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Closed Indefinitely: The Disappearance of the Kineska Radnja from Bosnia-Herzegovina | Balkan Diskurs
Hunter Zhao
December 3rd, 2017
In the aftermath of the Bosnian War, Bosnia-Herzegovina was nearly in shambles. The conflict had wreaked havoc on the national economy and crippled its financial infrastructure. Yet, by the turn of the 21st century, hundreds of Chinese immigrants began moving into the country, establishing kineska radnjas wherever they settled.
In the aftermath of the Bosnian War, Bosnia-Herzegovina was nearly in shambles. The conflict had wreaked havoc on the national economy and crippled its financial infrastructure. Yet, by the turn of the 21st century, hundreds of Chinese immigrants began moving into the country, establishing kineska radnjas wherever they settled. At one point, these small general stores saturated the entire country and were considered an integral part of everyday life. Today, nearly all of them have disappeared.
As we headed towards Rajlovac from Buća Potok, our taxi driver pointed towards the nearby houses that lined the streets. “For seven kilometers, there were kineska radnjas at every second house. It was incredible; the Chinese were everywhere. Now, they are all leaving Bosnia,” he lamented. “Around fifteen years ago, everyone used to come here to shop. You’d park your car and just walk along the outlet mall.” It is almost impossible to imagine that this road was once considered an “unofficial Chinatown” by the natives of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Today, Bosnian auto shops, furniture stores, and grocers line the streets. Further exploration revealed faded hànzì (Chinese symbols) and rusted “KINESKA PRODAVNICA” (“CHINESE SHOP”) advertisements that serve as makeshift memorials of what was once a bustling ethnic enclave of Chinese immigrants and a heaven-on-earth for thrifty shoppers. Despite the fact that the hundreds of kineska radnjas (literally translated as “Chinese shops”) of Safeta Zajke have now been reduced to only a handful of stores, there are still many Chinese migrants who continue to live in Bosnia. These shop owners do not see this country merely as a place for profiteering. To many, Bosnia is their new home: a place to settle down, to start a family, and, even, to be buried.
Chinese Immigrants to Bosnia-Herzegovina: The Numbers
Despite an overall decrease in Chinese immigration from 2015 to 2016, the People’s Republic of China remains one of the largest sources of immigrants to Bosnia. According to the Ministry of Security’s Migration Profile for the Year 2016, the largest number of permanent residency permits was issued to Chinese applicants, who made up over 20% of the overall pool. In fact, the 161 granted permits in 2016 marked a 71.28% increase from the year prior. As the largest source of foreign-born permanent residents in Bosnia, China is unique from the next top nine sending countries and is the only country situated outside of Europe and the Middle East. Immigrants from China also make up a significant proportion of migrants whose residency permits were revoked in 2016. More interestingly, no Chinese residents in Bosnia have applied for citizenship since 2014. While immigration to Bosnia itself is unremarkable and has been continuous throughout history, the unique characteristic of Chinese immigration calls for deeper analysis.
Current Framework for Discussion
Chinese presence in Bosnia has largely been discussed in terms of the overarching economic relationship between the two countries. Formalized financial cooperation has been in effect since 2012 through the “1+16” Framework, which refers to a number of agreements and mechanisms between the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) and China. An example of this framework in action can be seen with the 350 million euro investment from the China Development Bank to help construct the controversial Stanari Thermal Power Plant located just outside of Banja Luka. A consequence of the transitional state of the economy, Bosnia’s financial instability and growing debt has drawn the attention of Chinese investors.
Bosnia has also implemented the expansion of Chinese tourism throughout its cities. Partnering with Serbia and Hungary, the country also began working on a joint program in early March 2017 to help facilitate Chinese tourism between the Balkan states. In addition to its geographical beauty and rich cultural history, Bosnia, and Sarajevo more specifically, is especially attractive to Chinese tourists given the overwhelming popularity of the 1972 Yugoslav film, Walter Defends Sarajevo. In addition to demonstrating the brotherhood and unity of the Yugoslav people during World War II, the film contains beautiful panoramas of the Sarajevan landscape. Having garnered such continued success with its Chinese audience, a remake of the film is currently in-production by China Star Media and is expected for release in the next few years.
Still Open for Business
Traditional discourse regarding the Chinese in Bosnia has consistently overlooked the presence of economic migrants who have been living in the country since the end of the Bosnian War. As is the case in many other parts of the world, Chinese immigrants can typically be characterized as entrepreneurial migrants, setting up family-run small businesses wherever they choose to settle. It can be easy for many Bosnian natives to take for granted the establishment of Chinese businesses throughout the country; the kineska radnja has already become akin to the general store.
Stepping into one of these kineska radnjas can be slightly disorienting given the incredible magnitude of items for sale. From Bosnian national flags to discount makeup, second-hand clothing to every electronic gadget imaginable, these stores are typically a cross between a pawnshop and a wholesale supplier. However, once you step into one kineska radnja, it is as though you have stepped into every kineska radnja; despite what initially appears to be an eclectic collection, it quickly becomes apparent that each store sells nearly identical goods. “Many of us [Chinese] come from the Zhejiang province. Every couple months, I return to China to pick up goods for my store and others,” said Xiaohui* from Wenzhou. Now in his mid-30s, he had not considered moving to Bosnia until he married his wife whose family had already set up a kineska radnja in Sarajevo in the early 2000s. He inherited his in-laws’ business and has now been running the store for the past six years. “Many Chinese are leaving Bosnia; they go back home [China] or they go to Tržnica Arizona in Bosnia’s Brčko District.” Citing a downturn in the economy and dwindling day-to-day business, Xiaohui worries about the future prospects of living in Bosnia. Despite the fact that his wife is a naturalized citizen, the couple has agreed that if they have children they will be raised in China, not in Bosnia.
Boqin* from Guangzhou, the 20-year-old niece of another kineska radnja owner, provides an additional reason why many Chinese migrants have decided to leave Sarajevo. Unlike her family’s business, other shop owners literally “packed up and left” as a result of accumulated debt owed to the government. She complains, “Many of us do not know how to deal with the taxation laws here. The government does not say anything. The embassy does not say anything. No one here explains any of it to us and then there is the language barrier as well.” The government’s failure to provide sufficient information about taxation policies or how those taxes will be spent has contributed to the mass exodus of kineski radnjas from Sarajevo; in order to avoid liability for enormous debts, many business owners have fled. “It is so peaceful here, but I am only here to work for my uncle. After I make enough money, I want to move back to China to start a family,” says Boqin. While older Chinese migrants find comfort in the peaceful environment and relaxed lifestyle of the region, their younger counterparts are more interested in returning to the bustling cities of urban China.
Grandmother Jun*, originally from Rui’an, has been in Bosnia for over fifteen years. Leaving her children back in China, she and her husband opened up their wholesale shoe store on Safeta Zajke at the turn of the last millennium. “After the war, the price of land was extremely cheap. Everyone from our city began moving over here because of the available opportunities,” says Jun. “I love it here. My son even moved here after he got married and brought my grandson.” When asked if her grandson would go to school in Bosnia, she expressed her preference that he go to a private school and, eventually, to an international college. None of the shopkeepers interviewed expressed an interest to send their children to a government-run public school in Bosnia.
A Better Deal?
The disappearance of the kineska radnja and of Chinese migrants from Bosnia is a bittersweet phenomenon. On one hand, the loss of Chinese general stores means that many consumers have lost access to cheap everyday goods. Issues related to taxation policy transparency and bureaucratic red tape are understood to be some of the primary factors driving out these Chinese businesses. As the country moves forward, the famous outlet malls comprised of kineska radnjas, such as that of the early 2000s on Safeta Zajke, exist only in memory. The ongoing emigration of the Chinese from Bosnia calls into question whether or not a “Chinatown” could ever be established in a similar fashion to those in her neighboring countries of Croatia and Serbia. On the other hand, the dwindling flow of Chinese migrants also has a silver lining. As the Bosnian economy continues to mature, larger corporations recognize the country’s investment potential. According to Jun, the establishment of private malls and businesses, like the BBI Center and the Sarajevo City Center, are responsible for the closure of many kineska radnjas. Reduced tariff rates for large imports of goods favors large corporations as opposed family-run, small businesses. However, the entry of the former allows consumers to purchase higher quality goods and represents the continued integration of Bosnia into the international market.
“My friends have all left, but I won’t leave,” emphasizes Jun. “I visit China during the holidays, yet I always return to Sarajevo. This is my home. This is my family’s home.”
*Names have been changed in order to protect the privacy of interviewed kineski radnja owners.
**Cover Photo: Hunter Zhao

