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The Death March Mementos: A Return to Udrc Mountain | Balkan Diskurs
Leslie Woodward
February 10th, 2020
Rising 1,042 meters above sea level is Udrc Mountain, the highest elevation point in central Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Podrinje region, also known as the Drina Valley. This mountain and the nearby Kamenica Hill are two sites often referenced in recollections of the Srebrenica genocide and are of great significance to the country’s wartime historical narrative.
The Perilous Trek
As the sun set on July 11, 1995, word began to spread that a takeover of Srebrenica by General Ratko Mladic and the Bosnian Serb Army (VRS) was imminent. A decision was then made that, if the Bosniak men in the town were to survive, they must attempt an escape to the free territory of Tuzla. Their route to freedom would take them through the forests of Mt. Udrc, over the Kamenica Hill, and toward Nezuk. A plan was set in motion and the men formed a column along with members of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (ARBiH) 28 Division, whose mission had been to defend the territory around the Srebrenica enclave. The column consisted of between 10,000 and 15,000 men between the ages of 16 and 65. The column was said to have stretched up to 15 kilometers long with two and a half hours separating head from tail.
As the men began the treacherous journey, many were already weak from dehydration and starvation. Along this route to freedom, the column was relentlessly shelled and ambushed, breaking the procession into smaller groups. Some men committed suicide, some were tricked into surrender, and some were taken prisoner and killed in remote sites of mass execution such as the Sandici meadow and the Nova Kasaba football field. Many survivors have even claimed that they were attacked with a chemical agent that caused hallucinations and disorientation.
The Death March Survivors
For those who managed to pass the road from Susnjari, across Kamenica hill and pass the asphalt road between Nova Kasaba and Konjevic Polje thus reaching the slopes of Mt. Udrc, the free territory of Tuzla was just visible on the horizon. The survivors were so close and, yet, so far. Now, their mission was to reach Nezuk and the ARBiH-controlled territory. With the final stretch of their escape route blocked by Serb forces, many remained on the Kamenica hill for days waiting for a moment of opportunity to reveal itself.
On July 16, 1995, the first survivors crossed the border into the free territory of Tuzla, but, in the end, only around 3,000 of the men that embarked on this perilous trek through the forests of Mt. Udrc would complete their journey, most of whom were members of the 28 Division battalion. Several journalists described the survivors who were arriving in Tuzla as “an army of ghosts”.
In total, approximately 7,000 to 8,000 men were captured by VRS forces, of whom almost all were executed and, thus, never able to reach the free territory of Tuzla. Many of the death march survivors would eventually go on to testify before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). They would describe, in detail, the horrors and mass executions that they miraculously escaped.
A Return to Udrc Mountain: 25 Years After
On February 4, 2020, nearly 25 years after the horrific events of the Srebrenica genocide unfolded, a team comprised of members of the Srebrenica-Potocari Memorial Center and the Post-Conflict Research Center went to Mt. Udrc. The team was accompanied by three guides, all of whom were themselves survivors of the death march from Srebrenica to Tuzla: Fahro Mustafic, from the village of Rasevo, Enver Secic, former Bosnian soldier from Bratunac, and Ramiz Nukic, known as Srebrenica’s ‘bone collector’.
The team set out into the mountain’s immense conifer forests to collect items left behind all those who courageously fought to escape the encroaching arms of certain death. At the mountain’s peak, a site known as ‘Pisanica’, the team discovered the remnants of a hut where a group from Srebrenica hid during those fateful days in July of 1995. On the team’s descent, a number of other items were found scattered along the mountain’s wooded paths.
The scenes were ominous. Dishes used to prepare food and pieces of clothing lay bare on the forest floor, abandoned all those years ago. Personal belongings seemingly left behind as proof that something horrific had transpired in these forests.
The team carefully collected each item to be safely stored at the Srebrenica-Potocari Memorial Center. The Center’s museum will become a new home to the objects, where, along with survivors’ testimonies, they will forever tell the tragic stories of their owners, some of whom escaped genocide’s final embrace, many of whom did not.
Video: Ahmedin Đozić

created: February 10th, 2020

author: Leslie Woodward


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Educational Exclusion of BiH’s Most Vulnerable (Part III): Harun’s Story | Balkan Diskurs
Amer Macedonci | Christoffer Kjeldsen | Patrick McGovern
February 12th, 2020
In light of the recent events, Balkan Diskurs has been working on a series about the challenges faced by Bosnian children with special needs and their families. These are their stories.
Recently, photos were released showing the terrible conditions within the Pazaric Institute, a care home for children with special needs, after the ruling parties refused to address the problems. This action sparked protests across the country. To begin at Part I of this series, click here.
The future is my biggest fear.
— Muamera
Born in Sarajevo in February 2010, Harun showed no sign of developmental difficulties as a young child, but when his health began to rapidly deteriorate, he soon found himself in a seven-month-long battle for his life. Harun’s family took him to numerous State-run medical facilities and institutions in a desperate search for answers but received no guidance or support. In the end, they had to rely on private doctors, visiting specialists from Austria, and expensive steroid treatments to address his varied medical conditions. Harun’s mother, Muamera, and her family were left to cover all the expenses with no financial support from the State.
Harun’s health improved, but the fight was far from over and he was soon diagnosed with autism, hyperactivity, and underdeveloped speech. Many doctors attributed his condition to Muamera’s age (35 years old) at the time of his birth, she questioned, however, various aspects of his diagnosis. For example, she had often observed Harun sitting peacefully for hours without distraction or distress – a contradiction to the typical symptoms of hyperactive behavior disorders. Muamera looks back on her disputes with the doctors and the health care system as a turning point; Moving forward, she knew she would have to take a proactive role in obtaining proper care for her son.
Muamera and her son received some assistance from a local center for speech rehabilitation and a center for children suffering from sight deficiencies, however, they received no assistance, financial or otherwise, from the State. The absence of support for children and young people on the autism spectrum in BiH is sorely felt, as is the lack of resources provided to State-run facilities. Nobody is responsible for providing oversight to such institutions or to local centers like the one for speech rehabilitation to ensure they understand how to accommodate the needs of autistic and other special needs children. Muamera has had to turn to private NGOs and organizations like Education for All (EDUS) and Colibri to find the support and understanding that is missing from the public institutions.
When asked what the biggest obstacle has been thus far, she responds without hesitation: “The biggest problem is not that they don’t know about this issue, it’s that they don’t want to [know].” To Muamera´s great frustration, doctors and specialists often label Harun as “abnormal”, which reveals their willing ignorance. Their attitudes about the disorder, in turn, play into the stigmas that surround the disability. Muamera recalls one specific instance for which the familiar lack of understanding led to violence. “As soon as I mentioned Harun had autism, five nurses surrounded him and held him down like an animal. I started screaming. Imagine if somebody grabbed you from behind? How would you react?” This blatant absence of recognition and respect from those charged with helping the vulnerable too often leaves children and their families in despair.
The same disinterest is also present in the education system, against which Muamera has struggled in her efforts to secure the best possible education for Harun. The schools have made it clear that they are not ready to facilitate Harun’s needs and, despite her best efforts, Muamera has consistently run into an unwillingness to make any accommodations for her son whatsoever.
Without support from the official channels, Harun and Muamera have found help from an unexpected source. His four-year-old sister has taken it upon herself to help him by teaching him how to play and interact with others – activities that can be demanding for anyone with his specific challenges. Her young daughter has, thus, helped lift a heavy burden from Muamera’s shoulders.
The state of the Bosnian education and health care systems often leaves families with little hope for a brighter future for their children. In a country where nearly everyone is struggling to make ends meet, the government leaves the considerable expenses of doctors, therapists, and medications to the individuals affected. The constant worry that accompanies needing help but finding none forthcoming is only intensified by the static situation in BiH.
As with Mahmut’s mother Samija, the question of what will happen to Harun once Muamera can no longer care for him is ever-present. “If I’m not there for him, who will be? Harun might find safety and security, but it will not within BiH’s borders unless autism is better recognized and understood,” she concludes.
Part I – Educational Exclusion of BiH’s Most Vulnerable: An Introduction
Part II – Educational Exclusion of BiH’s Most Vulnerable: Mahmut’s Story

