands as a testament to the fact that true legends never die. In 1964, he joined the band Indexi which became an integral part of the soul of Sarajevo. With the mural, Pimpek remains forever attached to his city and part of its identity. “Murals are the identity of every city and its population. In addition to an authentic artistic urban stamp, they give the city a youthful, urban look, sending messages of cultural memory with important figures from public life, popular culture, sports,” said Sarina Bakić, a sociology professor at the University of Sarajevo’s Faculty of Political Science.
The impact of women on BiH society is evidenced by the mural dedicated to the first BiH journalist and editor, Milena Mrazović. Known in Europe as the “famous Bosnian writer,” Mrazović pushed the boundaries imposed on women at the time. The mural was painted by muralist Nataša Konjević on the building of the Electrical Engineering School for Energetics.
“As a mural painter, I appreciate the opportunity to paint portraits of important women and pay tribute to their contribution to society. Milena is just one of the women who deserves to be more present in public space,” Konjević told the media.
In addition to the murals already mentioned, the BiH capital is also distinguished by memorials like the “Sarajevo roses,” which pay tribute to the Sarajevans murdered during the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern war. As established by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the military and political leadership of the then Republika Srpska conducted a campaign of shelling and sniping to terrorize the citizens of Sarajevo. Ratko Mladić, the former commander of the Republika Srpska Army, was sentenced to life in prison for this campaign, as well as for his role in other crimes committed by his forces across the country.
Nonetheless, a memorial plaque dedicated to this convicted war criminal was placed at the one of the entrances to Sarajevo, located in the municipality of East Sarajevo which belongs to the entity of Republika Srpska. Despite numerous protests, damage, and formal requests for its removal, the memorial plaque still hangs on the walls of the Vraca Memorial Park for the anti-fascist fighters killed in camps and mass executions during the Second World War.
“Young people in many local communities in BiH grow up in an environment where hate speech towards others is encouraged and used every day. In this context, art is used mainly for negative purposes, like glorifying and celebrating war criminals,” said Ćuskić. She explained that street art is crucial for sending messages to young people that empower them to think about “contemporary social phenomena openly and critically and nurture a cultural remembrance for all victims equally. Street art can further encourage them to become social agents for peace and positive change in our society.”
As Abadžić-Hodžić notes, all functioning democratic societies have clearly defined mechanisms that sanction such deviant practices and provocations in public space which are a clear threat to peace and security.
Using street art to promote various messages is a very efficient strategy that can also serve, Čengić emphasizes, as a dangerous weapon used to manipulate the perception of domestic and foreign audiences.
The BiH capital of Sarajevo is trying in many ways to send messages of peace, friendship, and a bright future. This is how the mural “Our Future” was created, which, like a big tram, connects two cities – Sarajevo and East Sarajevo. “The mural’s message is to unite people, not to separate. It is a mural presented as an illustration of a tram with windows of stories of high school and elementary school students in Sarajevo and East Sarajevo,” said Aleksandra Nina Knežević, chief mural designer. She added that the mural’s message is mutual support, dialogue, reconciliation, understanding, friendship, and hope for the future.
The mural “Allegory of Peace and War” on the wall of the Secondary School of Economics in Sarajevo was painted by the Zagreb muralist Lonac. The eternal struggle of good and evil is represented through a girl balancing two jars: an open jar of olives, representing peace, and a closed jar containing a Siamese ‘fighter fish’ – so-called for its territorial and aggressive behavior – representing war and aggression towards one’s own people. An interesting detail is that the jar with the olives is open, while the one with the fish is closed, suggesting that now is the time for peace.
In addition to huge murals that greet passersby, inviting them to find hidden meanings, Sarajevo is also home to many works of graffiti paying tribute to the victims of the Srebrenica genocide.
“Murals are created for the general public, to occupy public spaces, and can thus be a powerful medium in promoting common values,” said Abadžić-Hodžić.
Every idea, colored by memory and inspired by humanistic values, strengthens social bonds, and enhances harmony and an inclusive sense of belonging within community. Art has proven to be an effective medium for promoting these values.
“There lies the strength of both memory and art. The sense of togetherness is one of the most important factors in the functioning of any society, and there lies the strength and important role of young people, young artists,” said Professor Bakić.

author: Amina Sejfić | Benisa Bibuljica


text:
KUIKO KOIKU: A Unique Brand of Wooden Toys | Balkan Diskurs
Nataša Todoranović
May 30th, 2022
KUIKO KOIKO has shown to its owners that when one door closes, another door opens. Set up at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the characteristic name of the brand is composed of abbreviations of the words for “tiny houses” (kućice) and “cubes” (kockice), which were their first products.
After their primary jewelry-making job was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, Ena Mulavdić and Ebrahim Mohammadian were inspired to make their “KUIKO KOIKU” toys.
“Our inspiration came from our friends’ children and all the other children spending their time at computers and watching content that is not appropriate for their healthy development. Our toys seek to offer children a happier childhood than the one currently offered to them,” says Ena.
Ena and Ebrahim’s handmade toys are all special in their own way because of the wood used for their production and its natural variation in texture. Everything they make is the product of their hard work and commitment.
“Toys are a very sensitive design product and, as such, require an additional commitment to the research process. We also research psychology, sociology, and child development, along with types of games and how children can play. All this knowledge is integrated into toy design and contributes to positive child development,” explains Ena.
Their toys are intended for children from the ages of six months to preschool and early school age. However, as they tell us, even young teens enjoy playing with their dolls, using their imagination to write short stories about the dolls as different characters. Their product range so far comprises multicolor dice, houses, dolls, cars, and spinning tops. And spinning tops are not just a children’s toy; they act as healthy anti-stress therapy for adults at work or at home.
“We start the toy design process by considering which products we want to make. After that, we choose the best quality pieces of wood from which to make the previously-conceived product, and we mostly use pine, fir, and beech wood. We use machines such as a lathe and various drills, and the skills needed at this stage correspond to the skills that masters of carpentry have. At the very end of the process comes the polishing and coloring, with water-based paints, to fully adapt everything to children and their needs. For us, a toy is only completed when we see a wide smile on the faces of our customers,” they say.
Not only are KUIKO KOIKU toys painted with colors that are safe for children and coated with a safe final layer of edible olive oil, but KUIKO KOIKU is a one-hundred percent Bosnian brand. All the materials are sourced from within the country. To top it off, by buying a toy, you encourage the planting of trees in BiH. KUIKO KOIKU toys are unique in so many ways, adding to their value.
“The mission of our brand is to act responsibly towards the community, especially children, and to promote real values. Planting a single tree is extremely cheap; it costs around 1.50 KM, and the benefits are numerous and go beyond state borders and its policies. We include the price of planting one tree in each product as a kind of ‘planting tax.’ We plan to plant trees twice a year, organized as a class in nature with children who, we are sure, will be delighted and inspired by the activity,” explains Ena.
No two toys are the same because the KUIKO KOIKU team does not mass produce their items. When you buy one of their toys, no one in the world will have it but you.
“The approach to the design of KUIKO KOIKU toys is minimalist, which is very good for children’s development and imagination. Namely, by excessively structuring toys, that is, by fully defining the form and purpose of the toy, children are left with very little or no room for imagination and devising new ways of using the toy during their play. Our toys are, above all, intended for free, unstructured play. Unfortunately, today, children end up as slaves to various systems imposed on them through modern technologies. The goal of these toys is to return the true meaning of childhood to children through thoughtful and responsible design practice,” concludes Ena.