created: December 3rd, 2017

author: Hunter Zhao


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BiH’s Media Landscape: Unsustainable and Partially Free | Balkan Diskurs
Tatjana Milovanović
December 15th, 2017
“Journalists in both entities remain vulnerable to threats and hate speech, and several journalists have reported leaving the country because they feared for their safety.”
“Journalists in both entities remain vulnerable to threats and hate speech, and several journalists have reported leaving the country because they feared for their safety.”
This was the opening statement of the 2017 Europe & Eurasia Media Sustainability Index’s chapter on Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), which has been given an overall average score of 1.78 – same as neighboring Serbia – classifying these media systems as unsustainable.
More than twenty years have passed since the war ended and BiH is still burdened by the problems of that era, including political instability and economic decline. Most of the media in BiH are divided along entity, ethnic, political and economic lines (Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, 2017).
BiH is a candidate for EU membership, but, in order to become a member state, it must first satisfy certain requirements related to freedom of expression and freedom of media set forth by the Copenhagen criteria. Despite the fact that BiH submitted its membership application in February 2016, politicians are showing an ever-growing lack of consensus regarding the adoption of reforms required by the EU. As for BiH’s two entities, the government of Republika Srpska (RS) continues to resist strengthening state institutions, while political decision-making in the Federation of BiH (FBiH) is based on national interests rather than citizens’ needs (Media Sustainability Index, 2017).
In Reporters without Borders’ 2017 World Press Freedom Index, BiH was ranked number 65 out of 180 worldwide according to the level of freedom available to its journalist. The index pointed out that BiH has the world’s most liberal media freedom laws but their implementation is held back by a saturated judicial system. This situation is exacerbated by the fact that the pro-government media continue to enjoy direct and indirect state subsidies.
Amnesty International’s report, The State of the World’s Human Rights 2016/17, noted that in BiH a pattern of threats and political pressure continues as do repeatedly documented attacks against journalists, freedom of expression, and the integrity of media outlets.
The Council of Ministers of BiH has admitted that journalists are often targets of threats and political pressure and has made an official recommendation to the Institution of Ombudsmen for Human Rights of BiH that it compile a report on the status of journalists and track cases whereby journalists have been targeted or threatened. The report stated that there are a large number of media outlets operating in BiH but that “significant growth of media outlets has not contributed to a better status of journalist. Quite the contrary, journalists have found themselves in a very unstable and insecure labor market, resulting in an environment which is increasingly worsening.”
According to Freedom House’s Freedom of the Press report from 2015, journalists in BiH sometimes experience difficulty when trying to gain access to government proceedings. For example, politicians and government agencies have been known to restrict access to public events to only a few select reporters. Meanwhile, it is said that journalists from BN TV and Serbia’s Beta News Agency are banned from covering the Republika Srpska’s Presidential Palace. Self-censorship is pervasive, as the few journalists and media outlets that do engage in critical reporting risk lawsuits, political pressure, and the withdrawal of financial support.
Another significant challenge for BiH’s media makers is access to information, which can be greatly hindered due to long, bureaucratic processes and governments who often do not respect their own laws. During a panel session in Mediacentar Sarajevo, editor-in-chief of Start BiH Magazine, Rubina Čengić, shared her experience with regard to access to information. “When you ask institutions for an explanation for something, they refer to the law. And after 15 days, they send you a conclusion that they cannot give you a particular document, [although you are actually] seeking an explanation on why a particular decision was made, and things like that. To me, that’s a very serious and grave abuse, and a way of making journalists’ work more difficult.”
Not only is the political climate subversive to independent and free media, so is the market. The difficult economic situation and resulting decrease in advertising revenues have put pressure on the media to commercialize their content, which has, in turn, made them more dependent on external funding. The 2017 Media Sustainability Index reveals particularly low salaries in BiH when compared to other Western Balkan countries. The poor working conditions journalists must endure may encourage self-censorship, but also lead to cutbacks in news production.
Despite its issues, BiH’s media is considered to be partly free, and at least somewhat open when compared to other Balkan countries (Freedom House, 2017). The BiH population appears doubtful about the freedom of their press or are unable to access the full range of available media. Much of the media does indeed remain tied to the goals of the ethnic group or political party they represent and only a few outlets attempt political neutrality.
This article has been published as part of the “Real Voice of Journalism” project. The project is funded by the European Union through the small grants programme “Protecting Media Freedom and Freedom of Expression in the Western Balkans” implemented by the Croatian Journalists’ Association as part of the regional project “Western Balkan’s Regional Platform for Advocating Media Freedom and Journalists’ Safety”, which is carried out through the partnership of six regional journalists’ associations – Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS), Association of BH Journalists (BHJ), Croatian Journalists’ Association (CJA), Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK), Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM), and Trade Union of Media of Montenegro (TUMM).

source: news-balkandiskurs

created: December 15th, 2017

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

author: Tatjana Milovanović


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The Center for Children, Youth and Family: Building an Active and Cohesive Community in Laktaši | Balkan Diskurs
Andrea Aleksić
December 17th, 2017
The NGO Center for Children, Youth and Family in Laktaši has been working for 14 years to build a responsible and active civil society by promoting values and social cohesion in their community and offers children and their parents access to leisure activities through informal creative and recreational education.
The NGO Center for Children, Youth and Family in Laktaši has been working for 14 years to build a responsible and active civil society by promoting values and social cohesion in their community and offers children and their parents access to leisure activities through informal creative and recreational education.
Seven years ago, the Center implemented a UNICEF-sponsored project called “Enhancing Social Protection and Inclusion in BiH”. Violeta Sandic, the coordinator for youth and international cooperation, explains: “During the project’s implementation, the organization’s human and material resources grew. This project was, in many ways, a defining moment in our work. Using a professional and team-oriented approach, we are trying to build a responsible and active civil society and promote environmental values and social cohesion in the community. We try to attract young volunteers who will follow our idea and work on its development.”
Since Laktaši is a rural municipality with many villages, the importance of such an organization is significant. Some of the Center’s basic activities include creating playgrounds for preschool children, an annual eco-action program called “Let’s do it”, humanitarian activities, and the implementation of numerous youth projects, which most notably includes those within the Erasmus+ program.
Within the framework of the European Commission’s Erasmus+ program, the organization has participated in volunteer projects related to youth activism. As part of the program’s European Voluntary Service (EVS), it has also hosted and sent volunteers to other European countries. As a result of these activities, the Center has established partnerships with organizations from across Europe. There have also been many personal friendships forged through this program.
Francesca Fornari, a volunteer from Italy who stayed at the Center as part of the EVS program, has come to realize how important the work of such non-governmental organizations is. “I am sure that people living in rural towns such as Laktaši benefit greatly from contact with people living abroad. In many cases, unfortunately, young people living in smaller countries don’t have much opportunity for intercultural encounters, not only in the Balkans but also in general. What the Center for Children, Youth and Family is doing is excellent, because it connects young people of different cultural and religious backgrounds. Such interactions broaden their views and understanding, which is very useful,” she explains.
The Center currently has four employees, 15 permanent associates and consultants, and around 20 active volunteers.
In addition to the Erasmus+ program, volunteers contribute their efforts to the “Be a Man Club” project, implemented in cooperation with the NGO Perpetuum Mobile from Banja Luka. One of the Club’s active volunteers, Miloš Kovačević volunteers works on various projects and workshops aimed to enhance the Center’s work.
“The Center for Children, Youth and Family provides great benefits for Laktaši. Even though it operates under difficult conditions, it still manages to maintain its mission and to work on some significant projects. No matter how hard it sometimes is to plan and organize even the smallest of events, it is important to try, because no door opens without knocking,” says Kovačević.
The Center engages members of all ages through the various content it offers. In order to continue realizing new ideas, the organization needs the support and understanding of the local community, which it seeks to achieve by familiarizing people with its work.
“We are currently trying to better educate young people, especially primary school students, about the work we do here. Sometimes parents don’t allow their children to spend a lot of time with us because they are also not familiar with our work. This prompted us to implement a project, supported by the Schüler Helfen Leben Foundation, to familiarize primary school students and their parents with our work. The project has had significant results so far and has increased the number of young people interested in working with us. So far, we’ve held a series of workshops about substance abuse, alcoholism, bullying and other topics that are important to young people,” Kovačević explains.
In conclusion, the Center for Children, Youth, and Family is an important example of how inclusion, local engagement, cooperation, and persistence can have a positive impact community cohesion and youth involvement at the grassroots level. The Center can serve as an example to other community leaders and activists that change is possible, even under the difficult circumstances under which we all must operate.
This publication has been selected as part of the Srđan Aleksić Youth Competition, a regional storytelling competition that challenges youth to actively engage with their own communities to discover, document, and share stories of moral courage, interethnic cooperation, and positive social change. The competition is a primary component of the Post-Conflict Research Center’s award-winning Ordinary Heroes Peacebuilding Program, which utilizes international stories of rescuer behavior and moral courage to promote interethnic understanding and peace among the citizens of the Western Balkans.
Support for this program has been graciously provided by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

