National Day of the Armija Republic of Bosnia and Herzigovina ARBiH!

Bosnian war time army symbol ARBiH

 

Today is the National Day of the Bosnian Army to recognize the formation of the ARBiH in the defense of BiH during the war.

 

The Bosnian Army was able to overcome incredible obstacles to defend Bosnia during the war. At various times they fought a multitude of enemies including...

 

HVO: Bosnian Croat Defense Council, nominal allies in 1992. In 1993 the relationship broke down between the ARBiH and most HVO units and open warfare began between these two armies in 1993 in Herzigovina. Some units of the HVO remained loyal to the ARBiH, mostly located around Bihac and Tuzla.

 

HV: Units of the Croatian Army moved into Herzigovina and fought actively against the ARBiH especially around mostar and the Lasava valley.

 

VRS: Army of the rebellious Serbian army that committed the vast majority of crimes in BiH.

 

RSK: Rebellious Serbian army operating in Croatia also battled the Bosnian army.

 

JNA: Openly attacked Bosnian army units and towns in 1992. They moved to more clandestine operations after that point but bankrolled the VRS including paying officers salaries and pensions of the VRS.

 

NO ZB: Rebellious Muslims loyal to Fikret Abdic engaged in open warfare against their Muslim brethren.

 

Bosnians should be proud of the way their army fought and prevented crimes in the territory under their control. Their commitment to a multi-ethnic society was admirable in the face of genocide and crimes against humanity.

 

Some photos from the ARBiH...

 

Sefer Halilovic


Jovan Divjak (highest ranking Serb in Bosnian army)


Midhat "Hujka" Hujdur







Izet Nanic and Atif Dudakovic, 5th corps, 505th (Buzim)









































































































































































































HVO, the Bosnian Army, and HOS


















(captured flag)






(with US soldiers)

 

Atif Dudakovic
































































Mehmed Alagic and Atif Dudakovic

 

Bosnian Film Festival 2013 synopsis and reviews

 

The 8th annual Chicago Festival of Bosnian-Herzigovinian Film was another smashing success for Bosnian cinema and proved once again that BiH is one of the best countries on earth for film making and filmmakers. Bosnia has a long rich tradition of film making that goes back a long time. Like everything in Bosnia it suffured during the war and has recently had a resurgence in film making in the country.

This years film festival had just the right mix of Documentaries, featured films, tears and laughs. Always interesting and always compelling it is impossible to sit and watch films for 10 hours, yet here I was glued to my seat and compelled to see every last one of them.

 

I am including besides the synopsis a short review and grading of the film on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest.



ESMA
Documentary. Director: Alen Drljevic. 2007. 26 minutes.

In 1995, during official negotiations inside a UN protected area in Zepa, the Bosnian Serb Army abducted Colonel Avdo Palic, the Bosnia and Herzegovina Army negotiator. As of then, begins the long search by his wife, Esma, for her missing husband.

 

The sad and compelling story of widow Esma Palic who has been searching for her husbands remains since he went missing while negotiating the surrender of the Eastern UN safe Area of Zepa after neighboring town Srebrenica fell and Genocide was committed in 1995. Avdo wanting to avoid the same fate for the people he was in charge, that befall the civilians of Srebrenica, Avdo agreed to negotiate the surrender of the enclave in person with Ratko Mladic. Mladic guaranteed his safety, yet when the negotiations were over Avdo was killed and dumped into a grave. The film shows Esma search for her husbands mortal remains and her search for justice. The story is a reminder of the injustice of the internationally community and the lack of regard for international law shown by the Bosnian Serbs. It also reminds you of the case of Bosnian Prime Minister Hakija Turajlic, who was pulled out of UN Armored Personnel carrier in front of French troops and shot dead. The French peacekeepers made no attempt to intervene except to allow the killers access to him and then to allow the killer to escape. No one has ever been held accountable for either case. Palic remains were found in 2001 but were never identified until 2009.

 

GRADE: 8.0

 

THE BRIDGE
Documentary. Director: Haris Bilajbegovic. 2010. 11 minutes.

Based on true events, this short film covers the story of a father forced to leave behind his son at a bridge never to see him again. Thirteen young men lost their lives on that ominous day.