source: news-balkandiskurs

created: February 12th, 2020

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


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The Rock School That Unites: Creating Demand for Multi-Ethnic Activities in Divided Mitrovica | Balkan Diskurs
José Carpintero Molina
February 21st, 2020
Amidst the few civic initiatives that have succeeded in transforming themselves into popular centers that thrive and expand upon the demand of citizens from different ethnic groups is the Mitrovica Rock School.
International interventions in the Balkans, which include ample funding for conflict prevention and reconciliation activities, have prompted a sprawling ‘industry’ of civil society. Related civic action, typically vulnerable to international funding, directed at donor priorities and focused on building capacities to thrive in the world of grants, however, is rarely sustainable or embedded in social demand. Not surprisingly, donor sponsored organizations are oft perceived as ‘foreign agents’ and/or representing a specific ethnic group, which hampers their potential role as actors working for and bridging divided communities.
Amidst the few civic initiatives that have succeeded in transforming themselves into popular centers that thrive and expand upon the demand of citizens from different ethnic groups is the Mitrovica Rock School. It started as a typical, internationally-sponsored project in 2008, and became an independent NGO in 2012 thanks to funding from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Moreover, working in a city marked by deep divisions – separate spaces, government services, phone lines, schools, and currencies, as well as occasional cases of violence –has not been easy. According to Dren Puka, the director of research at the Kosovar Civil Society Foundation, communal divisions pose clear limits to common civic action: “One of the main characteristics that defines Mitrovica is the absence of hope… Once you return home after participating in an activity, you are surrounded by the fear that is used to keep the city isolated.”
Wendy Hassler-Forest, one of the foreign founders of the school agrees: “Working in a place where people can’t even meet is tricky. I came to realize that people on the two sides of Mitrovica really don’t know anything about each other.”
Despite such obstacles, the school has gradually succeeded in bringing together Albanians and Serbs, who rarely cross over to one another’s side of the city, to create music. Since its founding 12 years ago, the school can boast of hosting approximately 1,300 students, creating 49 multi-ethnic bands, organizing several well-attended concerts, and maintaining a sustainable program – all while enjoying the popularity of a multi-ethnic hub in Kosovo and beyond. In 2019 alone, 112 students participated in 1,782 skills acquisition lessons and 179 band coaching sessions. 10 mixed bands performed 96 rehearsals and 13 concerts in North and South Mitrovica, Prishtina, Leposavic, Brezovica, Novo Selo, Skopje, and Belgrade.
A Useful Past and the Transcendent Power of Music
The school was founded under the motto “We restore Mitrovica’s proud music heritage, together”, connoting a rich, even if often forgotten, past when Mitrovica was a multicultural hub with a rich cultural scene. By promoting a specific focus – an interest in rock music – the organizers appeal to the individual tastes of adolescents from different communities and emphasize mutual respect and tolerance rather than communal links.[1]
This focus translates into a range of appealing activities – daily lessons, training weeks, workshops, and concerts as well as the opportunity to create musical groups – all of which typically involve a variety of influences by members of different communities. Since 2015, the school has been helping its mixed bands record their songs and set up rehearsals in joint venues across both north and south Kosovo, a development that was unthinkable when the school was created in 2008. Hassler-Forest explains the power of music to transcend divisive politics: “When you place two people in a band together, then you suddenly have Jelena the singer with Dren the guitarist writing an amazing new song that has nothing to do with politics. They’ve transcended it.”
Indeed, the school has helped to forge an atmosphere of trust, and even friendship, between its participants and beyond. According to one of the school’s local directors, Milizza: “Over time, you see students who truly connected to form strong friendships…[But] it took us a long time to get to where we are now.”
From a Neutral to a Local Meeting Place
Given that security is of major concern to Mitrovica citizens, it is apparent that the school has struggled to create a safe and suitable space where members of various communities can come together to create music. “[Initially] we found a location, the basement of the Cultural Center, which is immediately next to the main bridge… we hoped that youth from the two sides would come there for music lessons. But this was naïve. People in Mitrovica don’t cross the bridge, especially not for something like music lessons,” explains Hassler-Forest.
The organizers then decided to invite young musicians to attend a summer school in Skopje, Macedonia where young people from different communities were free to meet, form bands, rehearse, and, ultimately, perform a concert together. Upon their return to Mitrovica, students asked for a meeting place in their town. Hassler-Forest recalls: “When the kids came back to Mitrovica, they demanded a school in their own town. We then decided to restructure the project. One [school] on each side but where we brought the kids together for regular summer schools, training weeks, and tours.” And, thus, two branches were born – one in the North and one in the South.
The form of mixed local and international management has also enabled this project to advance, allowing for sensitivity to the subtleties of the local situation while also providing an adequate distance from it. “At rock school, we’ve always had a core management team consisting of one local from each side plus one international to support a mixed team of local teachers. So, we keep each other in balance,” explains Hassler-Forest.
Stimulating local demand, however, has taken a lot of time and patience. Organizers continue to manage safe transport for participants from one part of the city to the other, but, with the passing time, more and more students have started to organize their own transport or even prefer walking, which is a clear indication of the growing interconnectivity and trust. Students have also become more confident in advertising their common activities, songs, and concerts on social media, a radical change from just a few short years ago when such promotion came with a fear of repercussion.
As local director, Milizza, notes, “When we ended up having a concert in Mitrovica last year, everyone participated. Honestly, I was myself a bit surprised, especially when I saw how supportive the parents were.” After all, “The hardest work is to proceed slowly and stick around. Not to expect quick results,” she concludes.
[1] Mitrovica Rock School website, at https://www.mitrovicarockschool.org/
This article is part of wider research supported by the Kosovo Foundation for Open Society as part of the project “Building knowledge about Kosovo (3.0)”, whose findings will be published soon.

created: February 21st, 2020

author: José Carpintero Molina


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Changemaker Edhem Custovic Invests in BiH Youth for a Better Future | Balkan Diskurs
Luka Čavar
February 27th, 2020
In a recent interview with Balkan Diskurs, Edhem Custovic discussed the recent establishment of the BH Futures Foundation (BHFF) and the launch of the Futures MakerSpace center in Srebrenica.
It was the beginning of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and Edhem “Eddie” Custovic was only 7 years old when he left Tuzla and arrived in Australia with his parents and brother. As a child, he was always interested in science and innovation and now, as an adult, he has come up with several of his own innovations, one of which has contributed to the reduction of Australian infant mortality rates. His achievements have reached a global scale, and now, he wants to focus his efforts on BiH and helping his home country become an example of successful development.
In a recent interview with Balkan Diskurs, Custovic discussed the recent establishment of the BH Futures Foundation (BHFF) and the launch of the Futures MakerSpace center in Srebrenica.
BD: The BH Futures Foundation (BHFF) helps young people by offering educational opportunities and mentorships. How difficult was it for you to reach young people in BiH when you first started your foundation?
Custovic: Young people are eager for knowledge, especially if they have the opportunity to learn from professionals who have built impressive careers, and we provide access to such resources for free through our foundation. The youth have recognized our idea to “spread knowledge for a better BiH” and have been enthusiastic to join us in this endeavor. We really haven’t had any problems motivating them because young people are searching for opportunities to improve and the motivation to make a living off of their knowledge. If they work hard to achieve it, success is guaranteed. Young people want security; they need to be able to turn to someone for advice, which is one thing our mentors provide. When you selflessly share knowledge, people want to be a part of it.
In addition, a good mentor can play a very important role in a young person’s success. Mentors have shaped my career from high school onwards. Young people should work to navigate their careers through the advice of people who have already gone through the things that lie ahead of them. Our goal is to guide young people down the right path towards creating successful careers. We also want to create an expansive network of young people so that those who acquire knowledge can pass it on to others.
BD: Do young people see their futures in BiH and how much does BHFF help them to stay in their homeland?
Custovic: We try to awaken patriotism in all the young people who participate in our events because they are the better future for BiH and we tell them that very openly. We offer them the opportunity to enhance their knowledge in countries around the world and to learn from world-renowned experts. However, we also advise them to transfer their knowledge back to their homeland.
We help them build connections, develop their start-up ideas, travel, and learn so that they can put their ideas into action back at home. Engineering is one such job that allows you to work for companies around the world from the comfort of your own home. Our experience has shown that BiH has many young people who love these types of jobs.
BD: You recently opened a technology center (Futures MakerSpace) in Srebrenica. Can you tell us more about this project?
Custovic: This, in fact, is a story of how one Facebook message and one visit can initiate great social action that can benefit a whole region. Last year, I was contacted by Valentina Gagic-Lazic from Srebrenica via Facebook. She praised me for the work we are doing through BHFF and expressed her desire to meet. At the end of November, Valentina came to our academy in Tuzla where she was further introduced to our work. She said to me that day: “This is fantastic. You have students from Banja Luka, Mostar, Sarajevo, Tuzla, and Zenica all bound together by common goals. Would it be possible for you to come to Srebrenica with your students to help motivate our young people?” Those few words from Valentina were enough for me and I agreed immediately. A week later, along with our students, I visited Srebrenica and talked to the young people there.
What made me particularly happy was the fact that a large number of Bosniak and Serb children arrived that morning from Bratunac, Srebrenica, and other places. They were united by a desire for knowledge and progress. The Futures MakerSpace center is a place where high school students from Srebrenica and the surrounding areas can engage in technology, have access to some of the same resources that peers in Western countries have, and develop projects. Our goal is not only to educate our country’s young people but to work towards reviving the local economy (agriculture, culture, tourism).
BD: Srebrenica is known to many people for one reason/date, why did you decide to open Futures MakerSpace in Srebrenica, in particular?
Custovic: Your question is also the answer. It’s because this city, which survived such horrors at the end of the last century, is remembered only on the 11th of July. The name of our foundation (BH Futures) is meant to represent a better future not just for Sarajevo, Mostar, Banja Luka, Tuzla, but for all of BiH. That’s why we could not bypass an important place like Srebrenica.
It is our moral and human duty to provide Srebrenica’s youth with the opportunity to learn and socialize together, as well as to seek and build better interpersonal relationships through educational opportunities. It turns out that we made the right move by opening the MakerSpace center because it is now a place where young people of different nationalities are learning together. That’s a goal we want to achieve and strive for. A multicultural and smart BiH is the key to a better future. Of course, we must not forget the horrific suffering that happened to people of Srebrenica. If we can face the past, we will be ready to move forward and not allow such a thing to happen ever again, to anyone.
BD: How does Futures MakerSpace enable young people to improve their local community and how do you connect them with experts?
Custovic: We have equipped the center with computers, information technologies, 3D printers, electronic development boards, drones, and various other tools that young people can use at any time with one exception: the tools must be used for learning and helping their local communities. Our center will be digitally connected to our all of our BiH partner organizations, including JSGuru Kliker School in Banja Luka, DKR Robotics Center in Tuzla, and SPARK in Mostar.
An activity plan has already been drawn up with the goal to bring excellent scholars, volunteers, and students to Srebrenica every weekend who will work with young people, the local community, and local businesses. We want Srebrenica to be filled with activities that encourage young people to come and stay in this beautiful area.
BD: How do we stop young, educated people and professionals from leaving Bosnia and Herzegovina?
Custovic: It is very difficult to stop them unless we change the system and throw out all the things that are wrong with it. The general atmosphere needs to shift and knowledge needs to be more valued and rewarded. We aim as a foundation to start with a series of small steps; to change the lives of a select number of people, at first, and then continue to expand our reach in hopes of influencing this negative trend for the better.
BD: What are BHFF’s plans for the future?
Custovic: Over the last four years, we have succeeded in making positive changes to dozens of young people’s lives in our country. By giving them access to knowledge, technology, and global leadership – our three pillars of action – we have shown them that much can be achieved in a small country like BiH and that if you work hard enough you don’t have to go somewhere else. The world can, instead, come to you.
In the upcoming period, we plan to expand our activities to include as many students as possible. An outstanding example of this is the new mentorship program we launched in conjunction with the MarketMakers initiative, an organization that aims to create meaningful and decent jobs for young women and men in BiH. Through this partnership, we will provide mentoring to 140 high school and college students across the country. This is a big step forward because, until now, we were only able to mentor around thirty students per year.
We also plan to continue our other core activities which include opening additional MakerSpace centers throughout BiH, running the Arduino Outreach Program for high school students, delivering webinars, and offering a variety of other educational and professional development opportunities.
BD: What is your final message to our young people?
Custovic: I would like to tell our young people that they must believe in themselves and invest in expanding their knowledge, which is the only investment that is always worth making. Let them join us and we are sure that, with our mentors, they will be motivated to make a success story out of their lives.
This publication has been selected as part of the Srđan Aleksić Youth Competition, a regional storytelling competition that challenges youth to actively engage with their own communities to discover, document, and share stories of moral courage, interethnic cooperation, and positive social change. The competition is a primary component of the Post-Conflict Research Center’s award-winning Ordinary Heroes Peacebuilding Program, which utilizes international stories of rescuer behavior and moral courage to promote interethnic understanding and peace among the citizens of the Western Balkans.
The Balkan Diskurs Youth Correspondent Program is made possible by funding from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