author: Nataša Todoranović


text:
The Blessed Martyrs of the Drina: A Symbol of Protest and the Fight for Honor | Balkan Diskurs
Alem Bajramović
June 3rd, 2022
The Blessed Martyrs of the Drina are a symbol of the suffering of the people of the Podrinje region. Their story teaches us that love is more valuable and noble than hatred, and that war brings no good to anyone, only suffering and loss.
During the World War II, the Blessed Martyrs of the Drina provided food and medical help in the course of preserving their honor, purity, and religious vows. Although they have passed away, today, these religious figures symbolize the suffering of the women who, throughout numerous wars and aggressions, may well have made the greatest sacrifice.
Josip Tadić, the priest of Goražde parish, said that the construction of the church of the Blessed Martyrs of the Drina is underway and that they have managed to obtain a bell that reads “Blessed Martyrs of Drina, pray for us,” referring to all victims of past suffering.
Father Tadić believes that the Church of the Blessed Martyrs of the Drina will be a sanctuary. The consecration of the Church’s foundations last summer was attended by representatives of other religions, which shows the common life of shared by the different religious groups in the city on the Drina River.
During World War II, the Blessed Martyrs of the Drina were engaged in humanitarian work in the convent of Marijin Dom in Pale until they were captured by Chetniks who took many of them to their deaths. Residents of Goražde and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Catholics from all over the world still remember this crime and visit the site of their suffering. The five nuns of the Congregation of the Daughters of Divine Charity struggled to preserve their honor and religious vows even at the cost of their own lives.
The Drina Martyrs helped people by providing food and medical assistance at the beginning of World War II (1939-1945). They were captured by the Chetnik army in December 1941, and their tragic fate brought them to the Way of the Cross, which ran from Pale, through Prača and Hranjen, to Goražde.
The eldest nun, Berchmana Leidenix, who was originally from Austria, was unable to endure the journey. She succumbed to exhaustion, staying in a place called Sjetlina, where she died. To this day, the place where the sister was buried has not been found. The other four nuns, Krizina Bojanc and Antonija Fabjan from Slovenia and Bernadeta Banja and Jula Ivanišević from Croatia, were brought to Austro-Hungarian military barracks at the site of today’s Husein ef. Đozo Elementary School, where they were detained on the second floor of the facility.
According to Father Tadić, it is believed that drunken Chetniks entered the room where the four nuns were detained, intending to rape them. However, the nuns were determined to keep their vow of chastity and jumped out the window, thus dying to defend their honor, dignity, and religious vows.
“Their broken bodies were stabbed with bayonets and thrown into the Drina River. The fate of the nuns was then experienced by other citizens of this city. I think that the girls, who knew what was in store for them, would have rather jump off the bridge into the Drina than be disgraced,” Father Tadić said. He noted that a month after the nuns’ tragic deaths, equally terrible suffering was inflicted on the Muslim community.
Father Tadić went on to describe how all those taller than a rifle were killed and thrown into the river. He says the best evidence of this is provided by Goražde native Don Anto Baković, a priest of the Vrhbosna Archdiocese, who bore witness to the suffering of the Drina Martyrs, as well as the Muslims in the area of Goražde.
“He left us a powerful account of that in his books, which was later the basis for starting the process of beatification of the nuns, who were beatified on September 24th, 2011. They were beatified by Pope Benedict XVI after his envoy, Cardinal Amat, who then solemnly celebrated the Holy Mass in Zetra and read the bull on the beatification,” Tadić explained.
Tadić states that the nuns are a symbol of the suffering of the people of the Podrinje region and that the lesson for all of us is that love is far more valuable and noble than hatred. The sacrifice of the nuns, as he points out, sends a message that war does no one any good, but brings only suffering and loss.
Tadić emphasizes that all people should respect and honor each other, and that they should love themselves and one another. “And if we all did that, this world would be truly perfect,” says Tadić.
In the summer of 2021, when the foundation of the future church dedicated to the Drina Martyrs was consecrated, Catholic believers and officials were welcomed and supported by Mufti of Goražde Remzija Effendi Pitić, Imam Dženan Effendi Imamović, and Orthodox priest Mihajlo Andrić.
During the consecration, there was a young man from Herzegovina who saw an Orthodox priest coming to greet us Catholic priests and nuns and a bishop with ‘Praise be to Jesus,’ and we greet him with ‘Praise be to God.’ We hug because we are brothers in the priesthood. The same is the case when the Mufti of Goražde came. He greeted me with ‘Praise be to God,’ and I greeted him with ‘Es-selamu alaykum.’ We hugged and then the young man commented that we need such content in the media, to show that our religious officials are also friends,” Tadić recalls.
Dženan ef. Imamović believes that the suffering of the Drina Martyrs is an atrocity committed because the perpetrators lost their humanity the moment they lost the feeling that anything was sacred to them.
“For us, they are a symbol of sacrifice and suffering that many have endured for their faith and worldview. They especially symbolize the suffering of women who, throughout the numerous wars and aggressions in this region, endured perhaps the greatest hardships, preserving her chastity and dignity, while suffering long and in silence from the monstrosity of the perpetrators of injustices and crimes,” Imamović said. He adds that the attendance of the Mufti of Goražde, the premier religious authority in that part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the imam at the consecration ceremony for the future church clearly shows the Islamic Community’s support for the construction of the church dedicated to the Blessed Martyrs of the Drina.
Efendija Imamović is the coordinator of the Mufti’s congregation of Goražde for work with non-governmental organizations and is a member of the Committee for Interreligious Cooperation. He points out that meetings and communication among religious officials as well as joint activities and projects, in organizational terms, have been facilitated by the establishment of the Interreligious Council in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has had a Committee for Interreligious Cooperation in Goražde since 2010.
“Thanks to Islamic heritage, Muslims nurture a long tradition of living with others. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, even in the most difficult times endured by Muslims, they have not given up on this attitude. So, they want to continue to develop this tradition in the country with all those who share this desire. This attitude is the result of a deep conviction that a world of diversity is the world that the One who created it wants. We believe that Allah Almighty is not bothered by Bosnia and Herzegovina’s religious pluralism,” concludes Imamović. He adds that it is in the interests of various ‘elites’ that positive examples of co-existence remain in the shadows of negative events.
Tadić explains that no one can be more important to him than his neighbor, the neighbor who is closest to him, and that we must all be people who are ready to forgive each other and communicate with each other. He states that the people of Bosnia are very proud, referring to what Bosnian’s call inat which roughly translates as “stubbornness” or “spite.” “There’s no people more stubborn than Bosnians,” Tadić says.
Vildana Bašić from Goražde, an activist in the fields of peace-building and cultures of remembrance, believes that in our society, the memory of the victims of fascism and Nazism is preserved, but often in the wrong way.
“If we want to live in a society where we will be able to live and express ourselves freely, without repeating crimes and wars, it is important that we remember the victims of fascism. I also think it is important to distinguish between remembering the victims and reliving those events from the past. The Blessed Martyrs of the Drina are a symbol of resistance to the rapist and of the fight for women’s rights, and are a courageous example of preserving their chastity and their religious beliefs,” says Bašić. She concludes that young people should learn much more about the Drina Martyrs, the evils of fascism, and the positive values of anti-fascism through formal and non-formal education.
The Vrhbosna Archdiocese is the main investor in the construction of the church dedicated to the Blessed Martyrs of the Drina. Although Goražde is a city where a very small number of Catholics live, Father Tadić and his parishioners are working to successfully complete the construction project. He said they have strong motivation and desire because God always protects good and brave people. “I believe that every job that is done, or any construction, if God wants it to be built, then it will be, regardless of the number of believers,” says Tadić.
Tadić explains that construction is underway and that they have managed to get a bell for the church. “The bell was cast in Austria, by a company that has been casting bells for hundreds of years. One of our men from Bosanska Posavina also works there. When I ordered the bell and when he saw that we need the bell, it was made ahead of schedule. We were supposed to wait until the second month (2022), but it was done in 15 days. It reads ‘Blessed Martyrs of the Drina, pray for us,’” says Tadić.
He explained that “us” refers to all those who have suffered in the past and those who, like the Drina Martyrs, suffered the hardships of the wars that were fought in this region.
The rest of the construction of the Church of the Blessed Martyrs of the Drina will be completed in time, as Tadić said. “You know that when a house is built too fast, there are a lot of omissions. Better to go a little slower, but to do as God commands. I hope that the course of construction will be continuous and that we will be able to design a church which will be recognizable by all the paintings and stained glass which we plan to install. We want the life of the people of this region to be written on its walls,” concludes Tadić.