A harrowing tale that was a reenactment of an incident from the start of the war when Bosnian Serb soldiers executed a group of men on a bridge, their only crime not being Serb.

GRADE: 7.0

 

THE WITNESS
Documentary. Director: Haris Bilajbegovic. 2012. 42 minutes.

“The Witness” is a visually powerful interpretation and dramatization of Raif Begic’s experience during the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. It is a film about the bravery of a survivor who is not afraid to tell his story as a key witness at the Hague Tribunal as well as at the Superior Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina against soldiers of the Army of Republika Srpska, later found guilty of war crimes.

 

The story of the courage of one survivor of another massacre on another bridge, a story and scenario repeated hundreds of times in the war in Bosnia, except this time someone survived and showed the courage to face his tormentors in the Hague.

 

GRADE: 7.0

 

A CELL PHONE MOVIE
Documentary. Director: Nedzad Begovic. 2011. 60 minutes.

A spontaneous, entertaining, and emotional ‘spy story’ of the director's daily routine. The author is searching for fields of artistic freedom within the limits of a cell phone. He, in fact, uses the ‘voice record’ option saving his daily telephone conversations. The idea is that the film is realized as expressly minimalistic, in elementary form, without regard to rules of classic film expression.

 

One of the best filmmakers in Bosnia pushes the boundaries of film making and makes a film with a cellphone. It raises the question of what is art and what will be considered film in the future.

 

GRADE: 5.0

 

MIRZA DELIBASIC - BASKETBALL LEGEND
Documentary. Director: Miro Benkovic, 2012. 85 minutes.

This is a story about the most successful Bosnian basketball player Mirza Delibašić. The film is an objective, but also intimate story about a man who marked the Bosnian sport scene. Besides archive footage, the film shows Mirza’s friends, people who knew him personally, and his family.

 

As a huge basketball fan and a fan of Mirza Delibasic this film left me with a lot of wanting in the end. Mirza had a compelling story and a compelling life but this left a lot to be desired. Poorly constructed and organized it was also poorly edited. It never told his story in any order and lacked cohesion and sequence. It was not worthy of the person or the story it was trying to tell.

 

GRADE: 3.0

 

THREE DAYS
Documentary. Director: Zdenko Jurilj, 2011. 81 minutes.

An hour and a half after midnight, on May 6^th 1991, the commander of the 4^th Cropus of JNA general-major Milovan Zorc received a secret dispatch from the supreme command in Belgrade (Serbia), where he was ordered to move a part of the 10^th Armoured mechanized brigade from Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and join it to the rest of the tank units in Sinj (Croatia). A long tank column, equipped with the battle shells and the soldiers draftees, who got the rifles and guns with live ammunition for the first time while being in the military service, set off in the early morning on May 7^th 1991 from Mostar towards Sinj. 15 kilometers away from Mostar, the tank column came across the kilometers long barricade formed out of civilians and heavy trucks and passenger cars. While the verbal conflicts were lasting, passing over in the commanding chain of JNA the information came to the frightened soldiers in the tanks, composed out of all of the nations from the territory of former Yugoslavia, who didn’t even know where and why they were actually heading with the live ammunition, that they would have to use the firearms for the first time. The films enters the innermost feelings of the people in the bureaucratic offices, enters the souls of the commanders, soldiers, civilians! Through the feature film scenes, authentic takes, statements, radio and newspaper reports, the film “3 Days,” shows the chaos, the suspense, the fears that dominated among the people from both sides of the barricades on the eve of the beginning of Yugoslavia’s falling apart.

 

One of the most interesting stories never told from the Bosnian war. The most interesting part was the sight of Bosnian Croats in one of the most Croat Nationalist town in Bosnia (Siroki Brijeg) cheering for and wanting to see Alija Izetbegovic. It really showed that the course of events before, during and after the war could have been much different.

 

GRADE: 9.0

 

SOME OTHER WORLD*
Documentary. Director: Mustafa Hadziibrahimovic & Naida Ribic, 2012. 59 minutes.