created: December 17th, 2017

author: Andrea Aleksić


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Kindness is a Language the Deaf Can Hear and the Blind Can See | Balkan Diskurs
Jasmila Talić-Kujundžić
December 20th, 2017
This is the story of four individuals who are taking action to create positive change for those living with hearing, vision, and mobility impairments in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The disabled face discrimination and other various challenges on a daily basis, but many have chosen to face those challenges head-on and advocate that the most difficult obstacles are those that exist within your own mind. This is the story of four individuals who are taking action to create positive change for those living with hearing, vision, and mobility impairments in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“I am a child of deaf parents, so sign language is my native language – I learned it growing up with my parents and can’t even remember the first time I began using it. Living and growing up in the world of silence has given me enormous wealth, including the knowledge of sign language,” says 25-year-old Berina Čorć from Zenica.
In an interview with Balkan Diskurs, Berina explained that growing up with deaf parents is not at all easy since the roles of child and parents are often reversed – the parents need the child to help them and interpret for them, especially in public institutions.
Based on her parents’ experience, Berina believes that persons with special needs are not given sufficient opportunities in education and employment. “My parents completed primary and secondary school and it is unfortunate that many deaf people go into the same jobs, which are very limited. Men are mostly mechanics, auto body painters, shoemakers or house painters, whereas women are either seamstresses or work at a printing shop. It doesn’t matter that deaf persons have the desire to learn new skills both at the high school and university level; the institutions just don’t have the capacity to provide this currently. The very fact that they cannot go to a high school of their choice speaks volumes about the aggravating circumstances they also face in the area of employment,” says Berina.
For these reasons, Berina decided to become an interpreter, volunteer, and activist. She soon found out that the Law on the Use of Sign Language, which was passed in 2009, is just a “piece of paper”.
When asked whether she believes the status of the hearing impaired is improving, she spoke about their need for sign language interpreters, for whom they typically must pay for out of their own pockets and often with their welfare money.
“It is appalling that the amount of social assistance they receive is not enough for them to pay for an interpreter and the attitudes towards and treatment of this marginalized group constitutes a violation of their basic human rights,” says Berina.
Berina is dedicated to improving the status of the hearing impaired and has started a Facebook page called “Kindness is a language the deaf can hear and the blind can see”. In the beginning, the page was only intended for her closest friends who wanted to learn sign language. However, she was soon surprised by the considerable interest of other people who began sharing her content and by the numerous messages she began receiving from hearing impaired people as well as from parents of hearing-impaired children who wanted to improve their communication skills.
“I am happy that so many people want to learn sign language because that suggests that people are slowly becoming aware of the existence of deaf people and their way of life,” expresses Berina.
The Other Side of the Story
Ira Adilagić, the author of the blog series “The Other Side of the Story”, which aims to raise awareness about the situation and rights of people with disabilities, believes that persons with disabilities can significantly enrich and contribute to the development of society in numerous ways. One of these ways is through the sharing of their experiences to promote social inclusion.
When it comes to education and employment, Ira believes that disabled people face the same problems as everyone else, but with the added burden of prejudice and inaccessibility. “Creating the necessary conditions within mainstream education to facilitate working with students with disabilities is invaluable because inclusion in education means inclusion in society,” she says.
According to Ira, there are many challenges for a hearing-impaired person who is learning a foreign language. She states that, luckily, the rule for Bosnian is: “Write like you pronounce, read as it is written”.
She explains that for English, however, this rule does not apply and that you must devote more time and effort to learning the correct pronunciation of each word and to be able to recognize those words through lip-reading.
Although Ira is aware of the many obstacles that persons living with disabilities must still overcome, she believes that there has been significant progress regarding the rights and social status of this marginalized group since the establishment of the disability movement.
Offering Support
When it comes to education, the Office for Students with Special Needs in Zenica believes that change is possible.
Office Coordinator Azemina Durmić explains that support for students with special needs is categorized using three models: counselling and educational support, tutoring and note-taking assistance, and the provision aides who assist with services such as escorting the students to and from school, help with the use of assistive technology, help with the preparation of school assignments, and help with the rental of available equipment and materials. “We provide various types of support to students with special needs as they plan their studies and as they implement those plans. We also offer support to help them with their daily activities and in situations where certain difficulties might arise,” she explains.
In 2012, Azemina had the opportunity to visit the University of Alicante’s support center for special needs students whose main objective is to accommodate those with vision, hearing, and mobility impairments. She notes that the approach used by the Zenica Office has been partially modeled after those used by Alicante University as well as the University of Economics and Business in Vienna and KAHO Sint-Lieven in Gent.
Azemina stresses the importance of such visits and warns of the current situation within universities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. “These study visits were extremely important in providing insight into contemporary models of support. However, Bosnian universities, and Bosnian society as a whole, will have to work hard to reach the levels of support that are provided at these universities. This is especially true regarding the design and the accessibility of the dorms, faculty departments, and classrooms,” says Durmić.
Eliminating Barriers
“Persons with disabilities have to pay attention the practical things, but that shouldn’t be our only job. But in Bosnia there are less and less potential opportunities for everyone, especially for young people,” says Jasmin Dzemidzic, a disabled stand-up comedian, or, as he calls it, a sit-down comedian.
During his performances, Džemidžić uses humor to draw attention to the plight of persons with disabilities and points to the fact that although art should be inclusive, persons with disabilities often face various obstacles, which leaves them outside of the artistic mainstream.
Even though he had always wanted to be an actor, many obstacles prevented Džemidžić from graduating from the Academy of Performing Arts
“Well, I can tell you that I did not choose humor, humor chose me. I always wanted to be on stage, to act, to play big roles. My childhood dream was to graduate from the Academy and become a professional actor. It was that dream that led me to the comedy scene and, lo and behold, here I am today. It also doesn’t hurt that I have always been a very positive person and that I’ve always made my friends laugh. So, when the time came, I just moved to a bigger audience,” says Dzemidzic.
However, what Džemidžić believes is most important is “to eliminate the barriers in people’s minds”, and he hopes that he has made some progress on that front.
“I can feel the change. For example, people used to look at me with pity, and now they have a smile on their faces when they meet me and I can only hope they have that same smile when they meet other people with disabilities. If they do, I am the happiest man alive,” he concludes.
This publication has been selected as part of the Srđan Aleksić Youth Competition, a regional storytelling competition that challenges youth to actively engage with their own communities to discover, document, and share stories of moral courage, interethnic cooperation, and positive social change. The competition is a primary component of the Post-Conflict Research Center’s award-winning Ordinary Heroes Peacebuilding Program, which utilizes international stories of rescuer behavior and moral courage to promote interethnic understanding and peace among the citizens of the Western Balkans.
Support for this program has been graciously provided by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

created: December 20th, 2017

author: Jasmila Talić-Kujundžić


text:
Feeding the Hungry: Mostar’s Community Kitchens | Balkan Diskurs
Dino Pehlić
January 10th, 2018
23 years since the end of the Bosnian war, Mostar is still feeling the effects of poverty. Two service centers, the Red Cross soup kitchen and the Meal Center, have stepped up to provide food and basic necessities for people in need.
23 years since the end of the Bosnian war, Mostar is still feeling the effects of poverty. Two service centers, the Red Cross soup kitchen and the Meal Center, have stepped up to provide food and basic necessities for people in need.
In Mostar, The Red Cross puts in a lot of effort to operate a meal center that ensures daily meals for its costumers. The Soup Kitchen, another city institution, is also making an effort to help the poor and those who are unable to work to cover their basic needs.
Alen Kajtaz, the general secretary of the Red Cross in Mostar, says that their meal center regularly monitors and responds to appeals for help from Mostar’s most vulnerable citizens.
According to Kajtaz, the meal center was established in 1993 in order to feed people during the war. At one point, he says, they were feeding over 20,000 people a day. Today, they support 421 people. In addition, there are those who receive monthly supply packages consisting of basic food and hygiene supplies.
“We can definitely say that the number of costumers exceeds 450,” says Kajtaz. He explains that it’s not only the unemployed who live in poverty – working people can also have trouble making ends meet.
“Today we actually see the struggle of the ‘common’ man who tries to live with dignity and to secure his basic needs. This can be very difficult here because the economic system swallows up the lowest strata of society and the working class,” says Kajtaz.
He adds that his organization conducts regular audits of those it serves based on criteria that are set according to their monthly income. “We can have a situation where, say, there is a retiree with a minimal pension, but if there are two retirees in one household that both receive a pension, they are not eligible to use the meal center. Unfortunately, our services are dependent on our budget and donor financing, and we do not want to leave our customers without their only source for survival,” says Kajtaz.
The staff at the Red Cross believes that the number of people in need is much higher than the number of people the organization helps directly, but they often go uncared for or do not know how or where to get help.
To try to extend the reach to underserved populations living in Mostar, another community kitchen was established in 2002 with the aim to take care of the community’s most marginalized groups, including the unemployed, the elderly, the sick, and persons without guardians.
Franjo Slišković, Director of the Soup Kitchen, says that last year they distributed an average of 234 meals a day. “And the number of people using our services is increasing,“ he says.
While the Soup Kitchen employees state that they have a very good relationship with city authorities and that the local administration fulfills its legal and financial obligations to the public kitchens, there is always more that can be done. The Red Cross and the Soup Kitchen, therefore, ask citizens to get involved and to help these institutions by making financial or in-kind donations in accordance with their capacities.
This publication has been selected as part of the Srđan Aleksić Youth Competition, a regional storytelling competition that challenges youth to actively engage with their own communities to discover, document, and share stories of moral courage, interethnic cooperation, and positive social change. The competition is a primary component of the Post-Conflict Research Center’s award-winning Ordinary Heroes Peacebuilding Program, which utilizes international stories of rescuer behavior and moral courage to promote interethnic understanding and peace among the citizens of the Western Balkans.
Support for this program has been graciously provided by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