created: June 3rd, 2022

author: Alem Bajramović


text:
Woollen Garments to Set You Apart from the Crowd | Balkan Diskurs
Bojana Radić
June 6th, 2022
Although she is a professor of Serbian language and literature by profession, Renata Šikanjić Novaković, from Prijedor, expresses her creativity through designing and producing wool clothing under the brand name, “VunenaR.”
At first, Renata created these woolen garments exclusively for herself. She had no idea that years later, it would become such a big part of her life. Making clothes is a source of daily joy for her now, and she emphasizes just how hard it is for her to imagine a day without it.
“I have been making clothes for 26 years. At the time, I wasn’t aware of how much I could learn and progress over time, nor did I have ambitions to build a brand. Then at one point, I had the idea to present my pieces to people I didn’t know personally… and about ten years have passed since then!” Renata tells me.
She makes all kinds of clothing, but she admits that her favorite items to make are dresses, skirts, and sweaters.
“Fashion trends continuously compel me to make more challenging pieces of clothing,” she adds.
The techniques she uses to create these pieces include knitting, crocheting, and embroidery. She adds that she is currently perfecting sewing, and she hopes to expand to other fabrics as soon as possible. Her products are unique as their main fabric – wool – is not used often to produce the kinds of garments that she makes. A distinctive style and eye-catching motifs are what set her creations apart from the crowd, and, as Renata says, her special pieces find their customers.
The motifs on the clothes are the product of her spontaneous inspiration. Most often, they incorporate eyes, nature, or various characters.
“Currently, I am working on a dress whose dominant motif is the figure of a woman whose hair is a tree. It often happens that several motifs form a whole or one completely new motif. I don’t have a logical explanation for it, it just happens,” explains Renata.
She mostly creates from her imagination, but she also likes to listen to customers’ suggestions if their energy and aesthetics match. Each item requires a different length of time to produce, so while it sometimes takes only a few days to make a hat, making more complicated pieces can take months.
“In the last year, interest has decreased, but I attribute that to the whole situation with the pandemic,” says Renata. She adds, however, that she has not yet put that much effort into promoting her products. Her focus has been mostly on the creation of the pieces. However, with the recent launch of her sales site (https://www.vunena.com/), she hopes the situation will improve this year.