Is a documentary film conceived as an intimate portrayal of the Turkish Halilbeyli village and its residents. Halilbeyli is approximately 40 kilometers from the Turkish coastal city of Izmir. Besides the Turkish language, the majority of the 2,300 people living in the village also speak an old variant of the Bosnian language. Hallibeyli was founded by Bosniaks, predominantly from the Herzegovina region, who moved to the area during the 19^th century. To this day, the descendants of these settlers maintained their language, culture, and customs. They represent a time which has disappeared, or is slowly fading away. The movie depicts an authentic picture of the life of Turkish citizens whose roots are mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

 

An interesting story of Bosnians who fled BiH after the Ottoman Empire left and the Austro-Hungarian empire moved in at the turn of the 20th century. It raises the question of how to preserve identity in a changing world, especially with the young. It also begs the question of why so few Bosnians identify as such around the world in contrast to their neighbors the Serbs and Croats.

 

GRADE: 7.0

 

CHILDREN OF SARAJEVO
Feature. Director: Aida Begic, 2012. 82 minutes.

Rahima (23) and Nedim (14) are orphans of the Bosnian war. They live in Sarajevo, a transitional society that has lost its moral compass, including the way it treats orphans whose parents were killed fighting for the freedom of their city. After her crime-prone adolescent years, Rahima has found comfort in Islam and she hopes her brother will follow in her footsteps. Their life of bare survival becomes even more difficult after Nedim gets into a fistfight with the son of a local strongman and breaks his expensive mobile phone. This incident triggers a chain of events leading Rahima to the discovery that her brother leads a double life.

 

Another compelling feature film from young filmmaker Aida Begic. This film raises troubling questions of young people struggling in postwar Bosnia. It also raises questions about struggling poor here in the US and how they deal with it.

 

GRADE: 7.0

Letters to the Celestial Serbs Bosnian war Siege of Sarajevo book review

 

I just read this book and it was excellent and eloquently written. A great read of a collection of short columns he has wrote.

Letters to the Celestial Serbs

Gojko Berić

Introduction by Ivan Lovrenović

As a columnist for Oslobodenj (Sarajevo’s acclaimed daily newspaper), Gojko Berić gained an international reputation for his grimly ironic yet passionate writing from the city under siege. Since then, as this eloquent selection of his recent writing demonstrates, he has continued to cast an unsparing gaze on the miseries and hypocrisies besetting postwar Bosnia, as well as its Croatian and Serbian neighbours. Mingling recollections of his country’s bitter past with comments on its bitter present, Letters to the Celestial Serbs contains many of the most memorable pages ever penned on wartime and postwar Bosnia, of which his extended essay on the historical role of Alija Izetbegović is exemplary.
Compelled by events – and Western policy – to confront the question ‘Am I a Serb?’, Berić never doubted that the real issues in Bosnia were political and ethical, not ‘ethnic’.
‘All these years, Serb nationalists have been sending me insulting letters: Will I ever stop saying that the Serbs are to blame for the war, stop talking about Serbian fascism and Serb atrocities? No, I won’t.’

About the Author(s)

Gojko Beric is one of Bosnia-Herzegovina's best-known commentators. In 1991 he became the first political columnist to be awarded the prestigious 6 April Prize, commemorating Sarajevo's 1945 liberation, and was voted Journalist of the Year by the Journalists' Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992. Beric's wartime and post-war reports have been syndicated to newspapers worldwide. He has been published in Slovenia, Italy, Croatia, Sweden and Poland.

Bosnia remembers former Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic

Since tomorrow is the 10 anniversary of assassination of the former Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, citizens of Travnik also remembered him, specially his school colleagues since he went to primary and secondary school in that Bosnian town. Mirsad Ibrisimbegovic said Djindjic was different from the others, very intelligent, use to read a lot and had the energy to change his society.