created: January 10th, 2018

author: Dino Pehlić


text:
The Bosnian Floods: A Time of Hardship, a Time of Unity | Balkan Diskurs
Nataša Kondić
January 21st, 2018
Almost four years have passed since the devastating floods hit Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region. Despite the passage of time, the images of May 2014 will remain forever etched in many people’s minds.
Almost four years have passed since the devastating floods hit Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region. Despite the passage of time, the images of May 2014 will remain forever etched in many people’s minds.
Many lives were changed on the day the floods started. The floods were a reminder that our whole lives can be turned upside down in a matter of moments. Some people tend to blame the government, others blame themselves
Student Marina Grabovičkić reluctantly recalls her experiences during the floods. “That morning was like any other. I remember my dad was heading to work, and I was going to school. None of us had any idea that the rain that was falling that day would turn into a disaster we would all remember forever. In just thirty minutes, the water levels rose immensely, and it became clear to us that this would not end well,” Marina explains.
For those who survived the war, the floods inflicted an almost identical sense of suffering to that which they had experienced in wartime. On that day in May 2014, it was not easy for them to watch their property, their homes, and everything they had rebuilt after the war rapidly disappearing before their eyes once again. For young people, high school students and elementary school students the floods were the greatest trauma of their lives thus far.
“It was terrible! My father was trapped inside the house. The phones didn’t work and there was no electricity. My mother and I were in the countryside with my grandmother anxiously awaiting any information about my father and about our home, which seemed so far away from us” explains 20-year-old Marina.
Marina tells us that the entire ground floor where she and her family lived was flooded. The large yard, two garages, furniture and all the tools they owned were under water.
“For more than 20 days we were unable to return to our home. My parents did their best to clean up and throw away everything that was destroyed. The situation was terrible for the entire neighborhood. During that period, people were depressed. They tried to their pain and grief, but it was obvious that they were suffering as a result of what happened that May,” Marina recalls.
In those difficult times, every bit of help was welcome. All the flooded towns were filled with domestic and foreign organizations and volunteers.
Among the volunteers was economics student Dragana Gajanović, who recounts her memories of May 2014 for Balkan Diskurs.
“I do not have pleasant memories from the period when the floods occurred. They could have easily put my family and me in danger thus causing irreparable damage that I’m sure we would not soon forget. The situation was very scary. The water almost entered our house. Most of our neighborhood was underwater but we were lucky enough to largely escape the damage,” Dragana recalls.
The young student explains that she tried to help others during that time. For a number of days, she worked on the ground as a volunteer for the Banja Luka City Administration.
“I did my best to make my small contribution as part of the wider effort to find solutions to the problems and horrors that affected the citizens of Republika Srpska. I know that if I were directly affected, I would have welcomed any help. I volunteered for a week. Every day we went to a different flood-affected area in an effort to help as many people as possible. We cleaned their homes, distributed food, water, bread and other supplies. Those days were exhausting, but I was proud—both of the team I worked with and of myself,” says Dragana.
The volunteers focused their efforts on helping those who were most in need. Foreign organizations and state institutions did their best to help financially, for instance, by handing out vouchers for construction materials to rebuild homes.
“Various foreign organizations helped people to renovate their homes. They brought materials and furniture so things could return to normal as soon as possible. Many construction workers and volunteers arrived. They went from door to door, asking us about the situation and whether we needed any help. These were really wonderful people who helped us a lot during such difficult times,” says Marina.
Several years have passed since the floods and Marina says that she is only sometimes reminded of the impact. “The fact is that we went back to ‘normal’ in just three months. Everything started working as it did before. I can actually say that our city looks better and more beautiful now than it did before the floods,” says the architecture student.
Lidija Lazić, who currently works at a high school in Doboj, a town severely damaged by the floods, also shares her memories.
“I was an intern at the Doboj Health Care Center when the floods hit. In that moment, I didn’t know where my parents or the rest of my family were. Those moments were the worst for me. I was helpless. After two hours, water covered the entire city center and flooded all the ground floors, and, in some places, even the second floors of residential buildings. The town was overtaken by shock and disbelief, both while the water was there as well as when it subsided,” says Lidija.
The damage was immense, both in the material sense but also in terms of human casualties. Nothing functioned like it was supposed to. Shops, schools, and public institutions were all closed. People survived on charity given to them by good Samaritans.
Although Lidija herself did not suffer significant losses, she feels a debt of gratitude to every person who sacrificed something to help the residents of Doboj.
“I can’t speak for those whose properties were flooded and who received help from the relevant institutions because I wasn’t one of them, but, according to their stories, I understand that they had different experiences. Some received greater benefits, some lesser,” says Lidija.
As with other larger cities, Doboj was almost completely cleaned up after just ten days. The residents of Doboj and other towns emphasize that, now, all that remains of what took place is the fear that it might happen.
“Certain precautions for flood protection have been taken such as cleaning the riverbed of the Bosna River and raising the embankment in certain places, but many reminders of those fatal floods still remain. And, of course, every prolonged episode of heavy rainfall brings back fear and anxiety to our city,” Lidija concludes.
This publication has been selected as part of the Srđan Aleksić Youth Competition, a regional storytelling competition that challenges youth to actively engage with their own communities to discover, document, and share stories of moral courage, interethnic cooperation, and positive social change. The competition is a primary component of the Post-Conflict Research Center’s award-winning Ordinary Heroes Peacebuilding Program, which utilizes international stories of rescuer behavior and moral courage to promote interethnic understanding and peace among the citizens of the Western Balkans.
Support for this program has been graciously provided by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

created: January 21st, 2018

author: Nataša Kondić


text:
“Thus with A Kiss I Die”: Sarajevo’s Romeo and Juliet | Balkan Diskurs
Struan Kennedy
January 25th, 2018
‘Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Sarajevo, where we lay our scene…’
‘Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Sarajevo, where we lay our scene…’
He was a 15-year-old Serb; she, a 16-year-old Muslim. Bosko Brkic and Admira Ismic met at a New Year’s Eve party in Sarajevo. They had been together for nine years when they were killed on 18 May 1993, both aged 25. In their failed attempt to escape the city and country ‘where civil blood was making civil hands unclean’, the couple crossed the Vrbanja bridge – a notoriously advantageous spot for snipers and an area considered ‘no man’s land’. The bridge had already been the site of high profile deaths: two students, Suada Dilibegovic and Olga Sucic, had been killed by a sniper in 1992.[1] A year later, a pacifist was killed at the same spot while placing flowers at the site of their death. In the days following Bosko and Admira’s deaths, Serb rebels and Muslim-led authorities bickered over who lay claim over their bodies, all the while the couple still lay on the bridge, in their last embrace.
The story of Sarajevo’s ‘Romeo & Juliet’ may often be told as a testimony of endurance: love among the ruins, the emotional shield that they carried with them through the ‘hail of bullets and rain of shells’[2] during the five-mile journey between parental homes. Alternatively, the story could be an account of two young people taking a remarkably bold, individual stance against violence. As a report of their deaths noted, ‘in a country mad for war, Bosko and Admira were crazy for each other’[3]; even in the end, they were not swept up in the hate swirling all around them. Any romanticized elevation of this story may seem tasteless given the couple’s tragic and untimely fate, but we can, to an extent, place them on a pedestal for possessing moral courage. When Bosko’s mother Rada once asked Admira: ‘Can this war separate you from Bosko?’ Admira defiantly, yet prophetically, responded: ‘Dear Rada, only bullets can.’[4] But what exactly can be passed on to future generations? That they at least remained true to their feelings for each other, even when the odds were overwhelmingly stacked against them? Maybe, but for all the happiness they gave each other in life, we can’t help but mourn the greater happiness that misfortune denied them. We surely feel the contrast tugging us one way and then the other: both beauty and tragedy lie uncomfortably side-by-side within one story. Though we are reminded of the beauty present in the darkest moments of humanity, it is impossible not to acknowledge the darkness itself. Admira’s father Zijo has a very different take to those who may proclaim the strength of love:
‘[their death is] so hard to believe, such young people disappear in a sudden and violent death – all wishes, all plans are sunk with one bullet…that’s the proof that love cannot conquer all, love cannot win over people who don’t believe in love.’[5]
While we are considering what the long-term legacy of Admira and Bosko will be, the effect of their story to date has been to humanize a conflict widely perceived as intractable. It made the carnage of incessant sniper fire and shelling emotionally tangible. The 1994 PBS documentary ‘Romeo and Juliet in Sarajevo’ delivered a story to the world that revealed a parental perspective, which brought the conflict painfully into focus. In the wake of the relentless reports of mass killings and mass rapes, viewers were both overwhelmed and desensitized.[6] ‘Romeo & Juliet’ returns us to such a simple story, we shudder from the shock of its familiarity. These humanizing details make a deep impression on us, especially when we find out how heartbreakingly close they were to making it: they were about two-thirds of the way across the bridge when gunfire opened.[7] Bosko and Admira could be a young couple from anywhere—from Queens, or Tokyo, or Barcelona. We need only change the time and place and the global relevance is apparent; any lessons to be learned are not exclusively for the youth of the Balkans. One example of this international appeal is the use of the documentary’s script by an educational authority in Scotland as a tool to teach children the consequences of ethnic hatred.[8]
Apart from outsourcing the narrative for educational purposes, it has an obvious consequence for the troubled region. That many of the city’s current inhabitants were born after the war[9] provides a reason both for and against looking back into their hateful history. On one hand, there is a need to do so given the youth’s disconnection from history; on the other hand, it is attractive to see the youth as a fresh start, those who can prosper without the regressive anchor of history weighing them down. Furthermore, given the nature of a bitterly protracted siege, the youth of Sarajevo meet the conflict’s legacy quite literally on street corners, outside favorite bars and cafes, and while waiting for the bus. For Rada, she knew that returning to Sarajevo was impossible: ‘I could never walk the streets they once walked.’[10]
Much of what perhaps should be absorbed by the youth is the familial reaction to the couple’s differing backgrounds. Rada had raised Bosko and his brother without any strict framework of religion or nationality; Admira’s parents were just as welcoming to Bosko. Whilst her grandmother was dubious that a mixed relationship could last, the general response of acceptance from both families encapsulates the wider and historical vision of Bosnia and Herzegovina. For much of its history it had been a crossroads of nations, with Sarajevo serving as a cosmopolitan melting pot where Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Catholic, and Orthodox peoples lived together for 500 years[11]. Even as the siege raged on, mixed-marriage ceremonies at City Hall became international media events, an opportunity for the Bosnian government to show the world that the old way of living was still possible.
That, in essence, is why the story of Bosko and Admira is so important: two families scarred by war are joined together by the memory of a couple who dared to love across the ethnic divide[12]. It is this message of hope that could help bring an end to the very concept of loving the ‘wrong’ person. And today? The couple is still lying together, in Sarajevo’s Lion cemetery, continuing to serve as a symbol that defies the ethnically charged hatred[13], a symbol worth the attention of every confused young person in love.
‘A glooming peace this morning with it brings;
The sun, for sorrow, will not show his head:
Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things;
Some shall be pardon’d, and some punished:
For never was a story of more woe
Than this of Admira and her Bosko’
—
[1] Andrea Gagliarducci, ‘Romeo and Juliet of Sarajevo’ highlight pain of loss in Bosnian War’ (5/6/15) <http://Bosko.catholicnewsagency.com/news/romeo-and-juliet-of-sarajevo-highlight-pain-of-loss-in-bosnian-war-84494/> [accessed 24/5/17]
[2] John Zaritsky, ‘Romeo and Juliet in Sarajevo’ PBS documentary (1994) <https://Bosko.youtube.com/watch?v=jnQ1lTAVjhw> [accessed 23/5/17]
[3] Peter Murtagh, ‘Grim tale of slain Romeo and Juliet’ The Irish Times (25/7/08) <http://Bosko.irishtimes.com/opinion/grim-tale-of-slain-romeo-and-juliet-1.946689> [accessed 23/5/17]
[4] Zaritsky…
[5] Ibid
[6] Bob Herbert, ‘In America; Romeo & Juliet In Bosnia’ (8/5/94) <http://Bosko.nytimes.com/1994/05/08/opinion/in-america-romeo-and-juliet-in-bosnia.html> [accessed 24/5/17]
[7] Herbert…
[8] Murtagh…
[9] Nic Robertson, ‘Tragic ‘Romeo and Juliet’ offers Bosnia hope’ CNN (5/4/12) <http://edition.cnn.com/2012/04/05/world/europe/bosnia-romeo-juliet/> [accessed 22/5/17]
[10] Zaritsky…
[11] Ibid
[12] Robertson…
[13] Ibid