created: February 27th, 2020

author: Luka Čavar


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A Contested Attempt at Transitional Justice: the Kosovo Specialist Chambers | Balkan Diskurs
Meris Mušanović
March 9th, 2020
The Kosovo Specialist Chambers (SC), adopted by the Kosovo Parliament in 2015, is widely touted as a new, more promising attempt at achieving justice for unpunished war crimes.
A series of previous courts – the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), local courts, and, later, European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) – have tried, but largely failed, to bring perpetrators of war crimes to trial.
The promise of the SC to correct previous failures stands in its attributes as a hybrid court. Part of the Kosovo judiciary, but situated in the Hague and constituted of international judges, the chambers represent a new type of courts that combine the strength of international tribunals with the benefits of local ownership. Its hybrid features would, arguably, enable the chambers to avoid the ethnic bias, social intimidation, and political pressure that typically plague war crimes investigations.
Despite its promise as a new institutional model, and ahead of its first indictments, the SC remains heavily contested in Kosovo proper. Its critics point to key problems – its ethnically-biased jurisdiction, fuzzy allegations, and secrecy of operation – as ‘birth’ defects that taint the Chambers’ goal to conduct impartial investigations. Such problems are becoming more visible within the context of the ethnically charged expectations that characterize post-war Kosovo, thus creating an inhospitable atmosphere in which the SC must operate.
Biased Jurisdiction
From the start, the idea of the SC was heavily contested by Kosovo Albanians given the core document that informs its statutes – the 2011 Dick Marty report. Specifically, the SC’s jurisdiction encompasses the investigation of crimes against humanity, war crimes under international law, and crimes under Kosovo law that were committed or commenced in the territory of Kosovo between January 1, 1998, and December 31, 2000, and which relate to the Marty report. Jurisdiction also includes crimes that have been the subject of criminal investigations by the Special Investigative Task Force (SITF). All previous courts investigating war crimes had clearly established that most such crimes related to the use of excessive force by the Army of Yugoslavia and Serbian Police Forces. Yet, Marty’s report focuses on and covers only members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during the abovementioned timeframe.
Given its specific focus, many in Kosovo see the SC as a selective form of justice. In the words of Kosovo Albanian analyst, Njomza Haxhibeqiri, “The SC’s main shortcoming is its subject matter jurisdiction, which targets only KLA members, thus causing a validity problem from the Kosovo Albanian perspective.” A poll from April 2017 confirms that 76.4% of Kosovo Albanians believe it is unfair that the SC will mainly prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity associated with the KLA. Haxhibeqiri further explains, “If the Law on the SC expands its scope beyond just the Marty report, to try crimes committed by others as well, it would save itself a lot of trouble… In this way, it would have Kosovo’s support and it might, indeed, contribute to uncovering a full-fledged truth instead of concentrating on only a portion of it.”
Another Kosovo Albanian analyst working on the issue, Agon Maliqi, warns that such a limited focus risks creating more resentment than justice: “If the prosecution is successful,  the work of the SC could produce some sense of justice among the Kosovo Serb and Albanian communities who were targets of the KLA. Yet, targeting only the perpetrators from one side will eventually feed a sense of injustice among the wider Albanian community.”
The issue of the SC’s bias, however, depends on who you speak with. According to Serb activist, Aleksandar Rapajic, the role of the court is to determine individual and not ‘group’ responsibility: “The perception that the SC was established against Kosovo Albanians comes from those that fear they might be tried and sentenced by this institution. Individuals who committed war crimes and gained substantial financial gains are attributing ‘higher interests’ to their action to avoid any responsibility.” Nevertheless, the individual responsibility argument should apply to all ethnic groups and does not provide sufficient justification for why Albanians should be the only ones held accountable.
Fuzzy Allegations
The contestation of the SC’s jurisdiction goes hand in hand with the poor evidence that the Marty report offers to back up its allegations against a specific group, especially given the established evidence that most such crimes were committed by members of the Army of Yugoslavia and police forces. The existing local and international courts had expansive authority to investigate Marty’s allegations, but failed to provide evidence for, or even investigate, the alleged crimes, which makes it challenging for the SC to justify its focus on one group. According to Haxhibeqiri, “Dick Marty’s report on inhumane treatment and illicit organ trafficking sets clear recommendations for Kosovar institutions, Serbian institutions, and, most importantly, EULEX in its 19 Article. Marty’s report has been public since 2010 and EULEX has had more than enough time and the mandate to shed light on the alleged crimes, however, it did not.”
For the contestants of the SC, the passing of time certainly doesn’t help shed light on war crimes. According to Leonora Aliu, a journalist reporting about the court, “Almost 20 years have passed since the war and all the institutions that initiated investigations or brought charges for war crimes, before the SC was established, had a better chance of bringing war criminals to trial. There were more chances to find witnesses alive, with fresh memories and evidences. This institution will, therefore, be a bigger disappointment.”
As with almost every issue in Kosovo, Kosovo Serbs perceive the Marty report allegations and the passage of time differently. According to Rapajic, “War crimes do not have a statute of limitations. It is possible to conduct war crimes trials even after a long period of time has passed. This gives us hope that cases the SC has the mandate to adjudicate will be processed and that the victim’s families will receive justice, despite the passage of time.”
Shrouded in Secrecy
Since much of the skepticism confronting the SC is a by-product of the failures of previous courts, it needs to better publicize its case for offering a better solution as a new institutional choice. Still, the Kosovo public is largely in the dark about the SC’s scope of work and activities. As Maliqi explains, “The outreach has been extremely minimal. There does not seem to have been any effort to address perceptions about the selective nature of the court.”
Haxhibeqiri confirms: “They do not even have an office in Kosovo, which could be considered odd. Even if the mandate was not biased, this distanced behavior causes the population to see them as an external influence and not something driven from the inside. Their responses remain non-existent and public appearances highly limited.”
The limited outreach allows space for misinterpretation and misinformation. According to Aliu, “Each time a well-known former KLA leader goes to The Hague and comes back, he says nothing in front of the TV cameras except that the process is against the KLA and is unfair. Right now, all people know about the SC is either what they hear in the news, mostly heroic statements from former KLA members, or rumors. There is nothing concrete that would help people build a logical, realistic opinion about the SC.”
The SC must now operate in an inhospitable social and political atmosphere that it had in hand in creating. A report from the Group of Legal and Political Studies not surprisingly concludes that the SC outreach office needs to cooperate more with the Government of Kosovo, civil society groups, and the international community in delivering a comprehensive and inclusive program of public dialogue that would counter the general perception that the SC as an insult to, or even conspiracy against, the KLA and its war for freedom.
This article is part of wider research supported by the Kosovo Foundation for Open Society as part of the project “Building knowledge about Kosovo (3.0)”, whose findings will be published soon.