Ten years ago today, Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic was assassinated by a sniper at the entrance of the cabinet office in Belgrade, marking a tremendous blow to the fledgling process of democratization in Serbia. While the conspirators, including the sniper, were condemned in a court of law and are serving long prison sentences, the identity of those who ordered his killing remains unknown.
The story of Djindjic — a modern, pro-European, democratic leader and statesman — is emblematic of Europe’s post-communist transitions. He became a politician after having pursued a successful academic career as political philosopher. Returning to Serbia from Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall, he helped found the Democratic Party (DS) and became its leader in 1992. Vehemently opposed to Slobodan Milosevic’s regime during the period of Yugoslavia’s bloody civil war, he eventually won a peaceful election in 2000. He was the chief architect of a victory in which political parties, civil society, a democratic media, and — notably — the student movement Otpor all played key roles.
The Western Balkan states — the former Yugoslavia and Albania — were latecomers to the process of EU and NATO enlargement during the 1990s. For two years after taking office in 2001, Djindjic lost no time in launching a massive privatization effort, knowing that Serbia had to leave behind its statist command economy model as quickly as possible in order to attract foreign investment. He also assumed the reins of the political democratization process. Djindjic was keenly aware of the burden of the communist legacy on Western Balkan society. A collectivist spirit still overrode any sense of individualism. Paternalistic, authoritarian mindsets needed to be overturned. And a democratic political culture had to be progressively instilled through the reform of the state, its security services, and the military. Modernization, he understood, would be a Sisyphean task.
Djindjic moved boldly. Arresting Milosevic and sending him to the International Criminal Court for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a demonstration of his willingness to confront the most difficult issues head-on. Most importantly, in February 2003, Djindjic decided to tackle the urgent problem of a resolution to the Kosovo issue. He was fully aware that if left unresolved, Kosovo would become a millstone around Serbia’s neck on its path to democracy and European integration. But his efforts were cut short by his tragic death.
A decade later, Serbia finds itself exactly where Djindjic wanted it to be at the end of 2003, showing the extent to which his assassination slowed Serbia’s democratic reforms. It was only in 2008, with the election of a Democratic Party government under President Boris Tadic, that Serbia once again began to move forward more forcefully. Under Tadic’s leadership, the last of the 40-odd Serbs indicted by the ICTY — including Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic — were arrested. Just as importantly, talks were launched in 2011 between Belgrade and Pristina to begin resolving the Kosovo issue. Facilitated by the EU’s High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Catherine Ashton, the talks have brought the two sides to the cusp of a historical compromise, one that would allow both to move forward on the path to EU integration. Despite its current travails, it appears the EU’s soft power is very much alive and active in the Western Balkans.
Zoran Djindjic, Serbia’s first democratically elected prime minister, was violently taken away from his family and his country ten years ago. But his vision of a democratic and European Serbia — and of a Balkan region within the EU — lives on. There could be no better testament to his legacy than for the region’s countries to maintain the momentum of integration by continuing to pursue reform policies, and for the EU to continue supporting these efforts.

Bosnia and Herzigovina independence celebration with Bosnian President Zeljko Komsic

 

 

Bosnian President Zeljko Komsic was in Chicago to celebrate Bosnian independence with the expat community and to honor some guests who have helped Bosnia over the years. It was also a celebration of International Womans day, a under celebrated holiday for some reason in the US. It was great celebration that I had the honor to be a part of. Here is my speech...

First I would like to thank the President Zeljko Komsic for this great honor. Next I would like to thank Suad and the B&H Club for this wonderful invitation. I am humbled and honored to share the stage with these distinguished gentlemen. I want to thank everyone for coming tonight.

Bosnia and Herzigovina, the country has been reduced to one word. If you mention Bosnia to someone outside of the country, they most often think of war. The first thoughts I have are of the magical time of the Sarajevo Olympics, Tito and Brotherhood and Unity.  Bosnia to me means a cultural tradition of building bridges best represented by the Stari-Most. We have a saying in our home “Build the Stari-Most, not the Berlin Wall” Building connections across ethnic, religious and cultural divides is why Bosnia is so special to me.

The second thought that goes through my mind is the saying “NEVER AGAIN!” Never again will we allow the horrors of WWII to be brought upon the earth, especially in Europe “NEVER AGAIN!” Yet, in the year 1992 here we were again. When Bosnia cried out “NEVER AGAIN” and waited for a response, the world turned its backs on them. I asked myself “WHY?” Why is this happening again, live and in color at the end of the 20^th century when we were supposed to move beyond this in our human development? These were blonde-haired, blue-eyed Europeans, couldn’t we have looked into the mirror and said “ENOUGH!” Stop this slaughter! The world responded by sending spoiled food, spoiled medicines and spoiled peacekeepers who were neither capable of keeping the peace nor protecting themselves, let alone an unarmed Bosnian populace. Why was the world silent in a deafening wave of human destruction that you could see every day? I believe if it was “Muslims” slaughtering “Christians” the war would have never been allowed to begin.