created: January 25th, 2018

author: Struan Kennedy


text:
It Was Once Used to Kill, but Now It’s a Flowerpot | Balkan Diskurs
Armin Durgut
January 30th, 2018
In Sarajevo’s Baščaršija (Old Town), some craft shops offer tourists unusual souvenirs – items from the war that could have served as reminders of a bloody and turbulent past in Bosnia and Herzegovina but have instead been transformed into something beautiful.
In Sarajevo’s Baščaršija (Old Town), some craft shops offer tourists unusual souvenirs – items from the war that could have served as reminders of a bloody and turbulent past in Bosnia and Herzegovina but have instead been transformed into something beautiful.
Photos and text: Armin Durgut
Kenan Hidić collected fragments of weapons and bullets from the war and has turned them into a successful and profitable business venture. He transforms bullet casings into ballpoint pens and empty grenades and anti-aircraft shells into objects for everyday use.
At the end of the war in the mid-1990s, many areas were riddled with thousands of scattered rockets, grenades, and shell casings. Those were the sad reminders of the war that was fought in this country until Kenan Hidić and a few other souvenir shop owners began collecting them and turning them into decorative items that people would be willing to buy.
Through art, Hidić turns dark memories of war into something valuable and beautiful.
“So I work with these leftover shells from the war and I decorate them like this. I put some patterns, some flowers inside, and when it’s done, it becomes a flowerpot. You know, it was once used to kill, but now it’s a flowerpot. Something beautiful has been made from something horrible. If only God had made a world without war… But since the remnants exist, it’s better to use them in some nice, positive way,” says Kenan.
___
Armin, a Balkan Diskurs-trained youth correspondent, was named as a finalist for the 2017 Balkan Photo Award.
This publication has been selected as part of the 2018 Srđan Aleksić Youth Competition, a regional storytelling competition that challenges youth to actively engage with their own communities to discover, document, and share stories of moral courage, interethnic cooperation, and positive social change. The competition is a primary component of the Post-Conflict Research Center’s award-winning Ordinary Heroes Peacebuilding Program, which utilizes international stories of rescuer behavior and moral courage to promote interethnic understanding and peace among the citizens of the Western Balkans. The final winners of the 2018 competition will be announced in the coming months.
Support for this program has been graciously provided by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