created: March 9th, 2020

author: Meris Mušanović


text:
Uniting a City: The Ele Mostar Project | Balkan Diskurs
Sanela Tufekčić
March 24th, 2020
Project Ele Mostar was intended not only as a contribution to reconciliation in Mostar, but as an example of reconciliation to the whole country.  The project was launched in 2019 with the idea to bring Bosniak and Croat university students at Dzemal Bijedic University and the University of Mostar closer together by showcasing Spanish culture through workshops, courses, and films. Projects like this are very important because they are often starting points for political discussions and problem-solving in BiH.
‘‘The idea is to bring the Spanish culture closer to the young people of Mostar and to present Spain, and the Spanish language, through their everyday activities.ˮ said professor Celia Jimenez, the project’s founder.
‘‘Being at two universities at the same time seemed like a huge challenge when it came to organizing group activities so I had to come up with a solution. The solution came in a way to organize the activities in one single room.ˮ
An illustration of the desire young people from both parts of the town have to hang out together and learn together is the recent ‘‘Setnja Za Mirˮ (Walk for Peace).
The walk was organized by the student unions of both universities, in cooperation with the International Peace Youth Group, a global youth organization based in Korea. ‘‘Setnja Za Mirˮ started in the Spanish Square and ended at the Old Bridge in Mostar, sending the message that coexistence is the solution for Bosnia and Herzegovina. It showed that the young people of Mostar are convinced that war can never be a route to peace.
According to Jimenez, Project Ele isn’t supported by the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton Government or the city of Mostar. Instead, she found help with funding and logistics at the Spanish Embassy. The students themselves are happy to contribute, and in so doing, show that they are united and connected despite the divisions that are imposed on them.
The nature of the project brings to mind a quote from Rabindranath Tagore, an Indian poet: ‘‘No people can save themselves by separating from others. Either we save ourselves together, or we fall together.ˮ
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Follow and support the work of Project Ele Mostar through their Instagram profile @elemostar.

created: March 24th, 2020

author: Sanela Tufekčić


text:
Štefica Galić’s School of Critical Thinking is Shifting Reality | Balkan Diskurs
Kristina Gadže
March 27th, 2020
Štefica Galić is an editor and journalist, but above all, a human rights activist from Ljubuški. As founder and editor-in-chief of Tacno.net, she covers topics like freedom of speech and hate speech.  Her activism, however, began earlier–in the midst of the Homeland War.
Galić and her husband Neđo rescued Bosniak civilians from the Croatian Army by forging their documents so they couldn’t be taken to Heliodrom, Dretelj or Gabela camp, even though she’s Croatian herself.
Since then, Galić has received threats and faced violence, because of both her activism and editorial policy. Soon after the death of her husband, he was the subject of a documentary called ‘‘Neđo od Ljubuškog.’’ Just two days after the screening, Galić was physically attacked, which caused her to move to Mostar. However, neither the verbal nor physical violence stopped in the ‘‘City on Neretva.”
‘‘I lost everything of material value and I had to leave the city where I lived, said Galić. “A lot of my friends, and even parts of my family, gave up on me. I sued some sewer right-wing portals and lost everything in court. The BiH judiciary simply does not want to understand the journalistic profession, it’s either that or it’s in the service of politics. For the third year in a row, they’ve confiscated half of my pension to pay for the costs of the court and the slanderer. For them, I was and still am a traitor to “my people”, a communist whore… For others, I am again a heroine or a brave woman. I’m a normal person. Everything is simple.”
Galić is aware of the danger this profession carries in the region–journalists are routinely attacked. ‘‘To write critically often isn’t easy at all because you are exposed to all kinds of humiliations, insults, threats and even physical attacks.’’
“Those who do investigative stories or speak openly about the criminals who lead this country or their servants in the system, and about dealing with the past or corruption, are particularly exposed. The government does not take criticism, not even in a constructive form, so there is no chance to change anything for the better”, Galić explains.
In 2018, she received the Johann Philipp Palm Award for Freedom of Speech in Germany, which shows her many years of activism have been noted.
For the second year in a row, Galić is leading the School of Critical Thinking, which brings people together with the goal of creating their own ability to think critically and objectively. The school lasts the entire academic year and brings in students from all over Bosnia and Herzegovina. And, what makes it stand out, it’s free.
The lecturers are prominent left-wing intellectuals who try to impart the values of intellectual honesty and self-criticism to students. ‘‘The aim of the project is changing the educational paradigm that educates young people to be followers of ideology,’’ Galić said, noting that many young people do not find perspective because of the backwardness of the system after the war.
In a society full of stereotypes, it’s difficult to fight lies, corruption, and alienation, but Galić continues. ‘‘I believe in what I do, I believe we can do better because we are not how they present us to the world and to ourselves. I do not want to believe in what the worst of us impose on us, I believe in my eyes and in my judgment, in the good as such, in good people and in good energy. I don’t want to divide people by nation, religion or in any way and that’s the end of it. As much as it has cost me, and it has cost me a lot, I will do what I do as long as I can, and our team will continue to work even when I am gone,” concluded Galić.

created: March 27th, 2020

author: Kristina Gadže


text:
Mala Sirena: An honest and sincere fight for our children | Balkan Diskurs
Armin Halilović
April 1st, 2020
This story is about people, from a small town in central Bosnia, making an effort to provide children with disabilities the support they need to grow up, receive a proper education, and socialize.
Adisa Mahovac founded Mala Sirena (Little Mermaid) Association in 2012, with a mission to make children with disabilities equal members of society. In Zavidovići, she’s also a professor of English Language and Literature, and a mother. Mala Sirena began as Adisa, the mother of a child with disabilities, battled a system that did not provide any support to the development, education, socialization and rehabilitation of these children.
“The activities we provide are unique and do not exist anywhere in our canton, maybe even in the entirety of BiH,” said Adisa. “These include defectological and lapidary treatments, and neurofeedback therapy (a therapeutic method of changing specific patterns of brain activities that helps regulate attention disorders, mood swings, etc.). We also offer psychologist services and a legal service.” With the support of USAID, among other funders, Adisa is able to provide all treatments and services free of charge, even advanced treatments like sensory integration that require special sensory rooms.
Since 2012, Mala Sirena has done a lot for children with disabilities, and in their families, in Zavidovići. They began providing teaching assistants to all the elementary schools in the municipality, as well as custom keyboards and laptops to help these students can follow classes without hindrance or difficulty.
The association also opened an inclusive kindergarten for the younger kids. It’s open five days a week and has three permanent employees. The kindergarten is open to all children, giving children with disabilities a unique opportunity to socialize and learn with their peers.
Unfortunately, when they started, the municipal and cantonal authorities didn’t pay much attention to the degree of vulnerability of these children, nor did they provide adequate support to the work of the association.  Since it’s estimated that, in BiH, 6.5 percent of children between the ages of have some form of disability, many remain left out.
‘‘They [the government representatives] often get angry when I, or the people in my team, tell them that they could have helped us more and that we still need help,ˮ Adisa says. She explained that they’ve been struggling for years, without success, to try and convince the municipality to let them use a suitable place where they could work properly. Most of the funding for the association, which cares for 90 users and employs 15 people, comes from international donations, projects, memberships and some personal donations. Adisa, however, is optimistic and believes that the biggest challenges have been overcome since they received the support and trust of the parents and the families of disabled children.
Outside Mala Sirena, someone else in Zavidovići decided to help children with disabilities: twenty-one-year-old Haris Polić, a taxi driver by trade, has been giving children with disabilities rides for free since last November.
“I came up with the idea of driving these children when I saw just how many cases of struggling families there were over the four months I worked. I thought to myself; how can I, as an ordinary citizen, help them and make their lives a little easier,” explained Haris. Most recently, Haris started receiving gas donations for these rides from Elvir Omerović, the owner of a local gas station in Zavidovići.
Adisa and Haris work together, and they believe that everyone can help these children in their own way; as Adisa put it, “We, at the association, are overjoyed because we can all work together to help these children. Ordinary people are our best helpers and heroes.”
Mala Sirena will launch a new building project in the coming period that they hope will operate smoothly because, as they say, their users deserve it.
While statistics on the number of children with disabilities in BiH are only partially available, there’s absolutely no data on the quality of their lives, which means their social and educational conditions are completely unknown. Most initiatives to help and support these children remain at the level of local communities and the good will of the people, such as Adisa, Haris and Elvir, who want all children to have access to guaranteed rights to life, education, and all the other preconditions of a happy childhood.
You can follow and support the work of „Mala Sirena“ on their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/udruzenje.malasirena/
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This article is part of a series about the challenges faced by Bosnian children with special needs and their families. To begin at Part I of this series, click here.