Bosnia is so much more than an adjective for war. Bosnia, the people, the beautiful land it occupies and Bosnia the ideal are all things that I cherish more than the air that I breathe. Why? Why would an American have such strong feelings towards a place so far away from home? People that visit and even people that come from Bosnia, fall into two camps. You love Bosnia or you hate it, there are few that have feelings that fall in between. Bosnia being at the epicenter of so much history, culture and traditions is both a blessing and a curse. Bosnia has witnessed some of the most memorable events of the 20th century. Let us not forget the history, the false idea that “they have been fighting for centuries. Starting with the Bogomils, Bosnia has been a symbol of peace, tolerance and mutual understanding.  The most obvious example is the The Ahdnama of Faith, oldest Human Rights Declaration in history, written in 1463 which states:

 “LET NOBODY BOTHER OR DISTURB THOSE WHO ARE MENTIONED, NOT THEIR CHURCHES. LET THEM DWELL IN PEACE IN MY EMPIRE. AND LET THOSE WHO HAVE BECOME REFUGEES BE SAFE. LET THEM RETURN AND LET THEM SETTLE DOWN THEIR MONASTERIES WITHOUT FEAR IN ALL THE COUNTRIES OF MY EMPIRE.”

Let’s not forget this uniquely Bosnian tradition, which brought the Sarajevo Hagaddah to its final resting place. How did a Jewish manuscript of immeasurable value end up in Sarajevo in the first place? That is an easy answer, because the Jews of Europe, threatened with torture and extinction found a safe place where they could co-exist, the Muslim Bosnia, escaping their Christian torturers. That is Bosnia the ideal, not only an ideal but a tradition of tolerance, peaceful existence and mutual understanding where friendship and love can bloom and history be rewritten.

Bosnia the land is the easiest to explain, the natural beauty of the water that springs from the side of mountains and rivers that sparkle emerald green. From the lush hills and deep river valleys and mountains, there are few other beauties in the world like Bosnia. Towns like Jajce, Pocitelj, Trebenje, Sarajevo, Stolac, Mostar and too many others to mention. I remember seeing a poster on Zeljo Stadium about 10 years ago proclaiming “What is more beautiful Bosnia or her people?” I am still trying to decide. There is the natural beauty of Bosnia and there is the beauty of traditions, the call of the mosque, the Stari Most Bridge, the Olympics, Sarajevo’s town hall, Bascarsija and so many others.

It is fitting that these are the people that occupy the heart shaped country in the heart of Europe. I could tell you a hundred stories of the immeasurable kindness Bosnians have shown me both here and in Bosnia. The hospitality, the friendships, the closeness that I feel; its love. Love not because I was born with the same mother, or father. Love born of acts of kindness and care rarely seen in the world. The attention paid when one tells a story, listens and care shown when you talk. I am not the only one who feels this way, I have heard these stories from internationals that came for the Olympics, Medjurgorje or came because of the war and fell in love with the people. This kind of love is born in traditions, in kindness in a shared humanity, bonds stronger than those of random luck.

I have seen it and felt it in my friends like the Kabil family from Sarajevo Edin, Midhat and Envera who have become closer to me than my own flesh and blood. Midhat, an ophthalmologist by profession, regularly performed emergency surgeries often without medicines on bodies torn apart by war.  His premature death was a direct result of his wartime occupation.  Midhat’s death was not only a terrible loss for his family, but for all of humanity.  He would always scold me like a parent; in a kind way “you always talk about Bosnia and always forget about Herzigovina”. His care and attention when we talked was like no other, I felt loved and cared for like a son.  His wife Envera who volunteered during the war to defend Bosnia as a sniper but was told her job as a school teacher was more important.  To this day I think of her as a mother.  Then there is my dear brother Edin, who I have grown up with, respect deeply for his courage, his faith, and his convictions. He may not be right 100% of the time, but he is convinced he is 100% of the time. An unusual conversation a few years ago after covering every topic known to man was the war and what we thought 15 years later. He said to me he was happy for the war, not because war was good or he was happy it happened. But that it gave him the life he knows, the depth of understanding that he has and a perspective on life that few people on earth possess.  It also brought him friendships and experiences he could never replace and people he could never forget.