created: June 6th, 2022

author: Bojana Radić


text:
A Heroine without a Cape: A Woman from Banja Luka Rescues a Girl from the Whirlpools of the Vrbas River | Balkan Diskurs
Neda Vukadin
June 10th, 2022
Banja Luka resident Merima Gajić is known to her fellow citizens as the heroine of the city on the Vrbas, after rescuing a young girl who recently found herself in the whirlpools of the cold Vrbas River. For this heroic act, she has received recognition from citizens throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as leaders in Banja Luka.
The enthusiasm which Gajić’s act has generated across the country can be explained by the fact that the story had a positive ending. Although there were dozens of people walking on the famous Banja Luka City Bridge at that moment, it was Gajić who decided to risk her own life.  As Gajić explained to Balkan Diskurs, she left her youngest child Milica in the arms of her older daughter Anđela Completely focused on the girl in need of help, she only managed to say, “Don’t worry!” before jumping into the Vrbas.
“I wasn’t thinking about myself at all, because when I jumped in the Vrbas and opened my eyes, I realized that the dam was released, and considering that I grew up on the Vrbas, I wasn’t afraid of the speed of the Vrbas current. I know how to swim and that I know the terrain. My goal was just to get to the near-by willow, grab onto it with my right hand, hold the girl with my left hand and my feet, and keep us afloat as I push to the shore,” Gajić said.
Right as they got out of the water, she says that three police officers and two other citizens came to her aid to help the girl she had just rescued.
“I don’t know what would have happened if we hadn’t managed to reach that willow. There are a lot of tufa and whirlpools, and in my estimation, it all lasted maybe a minute, I can’t say for certain. As I was going down the coast towards the Vrbas, at one point it went through my head ‘I have children, God forbid something happens to them, would anyone help them?’ but it was just important for me to save the girl,” Gajić said.
As she stated, she hasn’t yet contacted the girl directly but is in touch with her family. The mother of the recued girl told her then that her daughter is fine now, but Gajić and the girl plan to get to know each other better in the future.
“There were a lot of people on the bridge and on the old raft at that time, but no one jumped into the water to help. Later, my daughter told me that a lady was shouting to help the girl,” Gajić recalled.
She emphasized that she is happy to have saved such a young life. In response to praise from her family, politicians, and fellow citizens who call her a hero, she says that she doesn’t see herself that way, but rather as an ordinary wife, mother, and citizen of Banja Luka.
“I could never act like everyone else. If there was a fire, I would jump in to help even though I have young children. Of course, I would have felt guilty, I don’t know how I would have looked my three children in the eye if I hadn’t helped the girl. My conscience wouldn’t have been at peace, especially when I found out that it was a minor. From my point of view, I believe that it is the duty of every citizen to help others in trouble, no matter what the trouble is, and here, while I am telling you this, I would do the same thing again without thinking,” Gajić pointed out.
Psychologist Simo Đukić explains the courageous act of the Banja Luka woman as the purest form of prosocial help and altruism, in which the helper is extremely selfless and does not expect to see any material or psychological rewards.
“The goal is thus to help a person even if the helper can suffer serious harm. It is, therefore, an example of pure and human interests of altruistic people, which some believe does not actually exist in such a form. However, I would say that it exists, which is evidenced by such heroic deeds,” said Đukić.
According to Đukić, reactions of pure altruism exemplified by such an act are not common because people are generally selfish in nature. Some believe that pure altruism, without any expectation of personal reward, be it physical or mental, does not exist. Many factors need to coincide for a person to act like Gajić did that day.
Đukić explains that her reaction process can be divided into five phases. The first was noticing the event itself. The second is to recognize it as significant, which is what motivated her to act.
“It was a bridge from which people often jump into the river, and for many passers-by, such an event doesn’t provoke the attention it deserves, although it should. Merima, therefore, stands out because she automatically recognized the unusualness and seriousness of the situation,” said Đukić.
The third phase, which Đukić describes as the most important, was taking responsibility.
“With this, Merima interrupted the psychological phenomenon of diffusion of responsibility, where, I guess at one point, she said to herself: ‘No one else will, you have to.’ Diffusion of responsibility assumes that the more observers there are in a situation, the less likely it is that anyone will help. People are preoccupied with the thought that someone else will do it, and so no one helps. Merima didn’t succumb to this phenomenon and took responsibility,” Đukić explained.
After the decision phase, the fourth phase is also important. Đukić describes this phase as the recognition that one has the capacity, knowledge, and ability to provide assistance.
“In this case, after the decision to help was made, this was the easier part, because Merima knows what swimming abilities and strength she has. In the case of some other accidents, it is very important not to harm yourself and be aware of the limits of your knowledge and skills. The last phase is the jump itself, after which the decision to help is final. The heroic act of Merima stands right here because she did not give time to distract her from the decision to help. Merima didn’t spend an hour calculating the dangers for herself or for her young children,” Đukić added.
The act of rescuing the girl from the Vrbas has been characterized as heroic, which the psychologist considers correct because “such reactions, as I said, are rare, and many factors played a role, which is good for the girl whose life was saved.”
“We can only assume what would have happened if a person like Merima had not been in the right place at the right time, but knowing the mechanisms in the background, it seems to me that the outcome would not be positive or good,” Đukić concluded.
He emphasized that just as there are altruistic people like Gajić, there are people who are prone to suicidal thoughts. It is not yet known whether this was a suicide attempt or an accident, but according to Đukić, one should not dismiss someone’s talk of harming themselves as cries for attention or poor jokes.