created: April 1st, 2020

author: Armin Halilović


text:
The Goodness Within Us | Balkan Diskurs
Azra Berbić
April 6th, 2020
Sister Blanka and Mualima Šejla traveled on quite different paths through life, but those two paths left them with the same desires and motivations. Sister Blanka’s journey began in flat Slavonian County. Mualima Šejla, along with her mother and two sisters were forced out of Bratunac, a town in eastern Bosnia near Srebrenica, during the war. Eventually, these paths came together in Livno.
“I was born in a village near Vinkovci,” said Sister Blanka, 53. “I wanted to come to Bosnia when I decided to become a nun. My parents were born here and in 1962 they moved to Slavonia. So it was my love for the Bosnian soul, regardless of religion and nation that brought me.”
As a child, Mualima[1] Šejla (now 32) lost her father. After the war forced her remaining family to flee, she ended up in Livno as a newlywed. It was in her new town that she began to take an active role in her community.
From selling cookies to a symbol of beneficence
As soon as they arrived in Livno, both Blanka and Šejla started organizing activities in the community for both young and old. Šejla recalls receiving an invitation to participate in a charity event from the Appreciation Coalition, a group of non-governmental organizations active in the area. There was going to be a bake sale to raise money for two sisters, both suffering from Multiple Sclerosis. ‘‘Of course I agreed to it,” said Šejla, “my female members and I made a bunch of cakes and we all spent one day in the square.”
On that day, “Blanka came with a group of young people, consisting of people primarily involved in humanitarian work,” said Šejla. “She is such a cheerful spirit–interesting, funny and communicative. Everyone was relaxed and they were joking around, we took pictures of ourselves playing basketball and then one of the photos of the two of us surfaced on the media. If we had not met then, perhaps nothing would have come out of that cooperation,” she continued.
Šejla was, and is, an active worker in the Majlis of the Islamic Community, focusing on improving the lives of women in the city. The organization’s activity in this area has yielded many projects they can be proud of.
Soon after the bake sale, Blanka came to the Majlis office and asked for Šejla’s phone number. ‘‘She then invited me to do a humanitarian action to get a washing machine for a family with four young children. I think that project with the washing machine was the trigger for us to have a successful collaboration from then until today,’’ said Šejla.
The two are currently assisting two families, and there are more that call them when help is needed.
They’ve also continued to provide assistance to people with disabilities.
The citizens of Livno always respond to any action that the Mualima Šejla and Sister Blanka call for. Although they have not turned to the city authorities for help, the authorities of Canton Livno openly support what they are doing. ‘‘People look favorably on our work in the community, and I can say that everything we are doing comes from a deep conviction that we are doing it for the benefit of everyone. We are also doing it because of our religious commitment,” Sister Blanka pointed out.
A story that the entire Bosnian society needs
Sister Blanka and Mualima Šejla’s story is one that should please everyone in Bosnian society; it’s a story about doing good deeds. Šejla thinks ‘‘we need stories like these to remind us that we all have that shred of goodness in us. Maybe we sometimes suppress it and forget it exists, but sometimes we need to push it, in the same way, that we exercise and push our bodies.”
Sister Blanka, for her part, added that she doesn’t like the term ‘humanitarian,’ because, for her, every human being has some part of them that’s inherently humane. ‘‘Every person has something inside of them that, together with their religious strength and love for God, makes them a humanitarian,” she said. “My mission is to first and foremost give something back to the soul and with God’s help I can do so.’’
Šejla and Blanka often wonder where their empathy and motivation to help people in need comes from. They’ve concluded that it has something to do with both of them losing their dads very early in their lives and dealing with difficult paths through life.
‘‘My mother was left alone with three daughters,” explained Šejla, “so there is no difficult situation that I cannot recognize: from poverty to not having a sandwich when you are a kid at school. All this taught me how to fight for myself. I feel that all the support I, as a child, received from others should be given back to those who need my help and support.”
Blanka attributed a quote to St. Vinko, saying, “the poorer, the more unpleasant, dirtier and less kind a poor person is, if we look deep enough we can recognize the face of God on the other side,” an insight which extends a thought of the patron saint of charity.
“Without the gift of God, without understanding and love, there is no action. I often pray to the Lord to give me the grace to know what He wants me to do and to give me the strength to do it. It is necessary to recognize the need and to act upon it, and the most important thing is to persevere in doing good deeds,” concluded Sister Blanka.
[1] Mualima – a religous teacher in Islam, female

created: April 6th, 2020

author: Azra Berbić


text:
Lana Bastašić: In the Hilly Wonderland that is the Balkans | Balkan Diskurs
Anja Zulić
April 10th, 2020
A road trip story only makes sense when the travelers, at least mistakenly, have a goal and believe that arriving at their destination will solve all problems and end all the hassles of the trip. There is no such goal in Bosnia; all roads are seemingly equally bumpy and pointless, leading you around in circles even when you seem to be making progress. Driving through Bosnia is different: “a twisted cosmic worm that does not lead to an external and real destination but to the gloomy, barely traversed depths of your own being.” These are Lana Bastašić’s words, whose latest novel is called „Uhvati zeca.“
The novel, whose name translates to “In Search of the White Rabbit,” features heroines who, like Alice, seek answers. Former friends Le(j)la and Sara reunite where it all began: in the hilly Wonderland of the Balkans. From there, the narrator takes us through a maze of childhood memories told in first person perspective. In „Uhvati Zeca,” through mistaken beliefs and distorted memory, we get a story of friendship, love, and one country.
The novel is also a story about Bosnia, but was written in Barcelona, where Lana edits a literary magazine, called ‘Carn de Cap,’ and runs a literary school. She was having trouble writing about a place from so far away–so she went on a road from Mostar to Banja Luka.
‘‘It was then that I realized that the Bosnia I was interested in was actually my inner toponym,” said Lana, “which had little to do with reality and geographical information, but with the memories and emotions of my storyteller. So that’s why this trip, at least for me, was like a kind of hypnosis in which you consciously decide to go back to the darkest parts of yourself and your growing up, to ’dig up’ the darkness that you have long suppressed and turn it into a text.”
Eventually, feeling she’d overdosed on Bosnia, she left Banja Luka. ‘‘Leaving helped me see what was left behind when I moved, and what were the things that had nothing to do with my place of residence, but solely with the internal nightmares that followed us wherever we went,’’ explained Lana.
‘‘Uhvati Zeca’’ is also a story about a war, which the author tries to treat from a different angle by giving voice to those who did not actively participate in it. “War is a story in which everyone has a clearly defined role: first of all bad guys and good guys, heroes and villains, and then mothers, wives, girls, children and old men, as well as the capital counted before and after the war. All of this, of course, depends on the storyteller. So it is not enough to talk about war if we go into the same logic that led to it: the logic of black and white divisions. I’m not interested in books about Serbs and Croats; I’m interested in books about people. Therefore, it’s necessary to address social and cultural traumas through the voices of those who did not actively participate in them and yet were affected by their consequences. In this way, we avoid getting into the same senseless naming game that, in its end, justifies the crimes,” said Lana.
The centerpiece of the novel, in between its various themes, is the story of two ex-friends who meet again after twelve years. Their friendship is held by a bond, which, for years, couldn’t be broken by diversity or turmoil. Society today and our cultural values, propagate the idea that one can only be complete after finding his or her ‘other half.’
‘‘The Balkans have gone astray so far on this issue. Lives in pairs are put ahead of happiness, so people endure in massively unhappy, bad, and even violent, marriages. The idea of solitude is scarier than that of being abused. As artist Sandra Dukić said it: happiness is not an argument for a Balkan woman,” Lana said.
This means that friendships often have to be put aside, especially by women. The narrator draws attention to this by talking about her relationships with men who always want to fix it but eventually fail, while her friend Lejla is the one who “knows how to release her from the barks.”
‘‘Female friendships have been put on the second or third shelf because we grew up in a society where we should look at each other as competition,” said Lana. “If the only way to achieve our identity is to be a wife and a mother, then a man is imperative in our lives, and other women are there to ‘defeat’ them, therefore they are the competition. Is there a better way of pushing aside a group than convincing its members that they are standing in the way of each other?”
Continuing on about female friendships, the author spoke about the popular belief that some topics are not sufficiently literary or serious. For her, the topic of female friendship is not especially literary; rather, she thinks that what’s being written about isn’t important, but how it’s written.
‘‘If we recall the greatest writers and their masterpieces, we soon realize that they were precisely those books that dealt with and transcended this type of elitism and which dealt with these ‘non-literary’ types and topics, Lana explained. “No topic is trivial if the writer can give it universality and, through it, say something about what being human is and what it means to be human today.” She added that it isn’t important to hear ‘‘women’s stories, but rather stories about women.” And not only that, she’d say the same about stories about the Roma, the oppressed, and all those whose stories we haven’t considered literary topics.
‘Grupa Pobunjene čitateljke,’ a group of independent critics from the region, released research about the literary scene from a gender perspective. The results, from 2019, show that Bosnia and Herzegovina has very few female authors. Lana thinks that changing this requires changing what happens as far back as elementary schools.
‘‘Virginia Woolf wrote about it in her essay ‘Professions for Women:’ as long as a woman sits down to write while asking herself if her writing will be accepted by men, she can’t ever write anything honest, and therefore nothing good,’’ Lana said. She remembered a distinguished professor telling her that he hoped she would be ‘‘a part of their literary community because of her charm.’’
According to Lana, if we live in a society that teaches us from a young age that our role is to charm, we can hardly build the assertiveness, even audacity, which writing requires. ‘‘How do you turn off all those voices and sit down and write something worth the paper?” she wonders.
Adding even more pressure is the feeling that you have to prove something extra because of your gender. Even if you’ve been given a prize or your book meets your sales targets, you’ll still need to justify your existence as an author, as if you’ve taken the place of some ‘real’ writer. Often, other women (writers and critics) are very harsh because they expect writers to correct all wrongs with one novel.
At this point, Lana returns to the idea that changes need to start from childhood: ‘‘So, let’s start today by teaching girls in the first grade of elementary school that it can be charming to disagree with something, that it is not against their nature to be interested in everything, not just dolls and dresses, that all colors can be theirs, that all toys can be for them, that they have the right to express their opinions without being accused of being ‘smart’… Let’s teach these girls that they are not flowers, but that they have a brain that can do everything that a boy’s brain can too. Then, in twenty years’ time, we will see true changes in the cultural and literary scene.”
She’s currently conducting research on some villages in the Balkans, looking into their superstitions and legends.
‘‘I hope that it will take the form of a novel in a year’s time. I don’t want to rush it because I think it is necessary to ‘cleanse’ from the previous book so that we don’t repeat the same story, in the same narrative voice and with the same characters,’’ Lana says, adding that she doesn’t really miss Banja Luka. ‘‘I miss the people in Banja Luka though.’’