created: January 30th, 2018

author: Armin Durgut


text:
My Heart is Full for Sarajevo: New Mission Calls Peacebuilder and Educator Tanya Domi Back to Bosnia | Balkan Diskurs
Soleil Westendorf
January 31st, 2018
“Are you glad to be back in Sarajevo?” I ask. “Oh yeah!” she exclaims, lighting up with excitement.
The 22 of November 2017 marks an extraordinary day for Bosnia and Herzegovina: the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) finds Ratko Mladić guilty on 10 of 11 charges for crimes committed during the armed conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992-1995.
It is on this momentous day that I am also scheduled to interview Tanya Domi, an accomplished and well-respected Adjunct Professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University and faculty affiliate of the Harriman Institute in New York. As I push open the doors to London Café, a warm rush of air, a friendly face, and to my surprise, a relatively empty room greets me. This is my first visit to the café; it’s cozy, and the large windowpanes are charming. I find a seat in the back by the radiator and take out the gadgets I need for the interview. I check my phone and load Reuters and Balkan Insight in an effort to locate a live stream of the Mladić verdict.
My phone begins buzzing frantically, and when I look up at my laptop, there it is: “The Guardian: former Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladić sentenced to life imprisonment convicted of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity”. His convictions include ‘murder, terror and unlawful attacks on civilians in Sarajevo; and for genocide and persecution, extermination, murder, and the inhumane act of forcible transfer in the area of Srebrenica in 1995’. This signifies the last trial judgment delivered by the ICTY before the completion of its mandate on 31 December 2017.
Tanya soon arrives and, after finishing her statement on the verdict for Reuters, our interview begins. “Are you glad to be back in Sarajevo?” I ask. “Oh yeah!” she exclaims, lighting up with excitement. At first, she continues in Bosnian, but then becomes aware of my humble linguistic skills and kindly translates for me, “My heart is full for Sarajevo.”
Originally from Indiana, Domi informs me that she is a third generation Albanian-American, whose grandmother immigrated to the United States in 1928. Although she has always had an intrinsic “regional connection”, it was after spending 15 years in the United States Army when her interest in the Balkans officially began. Before developing her passion for all things Balkan, Tanya studied political science and journalism at Central Michigan University and later obtained a Master of Arts in Human Rights at Columbia University. She asserts a particular interest in the areas of transitional justice, post-conflict and democratic development, and gender and sexual identity issues. Following her Army career, she has been an advocate for LGBTQI rights and related matters and has been widely published on numerous media platforms such as Atlantic Magazine, the BBC, and CNN International.
In 1991, Domi began work as a defense policy analyst on Capitol Hill for the late Congressman Frank McCloskey, who became the “conscience” of the U.S. House of Representatives during the Bosnian war. From her position as McCloskey’s defense policy analyst, she helped organize his first trip to Zagreb, Croatia after the start of the war in 1991.
After pausing to take a sip of tea, she explains that her first trip to Bosnia in 1996 came, “as an outgrowth of [her] work on the Hill, which directly followed the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords”. It was also in 1996, while working on the Clinton Campaign, that she received a call from the State Department with a job offer and an urgent request for her to travel to Vienna. “I knew we were going to win [the campaign],” she says reassuringly. “So, I thought about it overnight […] and it was I either go now or risk missing the experience of my life. And that was that. I called the State Department back first thing the next morning to accept the mission”.
She was seconded by the State Department to work for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) as a human rights officer and soon found herself in Bosnia just one month before the September 1996 elections were held. Her initial assignment was to be posted to Sokolac, a town in the heart of Bosnia’s Republika Srpska entity, for the elections. Although she had already worked in a number of countries including the Philippines, Haiti, Gambia, and Nepal, she shares with me that, “The move was really quite a shock and I was not fully prepared for what was to come. I couldn’t believe I had ended up in Sokolac, which was, at that time, a center of virulent hatred for Bosnian Muslims. It was personally quite difficult to be assigned there during that period.”
During her four years in Bosnia, Domi undertook a variety of responsibilities and positions aimed at improving the now post-war country. She served as Executive Assistant to Ambassador Robert Frowick (OSCE Head of Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina), then, during the 1998 general elections, as chair of the Media Experts Commission. Domi later went on to serve as Counselor to Ambassador Robert Barry (the subsequent OSCE Head of Mission after Frowick) and eventually transitioned to OSCE Spokesperson.
Much of Domi’s work in Bosnia was centered around the implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords, and she now reflects: “[The Dayton Peace Agreement] was an imperfect agreement to end a really horrific war. […] it created unintended consequences detrimental to building a sustainable democracy. The division of everything based on ethnicity solidified the separation that remains egregiously detrimental to Bosnia to this day.”
As the interview progresses, Tanya explains how Bosnia has been buffeted by various internal and external forces in the years following the war, including the Bush Administration’s detrimental closing of the State Department’s Dayton office immediately upon entering office; the NATO campaign in Kosovo, 9/11, and the failures of the international community operating within the Office of the High Representative (OHR) after 2006. She comments on the present rise of a “belligerent Russia” in the region, which contributes to a rise in illiberalism across Europe and plays a considerable role in the corrosion of Euro-Atlantic institutions, indirectly affecting Bosnia. She adds that the election of Donald Trump in the United States has also proven to have a negative effect on the US’ relationship with Europe, in general.
“A rather bleak, but sadly realistic portrait of the state of international affairs,” as she puts it. “There is a geopolitical fight within the region and, unfortunately, Bosnia is just there […], there really is no appetite to politically or diplomatically re-engage,” she discloses.
Although Tanya does not currently hold a permanent position in Bosnia, she remains actively involved in work that keeps her ties to the country strong and the wealth of knowledge gained throughout her career greatly contributes to her success as an educator. In 2008, she was appointed as an Adjunct Professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, where she teaches International Relations and Human Rights on behalf of the Harriman Institute Domi speaks highly of her students, noting that some are employed in the region, have even studied the Bosnian language, been exposed to the culture, or have visited various parts of the Balkans, including Kosovo.
When I ask about her teaching style she says, “We should tell the truth. I believe that the efforts to advance peace education and human rights, as well as telling the truth about what happened, is really important.” Unsurprisingly, Domi is not a conventional professor. She shares with me her use of a variety of teaching methods and approaches, which includes assigning court transcript readings and scholarly articles to her students. She also stresses her unique preference for the use of film and digital media in the classroom, which provides a more impactful learning experience than lectures alone can provide.
“I can tell people about mass rape but, if you hear the testimonies and the experiences of those survivors, it is much more powerful than what I could say in a classroom.” Last year, she screened PBS’ “I Came to Testify” from the “Women, War and Peace” documentary series and invited Velma Šarić, the film’s executive field producer, to attend the class. “When I bring somebody like Velma into my class, it really helps people understand what took place in ways I cannot convey,” she says. “People see the images and are better able to talk about what happened,” she adds, referring to the acclaimed American photojournalist Ron Haviv and the infamous photograph he took during the Bosnian War, published in TIME in 1992, of a Serb soldier kicking the dead body of Bosniak woman.
Outside of her classroom, Domi is heavily engaged in international human rights efforts and frequently collaborates with people and organizations, especially those from the Balkans, working in fields such as post-conflict development, peace education, and transitional justice. It is through this continued engagement that she was able to develop a special friendship with Velma Šarić, Co-Founder and President of the Sarajevo-based Post-Conflict Research Center (PCRC). They initially connected during a conference dedicated to the topic of sexual violence in conflict where Šarić spoke on the topic of sex-related war crimes and potential avenues for reconciliation. They again linked up in Fall 2016 after Velma received a fellowship as part of Columbia University’s Alliance for Historical Dialogue & Accountability Program (AHDA). Shortly thereafter, PCRC eagerly extended Tanya the invitation to become President of its Advisory Board, a responsibility she says “[she] will do for Bosnia, which needs our help again”.
Taking the opportunity to order another tea, she tells me that, as newly appointed Advisory Board President, she hopes to help PCRC become a hub where regional and international scholars can come together to collaborate on issues such as memorialization and history. To this, she highlights PCRC’s contributions to memorialization thus far, as well as its work to “push back against genocide denial”. “The PCRC is really, really, outstanding because it was an indigenous idea created by people from here, not from the outsiders, or internationally conceived of.” Thus far, her journey with PCRC has included several presentations during the 2017 WARM Festival, a joint presentation with Velma at Yale University related to PCRC’s work on transitional justice and the prevention of genocide, and the organization of a special screening of “I Came to Testify” at Columbia’s Harriman Institute, which was followed by a discussion on sexual violence and included important panelists such as Nihal Saad of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and filmmakers Pamela Hogan and Kirsten Johnson.
“What is it like working with PCRC’s founders, Velma and Leslie?” I inquire. “Velma and Leslie are exceptional leaders!” she proclaims, citing several examples of PCRC’s work with women and with the Roma community, and on the powerful Ordinary Heroes project. She cites PCRC’s multimedia platform Balkan Diskurs and its contribution to “filling a huge gap in regional reporting”. Tanya also highlights PCRC’s invaluable work to spearhead youth engagement and educational programming in what she calls a “progressive movement across the Balkans to combat ethnically segregated educational institutions”.
It is easy to see Tanya’s enthusiasm for the inspirational NGO and its founders. And, when I ask if her teachings at Columbia and the mission of PCRC intersect, she doesn’t hesitate to dive right back into her thoughts on filmography: “The world has become so visual and we learn so much more now from visual material, so my work in the classroom absolutely translates and intersects with PCRC’s work. Through film and storytelling, both of which are really powerful, there is an intersection.”
We have now been in London Café for almost two hours and I hardly notice that the place has filled with people who have gathered for the late afternoon coffee rush. The smoky room is trying to engulf us, but I could stay there talking to Tanya for hours more about her career, her perspectives on the future of Bosnia on and the impact the Mladić verdict will have on this country and its citizens. But I mustn’t keep her much longer because she’s on a mission to do as much as she can for PCRC before returning home.
“It was a pleasure,” she says with a smile. “PCRC is a heart-driven social contract for me. It’s my first official affiliation with the Bosnians in 17 years.” I thank her for taking the time to meet with me on a day like today and ask one final question as we stand to leave: “So, what’s next?” She laughs. “Well, I am heading back to Columbia to keep teaching. I’ll be back, I’ll keep working with Velma and Leslie, and do my thing, right?”

created: January 31st, 2018

author: Soleil Westendorf


text:
Overcoming the Odds: Members of Bosnia’s Disabled Community Successfully Navigate Education and Employment | Balkan Diskurs
Alma Mujanović
February 6th, 2018
Two young women discuss the challenges and triumphs in their educational and professional careers, exposing the exclusion and discrimination faced by many people living with disabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Thanks to her ability to read lips, Melita Ćano managed to graduate from university despite the number of challenges she faced throughout her university career.
“The communication between me and those around me was lacking. Of course, there were exceptions. Two professors, in particular, were always ready to help me,” says Ćano, who is hearing impaired.
She explains that she was not surprised by the difficulties that arose when she tried to communicate with other students. “Most people are not familiar with the difficulties we encounter, nor with our methods of communication.”
“While I was waiting for a class, a girl approached me and asked me a question I didn’t understand. When I told her I can’t hear, she pityingly said: ‘Oh, okay, sorry.’ and she left,” recounts Ćano.
Despite all the difficulties she faced during her time at university, she graduated from the Department of Social Work at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Sarajevo.
Anela Talam-Crnovršanin, who is also hearing impaired, graduated from the Faculty of Special Education and Rehabilitation in Tuzla, majoring in surdoaudiology. She chose the degree due to her own disability and her desire to help people with the same condition. “During my studies, I had great peers who helped me, and professors who were very understanding about my situation. As for following lectures, it was difficult. I always had to sit in the first row. I couldn’t always follow everything, so I would stay after class for additional explanations,” she says.
After graduating from university, Ćano and Talam-Crnovršanin are now facing the same problem – finding adequate employment.
“Employers are prejudiced against people with hearing impairments. I am currently unemployed. I am also not receiving any compensation from the Employment Agency even though, according to the law, I could be,” says Talam-Crnovršanin.
Ćano managed to find a job, but not in the field she studied. “I know it’s difficult, but I will not give up on my goal,” she says.
Unlike Ćano and Talam-Crnovršanin, many people with disabilities don’t have access to high-quality education. Although schools are making efforts toward inclusivity, there has not yet been major progress. Teachers often cannot devote enough time to students with disabilities, so schools hire special assistants who, at times, do not have adequate experience.
Oftentimes, disabled students cannot keep up with their peers and, thus, are not ready for the demands of the job market. Further, employers are often not willing to help them overcome any ongoing problems that arose during their education.
Jasminka Proho from the Association for the Hearing Impaired of Canton Sarajevo explains that, in order to overcome these problems, the state should implement the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, according to which the state has a duty to ensure a quality education.
“Through quality education, persons with disabilities will have the best chance to show what they are capable of. This system will give us a young person who is able to meet the demands of the job market and find employment without any problems,” says Proho.
Ćano also stresses that more government support is needed. She says: “They should try to understand us and give us a chance.”
The Fund for Professional Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities of the Federation of BiH was a source of hope for many persons with disabilities. However, the Fund did not live up to the expectations as it “does not work on sustainable employment in business entities”. An often-cited example is that companies that get financial incentives for hiring persons with disabilities fire them as soon as they spend the incentive money. The Fund for Professional Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities does not fine such companies.
While there remains much to be done in terms of ensuring equal opportunities for people with disabilities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, people like Ćano and Talam-Crnovršanin provide examples of what can be achieved with perseverance and external support systems.
This publication has been selected as part of the 2018 Srđan Aleksić Youth Competition, a regional storytelling competition that challenges youth to actively engage with their own communities to discover, document, and share stories of moral courage, interethnic cooperation, and positive social change. The competition is a primary component of the Post-Conflict Research Center’s award-winning Ordinary Heroes Peacebuilding Program, which utilizes international stories of rescuer behavior and moral courage to promote interethnic understanding and peace among the citizens of the Western Balkans. The final winners of the 2018 competition will be announced in the coming months.
Support for this program has been graciously provided by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