author: Neda Vukadin


text:
An Association that Normalizes Differences in College | Balkan Diskurs
Anja Zulić
June 13th, 2022
A regional example of positive practices is the Croatian LGBTIQ + association ZA-Pravo, which was founded two years ago at the University of Zagreb Law Faculty. This association fights against discrimination and works to promote the visibility of queer people in the university environment.
There are no organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina for students to fight against the violence and discrimination facing the LGBT + community. While the initiative “I Didn’t Ask for It” [Nisam Tražila]  has opened the door for tackling this issue, it has yet to be formalized as an organization. A regional example of positive practices is the Croatian LGBTIQ + association ZA-Pravo, which was founded two years ago at the University of Zagreb Law Faculty. This association fights against discrimination and works to promote the visibility of queer people in the university environment.
For students in ZA-Pravo, conservatism within the faculty is the main reason for their activism. In fact, their exclusion from the academic community could be said to have motivated the founding of the association.
“As expected, people opposed the idea. We have faced various obstacles regarding the registration and starting of the association, but we can proudly say that we haven’t given up. When there are loud voices from one side and when those voices actively lead to the endangerment of someone’s rights, acts of intolerance, or inappropriate comments – it is important to oppose them,” says ZA-Pravo.
Emina Bošnjak, executive director of the Sarajevo Open Center (SOC), pointed out that there is no student LGBT+ organization in any of the faculties across BiH. However, according to the information she has, attempts to form such an organization have been made at the public university in Tuzla.
“If I had to predict where it might happen first, I would guess that it would be in one of the philosophy faculties. Maybe in Tuzla, probably in Sarajevo,” Bošnjak added.
When it comes to the situation at certain faculties in BiH and the position of LGBT + students, Bošnjak highlights information she has received from people who contact the SOC, come to the events that they organize, or participate in their work.
“I don’t think I would be making a big mistake to say that those faculties where misogyny reigns and where cases of sexual harassment and violence against female students have been reported are far from receptive to issues of diversity in the context of sexual orientation and gender identity. These are still not places that will encourage LGBT + people to come out during their studies, nor will they provide effective protection in cases of violence and discrimination and clearly condemn homo / bi / transphobia,” said Bošnjak.
ZA-Pravo was founded on the International Day of Tolerance on November 16th, 2020, with the encouragement of Antonija Petričušić, a professor at the Department of Sociology at the Zagreb Faculty of Law. The Association was established in line with the concept of gay-straight alliances at American colleges. As Professor Petričušić said, she had the idea for such an association for years, and during of the pandemic, she decided to take action.
“What thrilled me was that gay and straight students came forward praising the idea and saying that this should have existed a long time ago. They didn’t know who was behind the idea, which means that they really believed in the idea. After just one month, we organized the founding assembly,” Petričušić recalls.
Today, the association has about 100 members, most of which are students. Professor Petričušić was the chair of the Board of Directors for the first year, after which she retired and left the leadership to the students. All decisions and activities are a matter of consensus.
Throughout history, student activism has brought about great social changes. Today, according to ZA-Pravo, LGBT + activism is very important due to the massive rise in recent years of the far-right, which aims to destroy LGBT + rights through spreading disinformation and moral panic. They are optimistic about future generations, because they believe that young people are increasingly inclined towards activism.
Although they are a relatively young association, they have already accomplished important things. They are unique in that they deal with LGBT + activism within the institution and there is no similar association at the Faculty of Law.
“So far, we have organized a scientific conference entitled ‘Development and Challenges of Protecting LGBTIQA + Rights,’ which we held on Human Rights Day.  Then there was the public debate ‘Are we tolerant?’ which was attended by Alan Bowman, the Canadian ambassador to Croatia, Boris Milošević, the Vice President for Human Rights and Social Affairs, and Vice Dean of the Faculty of Law, Mario Krešić. However, our greatest pride is the peer-to-peer support group for LGBT + students called ‘Qrug,’” the association notes.
When it comes to university and regional cooperation, the team from ZA-Pravo was at the Law Faculty in Rijeka in May, where they gave a lecture. So far, they have collaborated with the University of Cork and the University of Rotterdam as partners in the European University of Post-Industrial Cities (UNIC) institutional design project to organize the Rainbow Walkway to symbolically celebrate International Coming Out Day in front of the Law School building.
The existence of an association such as ZA-Pravo at the faculty is important because in formal education, the curriculum does not provide space for professors and students to deal with topics such as activism, citizen participation, and engagement in associations. On the other hand, it is important to show students that they are supported even when the courses they are being taught do not open such topics.
“At the faculties, we can support students by reacting to the first instances of discrimination and condemning such acts. Talking about social issues and problems in a specific way so as not to insult anyone gives the LGBT + student population a sense of belonging. It’s much easier for me to open such topics because of the subject I teach, but you can also encourage students with, for example, a pin or a bag in rainbow colors, etc,” said Professor Petričušić.
The SOC has information which was made available through the analysis of research on the position of LGBT + people in education, the labor market, and housing in BiH, and ways in which opportunities shape the socio-economic position of LGBT + people.
Bošnjak explains that according to this research from 2020, people usually come out during their time at university, which is especially true for LGBT + individuals who come from smaller communities. According to Bošnjak, around 49% of LGBT + people come out during their education to only a small circle of people, while just a quarter of them speak openly about it.
“It’s clear that direct short-term measures at universities should be aimed at creating a safe space for LGBT + students, which will depend not only on the individual courage and solidarity of LGBT + people but also on openness, work, and communication of the administration, professors, and supporters,” said Bošnjak.
As is the case in other countries in the region, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the activities of the “I Didn’t Ask for It” initiative brought to light numerous cases of sexual violence and harassment that occur in academic institutions. According to Bošnjak, the processes at the faculties that followed the repercussions of “I Didn’t Ask for It” opened the door for the faculties to deal with violence and discrimination against LGBT + people, first by acknowledging the existence of such violence and discrimination, and then by prevention.
The Sarajevo Open Center has participated in some of the processes of working on mechanisms to prevent sexual harassment, but also other forms of discrimination against LGBT + people in cooperation with the Sarajevo Academy of Performing Arts.
“Even if we manage to work on this with a large number of faculties, there will still be a sea of other problems that LGBT + people face while studying. Organizing associations of LGBT + students and faculty supporters would then be the right answer. Only these associations could create relevant and adequate measures in a timely manner for the administration, professors, and other students,” said Bošnjak.
In its less than two years of existence, ZA-Pravo has gained the attention not only of LGBT + people but also of the general public. People have heard that law students and professors have come together to change a discriminatory culture and promote tolerance. They have managed to create a safe place where LGBT+ students are accepted.
“I think that the existence of the association changes the climate in the Law Faculty and normalizes diversity, and it has been recognized by the administration because they invited us to coordinate certain projects. We cannot be ignored. Students are told about the existence of the association Za-Pravo on the orientation day. Erasmus students were made aware of it as well,” said Professor Petričušić. At the end of the conversation, he emphasized that if they manage to empower just one LGBT+ person through the existence and work of ZA-Pravo, their mission is a success.