created: April 10th, 2020

author: Anja Zulić


text:
Azra Dedić: The Una’s Golden Girl | Balkan Diskurs
Amila Žunić
April 13th, 2020
Azra Dedić was born in Bihać, the second child in the family. When she was born during the war years, her mom gave birth to a baby with Down syndrome–to whom she gave all her love and attention. Now twenty-four years old, she’s known to the public as a European Judo Champion, and is so much more. She’s the golden girl from Una, as many call her dearly.
Azra has never felt different. She could only be special, which is what everyone who knows her claims her to be. She receives the greatest support from her family – her parents and brother, to whom she is always grateful. ‘‘My mom, dad and brother, and later my sister-in-law and my little cousin, who took a special place in my heart, have always supported me in everything. Aunts always love the most,” Azra claims.
She is remembered for her gold medal
The story everyone knows, and writes, about her is a sports story that began twelve years ago. It was then she first showed an interest in, and eventually love for, judo. She began training at the “Una Judo Club” in Bihać, where she remains a member to this day. Over the course of those 12 years, seven coaches have contributed to her story, she says, and all are responsible for her success.
‘‘My club is my second family. That’s where I found myself,’’ said Azra.
Azra competes in the 63 kg category. In order to stay in good shape, she must keep an eye on her diet, especially during periods of intense training to prepare for a competition. She trains three times a week, accommodating both business and private obligations.
However, Azra Dedić is not only an ID-Judo champion (special needs competition), but also the first person with Down syndrome who got employed in the country. After successfully completing her elementary and high school education in her hometown, Azra got a job at a cosmetics shop in Bihać. Still, she did everything in her own style: ‘‘My employer has a big heart. He always gives me leave from work,’’ Azra says, thinking of all the absences from work.
Azra went to Slovenia for her first judo ID contest in 2008, where she finished second. She won a gold medal two years later in the same country. Since then, she’s won many tournaments (often in Italy–her good luck charm), and placed third at the World Championships in Cologne. Finally, she won the European Championships in Cologne, which made her visible to the whole Balkans and beyond.
Her gold medal came with many new commitments. ‘‘There were a lot of awards and trips. I still haven’t rested’’, she says.
From painting to Judo
Her first love, however, was not sports but painting. She finished art high school in Bihać as an excellent student, and enjoys painting still lives the most. Though she fell in love with sports later, Azra hasn’t neglected painting; many of her paintings adorn the walls of her family home. Azra says she loves donating her work too.
Nor did Azra neglect school when she started training. And she shouldn’t have, since, she says, training was after school and she had to maintain good grades in order to continue training.
‘‘There was a bit of you’re a girl, you can’t do all of that,’” but Azra overcame the obstacles. ‘‘I’m not used to losing, I’m skipping over all the walls,ˮ she said with a smile.
Every story has two sides
‘‘I was just a girl who was bored being stuck in her home. That was when, even though I wasn’t actively looking for a job, I suddenly got one. I immediately accepted the job offer. My family supported me and they believed that I could do it,ˮ Azra said.
She doesn’t mind that everyone remembers only for her last competition, but she loves when people are aware of other things about her. ‘‘I have yet another family called Radio-television of Una-Sana Canton – RTV USK; they have been following my successes from the very beginning. My first interview always goes to them,” she points out, adding that she is proud that some journalists also received journalist awards for the articles and films they made about her.
‘‘I have no love other than sports and I will not have one ever, I will not allow it,’’ says Azra. Her days (when she has no obligations and doesn’t have to wear make up in front of the cameras) consist of listening to music, resting and, more recently, playing with her little cousin who, she says, won her heart.
Meeting her favorite singer – Marija Šerifović – brought great joy. ‘‘After my return from Cologne, I was told to go to Sarajevo for a press conference,” said Azra. “I was relaxed when I met the federal minister of sport who fulfilled my life’s wish. I didn’t know they brought Marija there. I thought my heart was going to pop out when I saw her. ‘‘I hugged her and said, ‘Marija, you’re a legend!’, to which she replied, ‘Azra, you’re a queen!’”
She says that it was a life-changing encounter. ‘‘Marija is amazing,ˮ she says. During that encounter, she even had the opportunity to sing together with Marija.
Azra makes the most out of her free Sundays, and always strives to make them productive and to visit the people dear to her. Although strong and courageous, Azra also cries sometimes. She said she only cries when people are cruel, and added that her faith in God gives her all the strength she needs.
‘‘I like people to look at me as ordinary, because that’s how I act.ˮ
All this, and much more, makes Azra who she is. She is plain but special, shining and radiating with good energy–and is an inspiration to many. She’s happy that many people know her and appreciate her, but especially glad that she is equal with everyone and that she has never been confronted with prejudice or negative comments.
When she won the Athlete of the Year in Bihać in 2019, Azra received a special recognition: a cup and a gift certificate for her contribution to the sporting section of the city. After that, she received another award from the Una-Sana Canton – for her contribution and sporting results over the past year. And the latest in the series of awards was in Sarajevo: at a ceremony for the most successful athletes and teams in BiH, Azra received recognition for her results.
‘‘Don’t give up, ever. Follow your dreams and desires because everything is possible!” concluded Azra.

created: April 13th, 2020

author: Amila Žunić


text:
Frenkie: The trend of young people leaving our country worries me | Balkan Diskurs
Slobodan Blagovčanin
April 16th, 2020
Adnan Hamidović, better known as Frenkie, is one of the rare artists on the Bosnian music scene who has continuously spoken out about pressing issues in BiH for almost two decades now.
For nearly 20 years, Frenkie has served as a symbol of urban thinking. Through his artistic endeavors, he has influenced the development of critical thinking among a large number of young people, not only in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) but across the Balkans. His audience, which has gathered over two decades, continues to vigorously react to the “unfair” reality that surrounds them. In a sea of “influencers”, Frenkie is still recognized as one of the greatest fighters for social justice.
At the end of 2018, the song “Egzil” was released. Reminiscent of his 2002 hit song, “Hajmo ih rusit,” (Let’s bring ‘em down”), Frenkie says these two songs deal with the ever-present issue that youth are choosing to leave BiH as a result of the country’s difficult environment. He explains that Egzil was written to convey the feelings of loss that those who remain are left behind to experience.
“The fact that young people are choosing to leave BiH presents a big problem for the country and the region, and that’s exactly why this problem is the focus of our song. Many people can find themselves in the song, but also, when I compare these two songs, I can see that I have grown a lot since. I am no longer the same person I was in 2002, even though today we are still talking about the same topics, just in a more mature manner,” explains Frenkie.
He says that he found the inspiration for “Egzil”, and many other songs, in everyday life and the society that surrounds him.
“Inspiration is all around me. And it’s not inspiration, per say, but rather that we are forced to deal with the topics at hand. I’m thinking about these issues, talking to my friends about them, and then suddenly I realize that I can turn it into text, because it’s constantly there in my head and all around me. Then I realize that it’s time to say it out loud, in my own way, publicly – not just as small talk on coffee breaks. It is especially important to me that a lot of our fellow citizens think similarly,” he adds.
When asked what he believes is the biggest problem facing the youth in BiH, he responds, “A corrupt and unfair society that doesn’t recognize quality and hard work.” He adds that in BiH, hard work and honesty are not respected. It’s more important whose son or daughter you are or what political party you are a member of.
“The worst part is that young people are being openly separated into ethnic groups. The youth who have lost their will to fight these problems, – unfortunately, leave,” says Frenkie.
As he sees it, young people who go from London to Barcelona show their mobility, but in BiH, the process is only ever a one-way trip. “When young people leave, they leave for good. They only come back to visit on holidays. This is most worrying. There are many people from Tuzla, and my friends, that I am not aware that they have left. Sometimes, when I meet them in the summer, we have a chat and then I find out they have been living somewhere else for a long time. I would lie if I said that it doesn’t worry me,” he says.
On the other hand, Frenkie decided to stay in BiH because he believes that, despite its problems, this country does have something to offer. He knows it’s hard to succeed here, but innovative and painstaking work can yield positive results. He also decided to stay in BiH because of his family, the values he believes in and life, which he says is much different from that in the west, where he lived for a while.
Our interviewee often emphasizes the importance of family and fatherly pride in his public appearances. He says he thinks a lot about the future of his daughters.
“I think that every parent should be supportive of their children. I, too, think they themselves should decide whether they want to stay in BiH or look elsewhere. What matters to me is that they are happy and healthy, and I hope they can have a good future in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” he adds.
Although there is much talk about nationalism and division in the Balkans, the famous artist was one of the pioneers who, through his engagement, paved the way for peers and future generations when it comes to peacebuilding. There are almost no young activists from Bosnia to whom Frenkie wasn’t a role model and inspiration. The song “Pismo Milanu”, alongside the movie “Granica”, has already attracted a cult of fans. He worked with the Serbian peace activist Milan Colić to produce the song.
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Frenkie always remarks on his excellent collaboration with the Serbian hip-hop artist Marko Šelić (Marcelo) and he also enjoyed recording a duet with his countrywoman, Ivana Rašić (Sajsi MC). When asked about the cooperation on their song “Svi”, the BH artist said that they were lucky that Indigo made “a beat that they both immediately liked.”
“We are aware that our cooperation was a real surprise for the audience in BiH and Serbia,” said Frenkie, “Of course, we are very pleased. Also, I would like to mention that we worked together on the text of the song, which again speaks of our desire to send a message of unity.”
His message to the young people: “Do not to be passive, because all your hard work and persistence will pay off at the end.”
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This article was initially published within the Bosnian edition of ASBO Magazine in 2019. ASBO Magazine is an independent publication created by the D Foundation as an extension of its mission to unearth and showcase fresh talent. The magazine aims to showcase the artistic talents and potential of Bosnians and Herzegovinians in an effort to empower and give them an international platform to share their work, ideas, and opinions on music, fashion, art, and cinematography.