Then there are my friends Abdullah, a Bosnian Serb who fought and defended Bosnia as a teenager. Abdullah, I have grown to consider him a dear friend and someone who is one of the most interesting people in the world. His story would be the stuff of legends if ever chose to reveal it. He exemplifies the complexity and beauty that is the Bosnian spirit, never easy to define or explain his life, his existence is an excellent example of Bosnia’s rich tapestry.

My friend Alan a British volunteer who flew helicopters for the Bosnian Government before the war, spent the next 18 months fighting for the ARBiH in Dobrinja, he has never asked a thing for, never sought the recognition, the honor he deserved for being one of the few westerners to defend Bosnia in her darkest hour. Alan loves Bosnia as much as I do, he knows what it feels to have chosen to be Bosnian. These are the people that have made Bosnia so special to me, them and so many others. I want to thank you and everyone who contributed to making Bosnia the amazing place and ideal that it is today.

I do have one request however, Bosnia needs your help. Bosnia the mother which gave birth to some of the most special people on this planet is in need of service. Bosnia needs active, energetic people who are willing to spend just 15 minutes a week to help keep her in the front of people’s minds. Bosnia needs people of service at a time when the Sarajevo museums are getting shuttered and the political process stagnates. I implore everyone to spend 15 minutes a week helping Bosnia, doing volunteer work. Fund a project, start a project, write a diplomat here or abroad. Talk to your friends about Bosnia, bring a friend to Bosnia. Help a Bosnian family struggling here in the US or back home. When an American who knows nothing about the country asks you about your name or were you are from, don’t give him the short answer, even though you have told your story 1,000 times. Take the time for Bosnia, for her victims, for her future generations to share what has happened, what is happening and what needs to happen in the future. No one should act surprised if we do not act in service to keep moving Bosnia forward towards a more stable, peaceful future. Thank you for taking the time today to listen; Bosnia has been the greatest gift ever given to me and that is why at every chance given, I share her with the world. Thank you.

An invitation to meet Zeljko Komsic and to celebrate Bosnian Independence in Chicago!

An invitation to meet Zeljko Komsic (pictured) and to celebrate Bosnian Independence in Chicago!
Here is a chance to meet the great Bosnian hero Zeljko Komsic and meet and great Bosnians and their supporters and celebrate Bosnian independence day!

Saturday, March 9, 2013. 6:00 pm until 1:00 pm.







BH club Chicago celebrates the day of independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the International Women Day Celebration

Guests of the evening:

Zeljko Komsic - member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Master Haris Alibasic - President KBSA

Prof Ibrahim Vajzovic - St Louis

Chris Mathieu - A journalist and member of the expert team for the Research of Genocide - Milwaukee

Guests of the evening entertainment program

Ferid Avdic
Edis Mujčinović
Samir Melkić

Information and sales:

Nusret 773-338-8524

Darko 773-699-8173

Safet 773-841-9494

Bosnia video 773-275-8281

Admission $ 60 includes dinner and soft drinks

All visitors are kindly requested to come half an hour early because the academy starts exactly at 6:00 pm

Saturday, March 9, 2013

6:00pm until 1:00am

BH cub Chicago obiljezava proslavu dana nezavisnosti Bosne i Hercegovine i proslavu dana zena Gosti veceri: Zeljko Komsic - clan Predsjednistva Bosne i Hercegovine Magistar Haris Alibasic - predsjednik KBSA Prof.Dr. Ibrahim Vajzovic - St Louis Chris Mathieu - Novinar i clan medjunarodnog ekspertnog tima za istrazivanje genocida - Milwaukee Gosti veceri u zabavnom dijelu programa Ferid Avdic Edis MUjcinovic Samir Melkic Informacije i prodaja: Nusreta 773-338-8524 Darko 773-699-8173 Safet 773-841-9494 Bosna video 773-275-8281 Ulaz $60 ukljucena vecera i bezalkoholna pica Mole se svi posjetioci da dodju pola sata ranije jer akademija pocinje tacno u 6:00pm

Balkan absolutism and the reality of extremist ideals and reality in Bosnia and Herzigovina today

Balkan absolutism and the reality of extremist ideals and reality in Bosnia and Herzigovina today.