text:
Witness Support During War Crimes Trials: Rising to the Challenge | Balkan Diskurs
Devon Fine | Léa Périllat
June 17th, 2022
While they are aware of various shortcomings, the Support Office says that they are constantly working to improve their resources so they can better serve witnesses and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).
Witnesses in war crimes cases are crucial for the evidentiary process. The Witness Support Office provides support in order to ensure that witnesses do not suffer any additional mental or physical consequences as a result of testifying. They also provide logistical assistance to help witnesses get to the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. While they are aware of various shortcomings, the Support Office says that they are constantly working to improve their resources so they can better serve witnesses and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).
As applied by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Law on the Protection of Witnesses under Threat and Vulnerable Witnesses provides protection measures in criminal proceedings. Similarly, the Law on the Witness Protection Program provides protection to witnesses before, during, and after criminal proceedings to enable them free and testimony.
A witness under threat is defined by law as a person whose personal safety or the safety of his or her family is endangered by participation in the proceedings, as a result of threats, intimidation, or similar actions pertaining to his or her testimony or a witness who has reasonable grounds to fear that such a danger is likely to result from testifying.
The category of vulnerable witness includes juveniles as well as witnesses who have been severely physically or mentally traumatized by the events of the offence or otherwise suffer from a serious mental condition rendering them especially vulnerable.
The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina determines measures of witness protection in the cases over which it presides. These measure most often include: the use of electronic devices for voice and/or image distortion; providing a separate room for testimonies; providing a separate and more discrete entrance that even the Court staff is not privy to; and using witnesses’ initials in place of their full names. Safeguards may remain in force for 30 years after the verdict has been handed down, depending on what the Trial Chamber determines in the case. In addition, revealing the identity of a protected witness is a criminal offence.
Witness protection measures are adopted when several factors are considered, including the type of crime, the mental state of the witness, and the immediate level of threat or intimidation. The Witness Support Office coordinates activities with the Witness Protection Office of the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) when it comes to protected witnesses.
After assessing the mental state of the witness, the Witness Support Office may request to be with the witness during court testimony.
Alma Taso-Deljković, head of the Witness Support Office of the Court of BiH, said that although they are psychologists, they are not involved with psychotherapy, but only assess the mental state of witnesses for trial.
“One of the very first things we do is understand what the victim expects from the Court throughout the process. At the end of the case, there is always the possibility that the victim will not be fulfilled or satisfied, but the support team can mitigate that as much as possible by laying out all expectations from the start,” said Taso-Deljković.
The members of the Witness Support Office are not there to help the witness overcome their trauma or to talk about the personal difficulties that they are facing. Their job is to explain the different stages of the trial and to be at witnesses’ sides when they are called to testify. The scope of their work is thus limited only to the needs of the witness in the course of the trial.
“Once the trial is over, our work is over,” Taso-Deljković explained. Although the Witness Support Office was created to function in this way, this implies that witnesses are no longer able to benefit from the support of the Office once the verdict has been handed down. However, reliving this trauma may reopen scars, triggering new wounds to heal. In this regard, long-term solutions and support are not feasible.
Conscious of these shortcomings, the Witness Support Office of the Court of BiH is trying to improve the resources they provide. Taso-Deljković stated that witnesses are always encouraged to call if they need any help. “In case they need psychological support or if they have a problem, we direct them towards centers for mental health and social workers,” said Taso-Deljković.
The nature of the work even takes a toll on the Witness Support Team themselves. “It is very important to have a good team to work with,” Alma Taso-Deljković describes. She adds that if the case becomes too difficult, they support each other.
Going forward, the Court of BiH is working with the Witness Support Office to conduct research with witnesses on the effectiveness of the support they received during criminal proceedings. This survey is similar to the one conducted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia in 2015. The results will enable them to make changes and improve the way they work to better serve witnesses in court.

author: Devon Fine | Léa Périllat


text:
Naša Djeca: A Chance for Young People | Balkan Diskurs
Ilma Husika
June 20th, 2022
Once they reach 18 and leave the orphanages in which they grew up, children without parental care as well as those with developmental difficulties are left on their own and, in the process, they face rejection by their communities.
The association Naša Djeca (Our Kids) from Mostar gives them the necessary education and support to build a life on their own.
Albina Sinani was left at an orphanage six days after she was born. She stayed there until she turned 18, and from that moment on, her real torments began. “There were difficult situations, ups and downs, because I had no support from the state or from anyone. I thought there was no one by my side and then they showed up and helped me,” Sinani said.
The people who showed up and helped Sinana were from Naša Djeca. They saw the lack of institutional support for underaged children without parental care and people with disabilities, so they decided to support them by teaching them how to build lives.
After being part of Naša Djeca, Sinani became independent and has been living alone for six years. She also works hard in a boutique which is her greatest source of hope. Sinani’s greatest wish is to finish school and continue to fight through life. “I don’t think you need to give up on anything. Just whatever you do, do it with your head held high and don’t rely on anyone,” Sinani said.
Adis Gaš, age 26, is another beneficiary of the association. He is in charge of maintaining the Association’s premises and the yard. The association means a lot to him, and he has already gained many skills. He is looking forward to working in a café where he will work as a waiter. “My favorite things I learned in this association is everything about cafés and mowing grass,” Gaš said.
Džana Gačanica, whose greatest wish is to study at the Faculty of Law and learn about human rights, is satisfied with her life and stay in Naša Djeca. She went through a difficult phase in life. When she was little, she suffered a burn and had to go to Italy for surgery. Since then, she has been on a special diet. As a representative of the association in the Youth Council with disabilities, Gačanica often visits Sarajevo, which she believes is the most beautiful city. “When I attend the Youth Council meetings, I first prepare a lot,” Gačanica pointed out.
Her current hobby is learning English, and although it’s difficult for her, she isn’t giving up. She also works in a boutique, where her top priority is making sure that the customers are satisfied. “When customers come in, I feel fulfilled and I invite them to come in larger numbers so that we have more work to do,” said Gačanica.
Naša Djeca was founded in 2012 as an association of citizens and friends of children without parental care and people with disabilities. The first beneficiaries were Džana, Aida, and Zejna, and then it grew into a much larger number of young people. Project manager Sunčica Kragulj said that she is very pleased by their progress, and many of their beneficiaries have already built lives, careers, and families. Meanwhile, people with disabilities need lifelong support.
“We help them develop household skills, acquire work habits, find employment, manage money, and everything else necessary for a young person to have an independent life,” Kragulj explains.
Naša Djeca is funded by donations from BiH citizens as well as the diaspora, particularly members living in England and Sweden. Since it is difficult to finance their work through donations alone, they also apply for projects that assist with education and employment in order to strengthen and improve the association.
Lejla Pehilj, an educator at Naša Djeca, explains that beneficiaries must learn basic things and values, so they provide them with everything a young person needs to go through life on their own.
“Our beneficiaries are children with disabilities who have all come from orphanages. In orphanages across our country, the problem is that others do everything for the children. There is someone doing everything for them for 18 years. Then the child is sent into the streets with just a bag,” Pehilj emphasized.
The association works on all aspects of personal development, and after the person acquires certain knowledge and skills, the expert team assesses what occupation they are best suited for. Pehilj said that young people with disabilities have the opportunity to learn work skills, manage obligations, and maintain a job. “They just need to be given a chance, because there are types of jobs that they can do better than a person without any disability,” Pehilj said.
To develop business skills and work habits, they opened a second-hand boutique where the association’s beneficiaries work. The boutique receives donations of clothes and shoes from local citizens, and then the best and most beautiful modern items are selected. It all started with collecting clothes, and then, through the workshops Igru Prodavnice [Play Stores], they assessed the abilities of the girls and gave them tasks accordingly.
“One girl doesn’t know how to read and write, but she knows how to recognize colors and she keeps things tidy. Another girl goes to the bank, collects the earnings, and signs the bill. The third uses the cash register. The three of them complement each other,” explained Pehilj.
Another project called “Učim biti konobarica i šankerica” [I’m learning to be a waitress and a bar tender] is currently underway, which was launched with the aim of teaching young people with disabilities how to make and serve coffee. Kragulj said that they have practical jobs for this project as well.