created: April 16th, 2020

author: Slobodan Blagovčanin


text:
A Lullaby for Mladenka: Remembering Grabovica | Balkan Diskurs
Sanela Tufekčić
April 21st, 2020
Both documentary and poetic, the new play, ‘‘The Lullaby for Mladenka,’’ takes crimes against Croatian civilians from the village of Grabovica in September 1993 as its subject. Members of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) killed 33 Croatian civilians, the oldest of whom was 87 years old and the youngest four. Play’s author is Sead Đulić, and it’s performed by the Mostar Youth Theater (eMTeeM).
‘‘On the 25th commemoration event of the crime in Grabovica, I said that I had the desire and the need, as a former ARBiH officer, to speak about this crime and make a play about it,” said Đulić. “My eight young actors in the theater had no idea about the events that took place in Grabovica, some did not even know where it was. I did not make the play to spite my own people, but to spite the criminals and their crimes. No criminal can be a friend of mine!”
Those who’ve seen the play say it has opened the process of dealing with the past, both in Mostar and in a wider contest. At the 33rd “Days of Youth Theatre,” the play won eMTeeM’s ‘‘Mask’’ award and was proclaimed, by audience choice, the best Mostar Youth Theater’s play of the past season.
‘‘I think this play is a solution to the war wounds in Mostar and I think it has great potential to be a solution for those who understand the play’s message in the right way,’’ said Edina Delalić, a member of Mostar Youth Theater and a lead actress.
The play also stars Šejma Delalić, Mia Musić, Anamarija Alpeza, Ali Kamer Aksoy, Haris Habibija, Alem Neziri, Damir Čobo, Miran Bečević and Faris Količić.
‘‘The Lullaby for Mladenka’’ is about a real event that took place during the ‘‘Neretva 93’’ military campaign. Members of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina killed 33 civilians. 17 of those 33 bodies have still not been found.
‘‘This case is shocking and horrifying on its own, and the play only adds to the emotions and the shock,” Đulić pointed out. “The most shocking thing is that this story really happened, and it was done by the ARBiH.’’
‘‘The play got its name from a four-year-old girl, Mladenka Zadro, who was the youngest victim of this crime. We decided to make her the symbol of all the innocent victims who lost their lives in the past war. This project is a cry of young people seeking justice and peace in this country that will have no future unless the past gets resolved,’’ said Mia Musić.
‘‘The show has been seen by a diverse audience ten times so far in Mostar. It’s not over yet as we’re still collecting materials,” Đulić explains. “We might soon receive an important document, from the victims’ families, that will shed light on many of the things surrounding the Grabovica crime. What matters is that we have not sided on either side, we remain neutral and objective. We are only relaying what the courts have said; things that have been proven beyond reasonable doubt, whether someone likes it or not.’’
He said they had a lot of questions and comments, while creating the play, about why they were not doing the play about Vranica where the soldiers of the ARBiH were killed.
‘‘That story should be done as well,” added the author, “but I think that for the future of this country regarding reconciliation and facing the past, it should be done by a Croatian author when the conditions and circumstances are met. We are supposed to talk about what the soldiers of the army to which I specifically belonged did.’’
According to him, the play ‘‘holds the ARBiH accountable in the most honorable way.’’
In the less than year since the premiere of “The Lullaby for Mladenka,” it’s been performed 22 times3 of those outside Mostar: in Banja Luka, Žepče and Kotor.
So far, five former members of the ARBiH have been convicted of crimes in the village of Grabovica before the courts in BiH, but only for individual killings, not war crimes or genocide. The Cantonal Court in Sarajevo sentenced Enes Sakrak to 10 years in prison for the murders of Ljubica and Mladenka Zadro.
Mustafa Hota was sentenced to nine years in prison for the murders of Pero and Dragica Marić. The Mostar Cantonal Court sentenced Nihad Vlahovljak, Haris Rajkić and Sead Karagić to 13 years each. They were charged with the murders of three members of the Zadro family – Ivan, Matija and Mladen.
‘‘The more we worked on the play,” said eMTeeM member Anamaria Alpeza, “the more we all became aware of it. I think it is a good idea, because the public should become more aware of this topic because this crime should not be forgotten.’’

created: April 21st, 2020


text:
Sofija Todorović: Srebrenica changed my life forever | Balkan Diskurs
Luka Čavar
April 23rd, 2020
In an interview with Balkan Diskurs, Sofija Todorović, a young activist from Belgrade, says: “The biggest problems of young people in Serbia, and the whole region, are ignorance and fear.”
Sofija defended Mon Gjuraj, the owner of the “Roma” bakery in Borča, when a protest was organized against him near Belgrade. The protest started because his brother Florim posted a picture on social media in which he was making a gesture that symbolizes the two-headed eagle on the Albanian flag.
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Balkan Diskurs (BD): Who is Sofija?
Sofija Todorović (ST): Sofija is a terribly curious and righteous person. She is often very dedicated, but she thinks that’s just what gives a special charm to everything she does.
BD: What motivated you to defend the young Albanian from Borča? How was this decision accepted by the people around you?
ST: Basic humanity. No one should have the power to create an atmosphere of persecution and “exile” people while everyone around is silent. I cannot understand this; I cannot remain silent in the face of such inhuman and nationalistic endeavors. Of the people around me… let’s just say there were mixed reactions. The loud ones were the ones who were angry, but such people generally think the one shouting the loudest is always in the right. At some point, I even read somewhere that I allegedly called the little kids who were going to the counter-protests Nazis–imagine how ridiculous that was.
Basically, my neighbor Mon Gjuraj still lives in Borča and his bakery is still working, despite everything. I think we managed to protect one family as much as possible despite all the difficulties we faced, and at the end of the day that’s what counts.
BD: How do we resist nationalism and hate when they are so common nowadays?
ST: Well, one way is to make those topics meaningless by putting man as the central notion of every affirmative action, not his nationality. Solidarity is also very important, including joint actions at a regional level.
BD: Activists are often considered in terms of left-wing and right-wing. In what category would you put yourself?
ST: I wouldn’t really classify myself. In my opinion, when it comes to left-wing and right-wing these days, very few people actually even understand what those mean. However, this does not mean that I do not think that anti-fascism is the ultimate value, that respect for human rights is a condition sine qua non, and that our differences make us richer societies. Democratic and European values are something I stand for and that it is important for citizens to live in freedom and not in fear. I can classify myself as a feminist and feel great about it.
BD: You are one of the activists committed to creating a unique historical narrative in BiH and the region, including the truth about the Srebrenica genocide (the site of which you visited in 2015). What motivated you to become active in this field as well?
ST: Yes, that statement is true. I believe that our histories do not currently inspire us to learn more about one another, nor do they prompt us to see things from someone else’s perspective. Every national version of historical events contains a lot of inaccurate information.
At one point in my life, nothing was clear to me anymore. I was angry because I felt that the knowledge I acquired through the education system did not answer my questions, and that the dominant political narrative was not in line with my value system. I was also very curious about the cause of all these feelings.
My trip to Srebrenica changed my life. I remember the behavior of the Republika Srpska police a few days before the commemoration event. I remember all the coffins and the families crying because they were getting the remains of their loved ones after waiting for 20 years. I remember the girl I met on that program who gifted me the Srebrenica flower that I carry in my wallet to always remind me of the nationalist savagery of Balkan divisions.
BD: What is your driving force in life? What do you consider as your biggest loves, motivations, and passions?
ST: My greatest drive is the fact that I happen to be in a situation where I can see the space to improve something or to contribute; it inevitably drives me to do something about it if I can. I know this is probably a cliché answer, but my biggest love is my family, which is made up of my sister and my mother. It is my safe zone, my charger and my compass. As much as they sometimes disagree with me, they constantly remind me how important love is and how much people can actually love. I find motivation in injustice. Injustice is somehow always present, but everyone can also always do something about it and make someone feel a little better. When it comes to passion, let’s say poetry and dancing.
BD: What inspired you to be an activist? How did it all start?
ST: It all started with an email I sent to the Youth Initiative for Human Rights on the occasion of the ‘Jer im se može’ campaign that dealt with violence against women. I can say for myself that I was under dominant narratives during my adolescence, but at some point you realize that such narratives not only fail to answer all the questions, but they also often impose ‘solutions’ that don’t contribute to a better life for people.
BD: What are the biggest problems of the youth in Serbia and the entire region?
ST: Ignorance and fear. Ignorance does not appear on its own, which has always led me to conclude that the education system is as problematic as dominant social narratives are. Young people are taught to fear the state, the police, change and politics, something different; then all other things just stick to that instilled fear and ultimately have much worse consequences.
BD: Why aren’t the young people more active in their communities? What does it take for them to wake up?
ST: They are awake; in a way they only know how to be awake. Do some things not interest them? Yes, many things do not interest them because they are afraid of them or think they will only cause them trouble, or that at the end of the day someone else will solve those problems. But I think it is terribly important to emphasize that young people do not have to, especially in this age of pressure where everyone has the expectation that young people need to wake up, take on whatever is not their responsibility and save the world. It doesn’t work that way.
It’s very important for me to look back at the positive examples that exist in the region. Let’s look at the crowd of young volunteers at each Belgrade Pride, let’s remember the “Free Zone,” and then the youth from Croatia talking about Oluja, the youth from Kosovo and Serbia that organize ”Miredita, Dobar dan” Festival, and young policy makers. We can emphasize and promote regional cooperation, and a general respect for human rights.
BD: What values should be strengthened in our society? Do you have any advice for the youth in the region?
ST: Solidarity, freedom, and human dignity. I think that people in the region feel humiliated, and it’s been like that constantly and for a long time in many different ways. I would say nothing to the youth. Young people know a lot and can do a lot; I just wish they manage to resist becoming victims of pernicious ideologies and destructive narratives.
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For her hard work and exceptional contribution to peace building and protection of human rights in Serbia and the region, Sofija Todorović has been awarded the “Ordinary Heroes” award this year in the Western Balkans category by the Post-Conflict Research Center.