created: February 6th, 2018

author: Alma Mujanović


text:
Youth United in Peace: 25 Years of Seaside Peacebuilding | Balkan Diskurs
Tarik Čalkić
February 11th, 2018
Youth United in Peace is a network that gathers young peacemakers from Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Each year, the network organizes a series of activities with peace as the central focus.
Youth United in Peace is a network that gathers young peacemakers from Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Each year, the network organizes a series of activities with peace as the central focus, including a 12-day seaside peace camp in Baško Polje, which gathers Balkan youth from Sombor, Vukovar, Srebrenica, Tuzla, Gornji Vakuf –Uskoplje, and, as of 2017, Jajce.
The idea for the project, which has been supported by the Committee for Fundamental Rights and Democracy based in Cologne, Germany since 1994, originated during the 1990s wars in the Balkans. At that time, activists from the Committee collected humanitarian aid and organized various actions, visits, and peace rallies. Some of the Committee representatives came to war-stricken areas in the Balkans more than 100 times because they wanted to help and maintain contact among people.
Disturbed by the conditions under which children were living at that time, they came up with the idea to start the “Vacation From War” program. The program aimed to give children residing in war-torn areas an opportunity to have a safe vacation, a roof over their heads, regular meals, and a chance to socialize. The program also sought to help participants overcome prejudices towards war enemies and to learn about peace, all while by the sea and isolated from their difficult realities.
The first camps were organized in Živogošće, Croatia and by the second year, over 1,000 young people had already participated in the program. After those first activities and achieved results, it was clear that such a story was destined for success. The Vacation From War program expanded each year to include new cities and offer new programs and workshops, gathering young people from the area who wanted to live peacefully and who were ready to spread despite their current situations.
Over time, the program’s name changed to “Vacation From War – Peacebuilding” to encompass new goals. In addition to the seaside campsites, 7-day camps were organized in the cities from which participants were coming. These “land” camps provided an opportunity to reunite participants from the seaside camps. Weekend visits between cities were also organized, during which the participants could bring their friends from other countries to their homes where they have a chance to get to know each other better as well as to provide the guests with an opportunity to learn about the culture, traditions, customs, and lifestyles of their hosts. To date, over 22,000 regional youth have participated in the program. Some of them have even remained actively involved in the project and are working on its further development.
The project has recently undergone another positive change. In a joint initiative by the Sara-Srebrenica Association, the UHD Friends Association Tuzla, the Youth Center Gornji Vakuf – Uskoplje, Activators Sombor, and the European Home Vukovar, a network called Youth United in Peace (YUP) was formed.
In 2016, this new network received an award from the “Krunoslav Sukić” Center for Peace, Non-violence, and Human Rights Osijek. The award is given to recognize longstanding work in connecting regional youth and contributing to the building of peaceful, cooperative, and friendly relations among them.
It’s difficult to describe in words the story of these camps. Many participants have met people from another nation or religion for the first time. Most of them carry fear and prejudice with them, but after the first few workshops and getting to know each other, that fear disappears and is replaced by positive, youthful energy, permeated by love and laughter.
The camps’ programs are designed so that after participants get to know one another, they are “thrown into the fire” of dealing with the past. Learning through informal activities and dealing with the past as it really is are the only ways to overcome learned and imposed prejudice. One of the hardest and most emotional activities held each year during the seaside camps is the war photography workshop, during which the work of war photographer Ron Haviv is displayed. For years, Haviv would call in via Skype and talk to the participants, but in 2017, he came to Baško Polje to visit the participants, at which time he did some filming for his new documentary.
The program’s participants and organizers can best explain their experiences as part of the YUP network. Tijana Topić is an organizer from Sombor, who, as she puts it, grew up in this project:
“You could say that I grew up with this peace story. I first participated back in 2005 when I was just 14 years old, and I have been involved in the project in some way every year since. My mom was an organizer, but I didn’t have a clear plan or the ambition to be a leader myself one day. It just came down to the simple fact that the peace project and the people involved suited me very well. I felt a special connection to the people I met there. We understood each other perfectly and grew to love one another very much.”
Just one of these trips is enough for this story to get under your skin. Everyone who showed interest in how the story of this project progresses has had an opportunity to get directly involved.
Tijana described her journey from participant to organizer: “As I got older, the idea of the project changed from something big and inaccessible in my mind to something close and simple, which is now the way I live and think.”
“This journey was completely spontaneous and unexpected on my end. I had never purposefully worked towards being an assistant or organizer, but it seems that others have recognized my potential for the role.”
When you hear the phrase “seaside camp”, the first thoughts that come to your mind are the beach, swimming, and socializing, but in YUP camps those are secondary activities. Aleksandar Kojić from Vukovar, who in 2017 led a group of young people from his city for the first time, confirms that there’s a lot of work being done at the seaside.
“During those 12 days, I tried to “live up to the task” and to best perform the tasks that were entrusted to me, including the organization and implementation of planned camp activities. It’s a special feeling to a leader in this youth summer camp where there’s a prevailing sense of responsibility. Working with the young people hasn’t been stressful, and it often brought with it a lot of positive energy that pushed me forward. All of the activities that take place during those 12 days don’t allow for much relaxation, but there was sufficient time for rest and socializing. I’ve learned a lot of new things from the participants and my colleagues, gained new skills, and am happy that I was part of the summer 2107 team.”
According to Isidora Mihaljčić from Sombor, her experiences at Baško Polje have created beautiful memories that will last a lifetime.
“My experience as part of the YUP network has been truly wonderful, I made a lot of new friends and learned a lot about myself and others during my time at the Baško Polje camp. We really get along and we have our own little empire of friendship, love, and harmony that is invaluable. We’ve realized that borders only exist for the physical division of territory, but there are no borders or customs controls in our hearts. There’s room for everyone there,” said Isadora.
The YUP network continues to grow year after year and the people responsible for its existence keep working to improve and perfect camp activities. They also work to maintain contact among the participants even after the camps are over. That is why YUP continues to organize weekend visits between cities and land camps for its participants. The network additionally organizes senior camps during which former participants and students are given the opportunity to reunite, This year, the network will also be celebrating its 25th anniversary, for which it will organize a special celebration.
Following the 2017 seaside camp in Baško Polje, a camp was organized in Srebrenica for the very first time. 60 young people from three countries spent seven days together and commemorated the victims of the genocide, visiting the Srebrenica-Potočari Memorial Center and the memorial house for the Serb victims, as well as implementing a volunteer action of cleaning the front yard of the Leptir Association of Parents of Handicapped Children and Youth.
Avdo Zec, leader of the participant group from Gornji Vakuf – Uskoplje, said the following about his experience in Srebrenica:
“Srebrenica is a wonderful city. At least that’s how I felt while sitting in a nearby café, listening about how Samir and Vladan are best friends and how Srebrenica politics should just let people live their lives. Now, when I think about it, the phrase “rest in peace” should be dedicated to both the victims and the perpetrators of the crimes. Every victim should be buried with dignity and every perpetrator should take responsibility for the crimes that he committed. And we, the peacemakers… we are for “live in peace”.”
More information about the Youth United in Peace network can be found on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/YouthUnitedinPeace/
This publication has been selected as part of the 2018 Srđan Aleksić Youth Competition, a regional storytelling competition that challenges youth to actively engage with their own communities to discover, document, and share stories of moral courage, interethnic cooperation, and positive social change. The competition is a primary component of the Post-Conflict Research Center’s award-winning Ordinary Heroes Peacebuilding Program, which utilizes international stories of rescuer behavior and moral courage to promote interethnic understanding and peace among the citizens of the Western Balkans. The final winners of the 2018 competition will be announced in the coming months.
Support for this program has been graciously provided by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