author: Ilma Husika


text:
Inclusion in Action: New Energy and Strength in “Dragon’s Heart” | Balkan Diskurs
Selmir Smajić
June 24th, 2022
“I never had a better coffee than this one,” “Great job, man, congratulations,” “Wow, your coffee was so good, congratulations!” These words can be heard often in Zmajevo Srce [Dragon’s Heart], the only café in Tuzla where people with Down syndrome and other disabilities work as waiters. Such words and praise mean a lot to them. They understand everything very well and they always remember what you order.
Edin Mahuzuić, aka “Popaj,” is one of the employees at Zmajevo Srce. His leg was amputated last year, he has diabetes, and he cannot see out of his left eye. “I got a new job opportunity. I feel so good. I work with children who understand me. When something is said to them, they always repeat it, and once they learn it, they always do it right, so it’s great and fantastic,” said Mahuzuić.
Regarding working with his colleagues, fellow waiters who have Down syndrome and other disabilities, Mahuzuić describes it as therapeutic because they give him energy every day, and they have a nice relationship with guests who understand them.
“I was scared at first because I had never had contact with people with Down syndrome, but now it’s fantastic. It’s better for me now than those 25 years of working with people who don’t have any health issues. It’s great for me and I can’t wait to come to work every day,” said Mahuzuić, who has worked as a waiter for many years.
Zmajevo Srce Café is the first café to employ people with Down syndrome and other disabilities in Tuzla Canton. The café was opened as part of the Zmajevo Srce Association, which helps vulnerable segments of society through various projects which involve the promotion of culture, customs, history, and music.
Omer Isović, the president of the Zmajevo Srce Association and the owner of the café of the same name, came up with the idea to open a cafe and employ people with Down syndrome and other disabilities last year, after collaborating with his longtime friend Almir Ikanović. The idea was to do activities for people with Down syndrome where they would work in cafés as waiters.
Isović started thinking that working with one person in a café is not a good idea, because it would highlight their health issues and disabilities. After that, he came up with the idea to do the same thing in several cafés – a dozen in Tuzla and one in Živinice. It lasted about two months and people were thrilled. They were happy to come to socialize, drink coffee, and eat pancakes, prepared by people with Down syndrome and other disabilities.
“The café was obliged to pay per diems to the workers because it was not a project but good will and our effort,” said Isović. He explains that when the project was finalized, the children were overjoyed because they really cared about working and actively showing of what they are capable of.
After that, Isović and parents of children with Down syndrome started working on the project. However, because of COVID-19 the café opened later than planned, on May 20th of this year. It has received support from many companies and the government of Tuzla Canton.
“We didn’t encounter any obstacles. Everyone liked the idea and simply supports us. There are people who come in alone to help, call us, and give donations in the form of a drink or something similar,” said Isović. He emphasized the immeasurable contribution of two parents of children with Down syndrome who worked together with them from the very start and give maximum support to the café.
According to Isović, young waiters in the Zmajevo Srce Café always say that they feel happy after they finish their shift.
One waiter, Saša, was supposed to go to the seaside with his parents, but instead he decided to stay and work. “I want to buy a swimming pool from the money I earned,” said Saša. He adds that he has a place to stay even if his parents go to the seaside.
The waiters’ shifts at Zmajevo Srce Café are three hours per day, and Isović says that they often want to stay rather than go home.
“They would work more hours, but I have to make sure they don’t get tired out so that they come to us well rested the next day,” Isović explains.
Zmajevo Srce Café is a project that aims to be self-sustainable, and they benefit greatly from the interactions between guests and staff.
“Our guests communicate with our waiters and special connections are developed there. We already have regular guests. They come for the best coffee in town because we really have good coffee. You will not get this from the waiters in most cafés because they are tired, and these boys and girls of ours have a special energy,” said Isović.
In the near future, they plan to install ramps to improve the accessibility to the café and bar, given that the café also employs disabled people who use wheelchairs. They also plan to paint the walls with artwork closely related to people with Down syndrome.
Zmajevo Srce Café is also unique in that after the Friday prayers, which are held on Fridays at noon, the coffee is free, because the Turalibeg Mosque and the Islamic Community are nearby.