created: April 23rd, 2020


text:
Božo Vrećo: The Artistic Revolutionary of the Balkans | Balkan Diskurs
Kashif Malik
April 28th, 2020
So who is Božo Vrećo? Who better to ask than the man himself?
Bosnia and Herzegovina as a country and the Balkans in general have often been described as patriarchal, verging on male chauvinist. So for someone embracing both feminine and masculine traits to reach the height of success in Bosnia’s music industry of Bosnia is an incredible achievement.
So who is Božo Vrećo? Who better to ask than the man himself?
“I stand for freedom – to be what you want to be, say what you want to say, and dress how you want to dress. Božo Vrećo is always about love – I live for my art and everything in my life is dedicated to my work. That is my life and that is me.” It is perhaps easier said than done, considering the prejudice he has had to challenge.
“This society is completely backward, self-conscious. Primitive and reserved. It despises differences, condemns those that are different, and does not support emotions or love. If you are not like other people, they want to harm you, verbally and physically. Freedom for people such as myself in Bosnia is a risk.” But in some sense, these negative experiences are also at the heart of the genre of music that he adores – Sevdah. It’s a genre of music conceived from tragedy and loss in one’s own life. Something which is, to some degree, relatable to everyone regardless of their ethnicity, religion or indeed, gender. Considering the history of the Balkans, tragedy and loss are perhaps felt on a deeper level here.
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”Throughout history, we have experienced all possible tortures and wars, all of which left traces somewhere, and through our tradition and customs and by being separated from people dear to us. All of this has affected the way that sevdah is now performed – as the common creation of all the peoples who have existed on Bosnian soil or in the Balkans.”
Božo, however, emphasizes the importance of love in his music. He says his mother and sister have played an essential role in his success.
“Everything comes from the family – the upbringing of a child is crucial, it’s the support and the love for everything that comes later. I was lucky that my mother and sister always accepted me as I was. My mum would say, I gave you birth as you are, and society has nothing to do with it.
“My muse is my mother and I always dedicate everything I create in music, writing, fashion or painting to her; everything is created through a love for her and my gratitude for everything.”
Sevdah is a musical genre that thrives on contrast and contradiction. On the one hand, it invokes feelings of tragedy, injustice and heartbreak. On the other, in the words of Božo himself, Sevdah is first and foremost about love. To truly experience love we need to also feel hate, scorn, and tragedy. Just as Božo is brutally honest about his own identity and his emotions, so is Sevdah completely honest in its message. His very identity seems to be formed on the contrast between male and female. Only he would not describe his identity as one of dualism, but rather one of harmony between these two “opposites”.
The best artists reveal their emotions in their most naked form. And they leave themselves vulnerable to their audience, just as Božo did during a 2015 concert: he first performed in clothes traditional for a man, and afterward came out dressed in women’s clothing. The audience applauded his courageous honesty and vulnerability.
In his advice to the young people struggling to find their path, Božo Vrećo stresses the importance of staying true to yourself, staying focused on your goals and being patient in achieving them.
He quotes Dostoevsky: “If you look at the dogs barking as you walk down the street, you will never reach your goal.”
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This article was initially published within the Bosnian edition of ASBO Magazine in 2019. ASBO Magazine is an independent publication created by the D Foundation as an extension of its mission to unearth and showcase fresh talent. The magazine aims to showcase the artistic talents and potential of Bosnians and Herzegovinians in an effort to empower and give them an international platform to share their work, ideas, and opinions on music, fashion, art, and cinematography.

created: April 28th, 2020

author: Kashif Malik


text:
Gasha Miladinović: Balkan Style Superstar | Balkan Diskurs
Kashif Malik
May 1st, 2020
Sarajevo is a place where local talent is trying to distance itself from centralized ideas. At the forefront: stylist Gordana ‘Gasha’ Miladinović.
All industries strive to monopolize. And the fashion and design industries are no different in this respect. But they have a strangely paradoxical relationship. Any designer worth their salt will tell you that new and fresh ideas are worth ten times the ‘tried-and-true’ recipes that fashion conglomerates produce en masse. But these new ideas, if they gain popularity, are almost always absorbed into the industry in a never-ending cycle. Sarajevo is a place where local talent is trying to distance itself from centralized ideas. At the forefront: stylist Gordana ‘Gasha’ Miladinović.
She co-founded the firm “Re: Design” concentrating on interior design and architecture, and recently she has co-founded the Hive Creative Agency. Previously she won the entrepreneur of the month award, sponsored by the US State Department, and studied design at the Istituto Marangoni in London, before establishing herself in Sarajevo.
It’s inspiring but also surprising to see a woman succeed in a patriarchal society such as Bosnia and Herzegovina. When asked about the working environment in regard to her gender – and women in general – her reply was a nuanced one: “I don’t think women are any more or less intimidated by the business world here than anywhere else. Hard work is a universal language. Nevertheless, it is important to understand the environment where you want your business to thrive. This awareness of the possibilities and limitations is extremely important if you are to avoid pointless effort and burnout with few results.”
That’s not to say she denies the existence of discrimination and sexism. But Miladinović seems to be more keyed towards a realistic mentality: how to navigate a challenging environment to the best of her abilities.
We asked her for advice for readers wishing to get ahead in the creative industry:
“To never stop learning, exploring, that everything is good for something, that no skill is a useless skill, to work on focus and goals, and to take care of themselves and learn to dance to the beating of their own drum. There is no manual for life; it’s OK to have your own timeline and your own path.”
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This article was initially published within the Bosnian edition of ASBO Magazine in 2019. ASBO Magazine is an independent publication created by the D Foundation as an extension of its mission to unearth and showcase fresh talent. The magazine aims to showcase the artistic talents and potential of Bosnians and Herzegovinians in an effort to empower and give them an international platform to share their work, ideas, and opinions on music, fashion, art, and cinematography.


text:
Dino Aganović: With Hard Work, Anything Can Be Achieved | Balkan Diskurs
Hoyumi Yashiro
May 5th, 2020
The messages and emotions that I broadcast through my music are connected with dreaming and loss, and are ultimately a critique of society.
Dino Aganović, known professionally as “Hibrid”, is a dynamic and cutting-edge music producer from Sarajevo. Hugely popular, he has produced many songs, as well as videos and an album, since starting his career as a DJ aged only 16. All well-known and talented musicians know how to use music as a platform for expression and creativity. What is unique about Dino is that he likes to let his listeners define his music instead of describing it in his own words.
“Everyone has a different hearing sense and that is what makes music unpredictable,” he says.
Dino’s music has been evolving since he started, from club and dance styles to his current transition to ambient music that’s “more for a chilled-out atmosphere”, as he puts it.
“The messages and emotions that I broadcast through my music are connected with dreaming and loss, and are ultimately a critique of society.” As for the future, he’s looking towards abstract dance and motion. Dino is always ready for new challenges. He has been incredibly active in the worldwide music scene and has played across Europe, including in Croatia, Serbia, Greece, and the Netherlands. His ambition is unstoppable. In 2014, he started his own digital publishing house – “Submarine Vibes” – and has backed over 150 artists, 60 editions, and 80 mixes, at more than 30 events across Europe. He treats every collaboration as unique and special.
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Inspiration comes from all directions, but especially from Sarajevo, where Dino spends most of his time. Here, he gets inspiration from local music, while his tracks are lapped up by Bosnian fans. With the launch of a new label – “Submarine” – his new goal is to promote the experimental art scene in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The experience of violent conflict followed by the political, economic, and societal fall-out, might lead some to think Bosnia and Herzegovina would be a tough place for a music career. But Dino is not pessimistic. He believes there is plenty of infrastructures, role models, and inspiration to successfully promote the potential of musicians in the country.
“With effort and hard work, anything can be achieved. It is important to focus on yourself, to educate yourself, in terms of both creating and marketing your music.”, he says.
“The road is difficult, so I would advise all young musicians that love what they do to constantly seek new opportunities, new acquaintances, and potential collaborators.”
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This article was initially published within the Bosnian edition of ASBO Magazine in 2019. ASBO Magazine is an independent publication created by the D Foundation as an extension of its mission to unearth and showcase fresh talent. The magazine aims to showcase the artistic talents and potential of Bosnians and Herzegovinians in an effort to empower and give them an international platform to share their work, ideas, and opinions on music, fashion, art, and cinematography.

author: Hoyumi Yashiro