 

I had a friend years ago, during a dinner conversation tell me that she was a huge fan of turbo-folk and specifically star Ceca Raznatovic. I found this odd since she came from a prominent Bosnian family who suffered greatly (like all Bosnians during the war). She said, don’t tell anyone because she would be quite embarrassed by this revelation.

While at the Bulls game on Wednesday night I mentioned that NBA veteran Vladimir Radmanovic is from Bosnia and Herzigovina. I was surprised by the strong beliefs and words that came from this declaration. Some claimed that he isn’t Bosnian because he claims no connection to it, others said that you can’t change were you are born no matter your ethnicity or claims making it undone. It led to a friend saying this to me “We need to give support to all Bosnian born, even if they identify themselves as something else. That's the only way to let everyone feel wanted and welcomed as Bosnians. I believe that us Bosniaks sometimes make mistake to alienate the ones that "don't feel Bosnian" too fast. Sometimes people just need some time. I remember times when Sasa Papac refused to acknowledge Bosnian anthem, later he became a bigger patriot than any one of the players on the team."

This led me to ponder the problems facing Bosnia today and since it’s dissolution in 1991 and rebirth, post war Dayton era. Too many people identify only along ethno patriotic lines. Bosnians who fled before or during the war, went abroad aren’t the same as the “patriots” who stayed and defended BiH. Serbs who stayed in Sarajevo and defended BiH aren’t real Serbs. Zeljko Kosmsic who fought for a united, unitary Bosnian State isn’t a true Croat because he doesn’t represent extremist, separatist Croat interests. The list goes on and on with the poet Ivo Andric, The filmmaker Emir Kusturica, just scratches the surface.  Emir is a particularly interesting case, he was Sarajevo born and raised of Muslim parents. When the war broke out he fled to Serbia, some Sarajevans responded by ransacking his apartment which led him to declare himself not a Bosnian at all and swear that he would never return to Sarajevo for any reason.

The question is why? Why just because someone declares it as so do we have to respond in a way that legitimizes what they declare to be true even if it isn’t. If others can declare themselves NOT to be Bosnian, can I then declare myself TO be Bosnian because I feel as such? Well I don’t consider myself Bosnian, yet at the same time I do. I wasn’t born there; I have no blood relations to it. Yet, I feel connected to Bosnia and her people in a way that has made me feel a part of the Bosnian experience, both the good and the bad. It doesn’t make me less American of French and German descent. It just enriches my experience in life, to be a part of something bigger than you, to know something intimately and to understand as few others do inside or outside of the country makes you a part of it I believe. To fall in love with Bosnia the people, the landscape and most of all, the ideal.

It happens in every way, in every walk of life in Bosnia, sports stars who end up playing for Croatia or Serbia even though they have origins in BiH aren’t treated the same as the Bosnians who play for Slovenia or Turkey. They are forgotten by the patriotic leaders of the new divided and conquered BiH. The players are forgotten about by their fellow countrymen and not written about unless it is as some foreigner, in a strange and exotic land.

Bosnian patriotic leaders have their rise to power and prominence due to the fact the country remains isolated and divided since the war. It is estimated that 600,000 Bosnians fled the war and never returned. Many have gone on to establish new lives, new careers all around the globe. Many are the top of their professions and have been successful beyond their wildest dreams, or anything close to what they could become in Bosnia. Many young Bosnians either too young to remember the war or born after it began, have too established themselves. Bosnian officials have made no effort to reintegrate them back into the population. Many who have returned have found their path to success in Bosnia blocked by bureaucratic officials who owe their position to their military rank during the war, their family connections or political affiliation and little else.

The divide and conquer approach to post war Bosnia is both a symptom of the problem and the cause. At the same time it is the result of the war, of people who don’t identify with a weak divided state. It weakens the state at the same time it empowers the powers that be inside BiH and who benefit from such a fractured society.