author: Selmir Smajić


text:
The American Fight for Reproductive Rights, from a Bosnian Perspective | Balkan Diskurs
Mia Baxley
June 27th, 2022
The preservation of reproductive rights is one of the greatest challenges to personal rights in 2022. Activists in both the developed and developing worlds share this common fear as governments large and small slowly roll back on previously established legal rights.
A new report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) indicates that at least half of all pregnancies every year across the world are unintended due to intimate sexual violence, wartime rape, and a general lack of access to birth control and sexual education (UNFPA, 2022).
On May 2nd, 2022, it was announced via an unprecedented document leak that the Supreme Court of the United States has discussed plans to overturn the ruling of Roe v. Wade (POLITICO, 2022). Roe was a landmark 1973 decision by the Supreme Court which legalized abortion across all 50 states and guaranteed protections for women’s reproductive health as long as the ruling is law (BBC, 2022). The case initially challenged the bans on abortion in the states of Texas and Georgia, where abortion was banned except for cases in which the health of the mother was at risk, and as such, the ruling by the Supreme Court voided nearly every major state abortion ban (Roe v. Wade, 1973).
Not even two months after the document leaked to the public, the US Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to abortion by overturning ruling of Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022. According to the Guttmacher Institute, at least 21 U.S. states have laws or constitutional amendments already in place that would make them certain to attempt to ban abortion as quickly as possible and an additional four states are likely to ban abortions in the near future.
Since 1973, the issue of abortion in the United States has become a sociopolitical competition between pro-choice activists fighting to preserve access to abortion on demand and pro-life activists seeking to overturn the federal decision. The mostly-conservative pro-life camp has celebrated the draft opinion by Justice Samuel Alito as a major victory in the push to de-legalize abortion at the federal level (CNN, 2022). On the other hand, an estimated 70 percent of voting-age Americans support pro-choice policies, according to activist organizations such as NARAL Pro-Choice America, which have openly decried the current trend of the erosion of abortion rights (NARAL Pro-Choice America, 2022).
Bosnia-Herzegovina is no stranger to the fight for reproductive rights. The country’s very recent history of forced pregnancy in the context of genocidal rape has set this small Balkan nation on a similar track to protect the right to choose one’s own reproductive destiny.
During the Bosnian War in the early 1990s, the combatant Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) adopted a policy of genocidal rape and forced pregnancy to “plant the seeds” of ethnic Serbs in Bosnia and weaken the ethnic Bosniak bloodline (Weitsman, 2008). In response to this crime, the 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court formally recognized genocidal rape and forced pregnancy during conflict as a crime against humanity (ICC, 1998).
For female survivors of wartime rape in Bosnia, the act was used almost exclusively for the end goal of producing a pregnancy against the victim’s will. Because of the VRS’s genocide policy, an estimated 20,000 to 50,000 women were raped by VRS soldiers, with many reporting being raped multiple times a day (Pehlivan, 2021). Rapes occurred in colloquially-named “rape camps” and other detention centers around the country, but they also occasionally occurred inside the victim’s own home (Husaric, 2021).
The children themselves were also victims of the societal perception that they were tainted from birth. With many of them now well into adulthood, the estimated 2,000-4,000 children born from rape during the war were often labeled as “forgotten children,” “invisible children,” and the Serbian title “Chetnik” (SEMA Network, 2020). As children with no singular ethnic identity in a divided country, many of them either grew up without a place in Bosnian society or were adopted by couples overseas (SEMA Network, 2020). Some children from this generation who were adopted out of Bosnia have decided to return in recent years to develop a stronger understanding of the circumstances of their birth (Nguyen, 2014).
Women’s Rights and Abortion in Bosnia
Even in the highly conservative region, abortions across the Balkans are legal up until the tenth or twelfth week of pregnancy, owing in part to pre-existing laws from the former Yugoslavia which permitted the procedure up to this deadline (Rašević, 1993). Article 191 of the Federal Constitution of Yugoslavia stated that, “it is a human right to decide on the birth of children,” thereby enshrining abortion access as a fundamental human right (Znaj znanje, accessed 2022). The open availability of abortion in Yugoslavia meant that nearly 100 percent of abortions in the Federation occurred in medical facilities and death rates for patients were nearly nonexistent (Rašević, 1993). With the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991, the newly emergent republics were left to determine their own abortion laws, with some choosing to rework and update their previously existing rules.
In Bosnia, the country’s federal makeup as two entities complicates the legal definition of abortion, among many other laws which are unevenly enforced and distributed across the nation (OECD Development Centre, 2019). In Republika Srpska, abortion is allowed up to the tenth week of pregnancy, but it is primarily allowed in cases of rape, fetal impairment, incest, and risk to the health and life of the mother (Human Reproduction Programme, 2021). In the “Strategy for Improving Sexual and Reproductive Health in the Republika Srpska (2019-2029),” abortion was deemed “a significant social, medical and public health problem […] also an economic problem due to increased costs for the treatment of immediate, early and late complications and infertility” (Republika Srpska Government, 2019). The 2019 Strategy report also issued a government-level alarm about the use of abortion as a regular method of birth control and sought alternatives to reduce the incidences of abortion (Republika Srpska Government, 2019).
Because of the country’s heavy decentralization, activists report that access to abortion is uneven for women across the two entities (Krupalija, 2020). It is not uncommon for some hospitals to refuse to perform the procedure for elective reasons and for others to not have the proper equipment or expertise to be able to perform it at all (Krupalija, 2020). The human rights organization Sarajevo Open Center also reports concern over the rising cost of legal abortions and an increase in underground clinics in small towns and villages which may drive poor and rural women to use these resources (ASTRA Network, 2019).
Today in Bosnia, several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) exist to fight for women’s rights and ensure reproductive freedom. One of Bosnia’s first centers focusing exclusively on reproductive health was Medica Zenica, founded in 1993 in response to the widely reported cases of wartime rape (Medica Mondiale, 2013). Medica Zenica previously provided access to gynecological services for survivors of war-time rape, but it now mainly responds to intimate partner violence and human trafficking in peacetime (Medica Zenica, accessed 2022).
Bosnian women also benefit from the work of outside reproductive healthcare organizations. The UNFPA first opened its doors in Bosnia in 1995 to help young Bosnians become more aware of their reproductive healthcare options (UNFPA, accessed 2022). Since 2019, UNFPA Bosnia has worked together with the government of Switzerland and the UN to assist in the development of reproductive health resources for young Bosnians in at-risk rural communities (UNFPA, 2022). UNFPA Bosnia has also spearheaded a novel vaccination program in the capital of Sarajevo to vaccinate young Bosnian women against the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) to combat the endemic of cervical cancer among Bosnian women (UNFPA, 2022).
Abortion rates in Bosnia are high due to the lack of access to sexual health education. Despite Bosnia’s ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1993, which calls for equal access to all forms of education, there is currently no national age-appropriate sexual education curriculum (Sexual Rights Initiative, 2014). Republika Srpska’s 2019 Strategy specifically called for raising awareness of modern family planning methods as a means to reduce the current abortion rate (Republika Srpska Government, 2019). UNFPA Bosnia has also been working with local NGOs in both Sarajevo and Banja Luka, the capital of Republika Srpska, to create a nationwide out-of-school comprehensive sex education program that would close the educational gap in rural areas (UNFPA, 2021).
In the US, alongside the current threat to reproductive rights, the sexual education curricula of 37 US states require lessons on abstinence (a total refrain from sex) but accurate information on contraception is only mandated in 18 states (Planned Parenthood, accessed 2022). Only 13 states require medically accurate sex education, while 19 states focus exclusively on abstinence (World Population Review, 2022). As a consequence of inadequate sex education, the US has the highest teen pregnancy rate of any developed nation, and these consequences are more evident in states where students are not given proper knowledge on their sexual health (Stanger-Hall and Hall, 2011).
On the issue of abortion, the US and Bosnia share a number of similarities. Because of heavy decentralization, both countries struggle to uniformly apply reproductive rights and education to all citizens. However, many Bosnian women are intimately aware of a time when their reproductive rights were taken from them by force. It remains to be seen how Roe’s reversal will affect women and future generations born from this decision.

author: Mia Baxley