created: February 11th, 2018

author: Tarik Čalkić


text:
A Memorial for the Future: Reaffirming Mostar’s Commitment to Anti-Fascism | Balkan Diskurs
Dino Pehlić
February 14th, 2018
There are ongoing debates and discussions in Mostar surrounding the reconstruction and renovation of the Partisan Memorial Cemetery. Even though 72 years have passed since World War II, revisionism is still present on the territories of former Yugoslavia.
There are ongoing debates and discussions in Mostar surrounding the reconstruction and renovation of the Partisan Memorial Cemetery. Even though 72 years have passed since World War II, revisionism is still present on the territories of former Yugoslavia.
The Partisan Memorial Cemetery serves as a universal symbol by virtue of the message it sends and because of the reasons behind its existence. At one point in history, fascism had been defeated, but it’s making a comeback to the city on the Neretva River. This is supported by the many attempts to destroy or delay the renovation of this cemetery in an effort to forever erase the names of the brave men and women of Mostar from the city’s history. It’s also important to emphasize that there are certain groups of young people who regularly participate in the desecration of this memorial, with no adequate response from the authorities, i.e. the institutions of the broken local government. Penalties and sanctions are not applicable in this case. In 2003, the Mayor’s office established the Partisan Commemorative Cemetery Renovation Committee, however, no progress has since been made, nor has the renovation even been started after all these years. This is primarily due to a lack of political will, which also resulted in a lack of financial resources.
In completely abandoned surroundings, the memorial stands defiant, but alone. Then, every year on 14 February, which marks the day of Mostar’s liberation from fascist occupation during WWII, the memorial becomes the center of attention. Anti-fascists from across Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and the former Yugoslavia, come to pay tribute to the fallen heroes and heroines. It is certain that all attendees share the same wish – to see this monument in all its former glory, with its stone tablets radiantly shining in remembrance of those to whom the memorial is dedicated.
In 2006, three years after a formal request was made under the initiative of the WWII Veterans Association (SUBNOR) of Mostar, the Partisan Memorial Cemetery was included on the list of national monuments of BiH. This accomplishment gave SUBNOR the legitimacy to oversee the implementation of the monument’s restoration and maintenance, as well as to propose steps in its preservation.
The struggle of Sead Đulić provides the best indicator of the efforts that are required in the fight for the acceptance of universal and civilized values as a common good in a dysfunctional city. After he was elected president of the Association of Anti-fascists and Fighters of the National Liberation War (NOR) Mostar (“Udruženje antifašista i boraca NOR-a Mostar”), he actively and constructively sought support to renovate the Partisan Memorial Cemetery from local and state institutions and non-governmental and international organizations.
When asked why the restoration of this monument is important, Sead Đulić responds: “The Partisan Memorial Cemetery is our Statue of Liberty, our triumphal arch, our Taj Mahal. Let’s take into consideration those peoples and cultures and their relationships with the aforementioned monuments. The Memorial Cemetery is the City of the Dead juxtaposed with the City of the Living. It is a reflection of Mostar and its history. To abandon this monument is to give up on ourselves and the city of Mostar.”
He emphasized that every eighth citizen of Mostar has given his or her life in the fight against fascism and that the memorial must also serve as a vision for the future.
“To renounce anti-fascists means to stand on the other side, on the side of anti-civilized teachings. That’s why it’s a monument for the future, for the education of future generations based on the ideas of anti-fascism, humanity, and love for the city and the country. A day spent at this memorial is an inspiration for a better understanding of life and love, but also death, sacrifice, and belief in an idea and a vision,” added Đulić.
The Mostar city authorities didn’t have a lot of empathy or understanding regarding the importance of this project. However, as part of its 2017 budget, the city planned to spend 30,000 KM on the clean up of the memorial, which has been done, but only after the Committee for the Restoration, Revitalization, and Preservation of the Partisan Memorial Cemetery was established, which operates as a part of the NOR. Thus, although it is primarily the private committees that are leading the cleanup and sanitation of the memorial, it’s clear that the city has finally taken a first step. Whether it will take additional steps to restore the memorial remains to be seen.
“I don’t know if the city will support the restoration at this time. Most of the people currently running the city believe the site should be repurposed and used for something else. They even already have project plans for that. The reason it is difficult for them to proceed with such plans is the fact that the memorial has been listed as a national monument of BiH. Additionally, many of the anti-fascists are well-organized, and we are not alone. But, through neglect, they encourage those who want to destroy the monument to continue damaging it until it is impossible to repair. If this were not the case, they would have protected it by now. They don’t have to help, but we’ll force them to stay away until they leave the political and historical scene. The Partisan Memorial Cemetery will be restored in spite of everything and everyone,” said Đulić.
Sead Đulić emphasizes that Mostar is a city that has given up on its past.
“When a city loses its centuries-old identity, when it’s being served new values, it’s easy to create an environment for the emergence of neo-fascism. If every day you walk along streets named after the fascist ideologues and warmongers of World War II, and the system is telling you that they’re national heroes, then it becomes clear why fascism in Mostar is growing and why it isn’t being sanctioned,” says Đulić.
In this kind of political environment, which seems to supports neo-fascism in Mostar’s streets, society cannot follow the roadmap of civilized values. No one is fighting this, the society is quiet. The question is: what is needed to stop the rhetoric of neo-fascism? Courage, absolutely, but also determination to make Mostar a city of freedom and equality.
Another simple question that must be posed: why is it important for society to consider historical events after so many years? If you analyze the perception of the two ideologies in BiH society—fascism and anti-fascism—it becomes clear that there is still a lack of understanding regarding the intentions of those who spread, among other things, radical and aggressive nationalism. Today, talk surrounding the role of Nazi collaborators who operated on the territory of the former Yugoslavia, as well as the heroic undertaking of the NOR and the Partisan forces who liberated the occupied territory, remains foggy. As if the very mention of these roles causes a dose of reticence.
However, we must bravely face the past and talk about the established facts. After Mostar was liberated from the fascist occupation of the Wehrmacht on 14 February 1945, the people of Mostar proved its commitment to anti-fascism and the Partisan Memorial Cemetery was the response of the victors. The architectural masterpiece of Bogdan Bogdanović, which was officially opened in 1965 in the presence of the then-president of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Josip Broz Tito, is a reflection of the past and of the stories of those individuals who fought for freedom. But the memorial is not only an account of the past, it is also a monument for the future generations, who must be made aware of the dangers fascism poses.

created: February 14th, 2018


text:
Adama Dieng: My Dream is to See the Polarization Along Identity Lines Destroyed | Balkan Diskurs
Tatjana Milovanović
February 15th, 2018
On 12 February 2017, The Post-Conflict Research Center (PCRC), and the UN Resident Coordinator for Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) hosted and organized a meeting between Civil Society Organization (CSO) representatives and Under-Secretary-General Adama Dieng, United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide.
On 12 February 2017, The Post-Conflict Research Center (PCRC), and the UN Resident Coordinator for Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) hosted and organized a meeting between Civil Society Organization (CSO) representatives and Under-Secretary-General Adama Dieng, United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide.
The meeting with the Special Adviser was organized as a part of his visit to the region, thanks to the long-lasting partnership between PCRC and the UN Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect and the recent establishment of the Western Balkans Coalition for Genocide Prevention. During the meeting, CSOs briefed Mr. Dieng on their work and current activities, as well as biggest challenges they face in their peacebuilding and reconciliation efforts. This was one of many stops the Special Advisor made in his tour across the country, which included meetings with members of BiH government, judiciary institutions, and international community representatives.
Mr. Dieng stressed the importance of joint responses and activities by the civil society sector, in that CSOs are direct representatives of the people. “CSOs are close to my heart. I do understand how important your work is. Uniting your efforts now is the key to progress,” said the UN Special Adviser.
Several CSO leaders highlighted political will and openness as the key to reconciliation. As noted by Dženana Karup-Druško, Director of Association Transitional Justice, Accountability and Remembrance, CSOs are doing their best improve the transitional justices process, but, “No change can come from within the country without the help of the international community.”
Mirna Buljugić, Director of Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) BiH noted that the largest challenges BiH media makers face today are the constant pressures by political elites, a lack of transparency from judiciary institutions and problems with access to information. The same challenges were echoed by Borka Rudić, Director of Association BH Journalists, who added that ethnic divisions consistently deteriorate BiH society in that, “There are three different truths on BiH’s past and three perspectives on its future”.
Special Advisor Dieng concluded the meeting on a personal note, stating that his biggest dream for this region is to see the polarization across identity lines destroyed. “I am not a pessimist or an optimist, but determined. I hope to continue to see this determination in you all,” said Mr. Dieng.
The meeting was attended by UN Resident Coordinator in BiH, Ms. Sezin Sinanoglu, and CSO representatives from BIRN BiH, CURE Foundation, Association of BH Journalists, Forum ZFD, Youth center ‘’Kvart’’, Association Transitional Justice, Accountability and Remembrance, and Civil Rights Defenders BiH.

created: February 15th, 2018