About a week and a half ago, the EU Commission recommended Serbia, Macedonia, and Montenegro’s citizens to be able to travel freely with in the EU without visas.  This is HUGE.  A common frustration among my friends here is that they cannot travel or it is very hard to obtain a visa.  And of course, I bet you noticed BiH is absent from that list of countries.  Well, okay, BiH’s politicians need to get their stuff together, that is blatantly true.  However, since Croatia has already been granted visa-free travel within the EU that means Croats living in BiH can travel freely if they hold a Croatian passport (which, even if a person has never lived in Croatia, he can receive a Croatian passport).   And now the same will be true for Bosnian Serbs.  Now the only ethnic group (well, not only – we cannot forget the Roma) not able to travel without visas is the Bosniak population.

This situation seems questionable to many Bosniaks.  It has already heightened tensions in the country and many people are questioning why BiH has not been granted visa free travel.  Some groups claim that the EU is anti-Muslim and the EU commission left out BiH for that purpose.  Others are plain frustrated that their neighbors can enjoy a seemingly basic freedom to travel, while they can only enter a handful of countries without visas.  The EU commission claims that the decision to leave BiH off the list of consideration for visa free travel was not due to the religion or ethnicity of Bosniaks, but rather because the politicians in Sarajevo have not been able to come to conclusions and pass measures required for visa free travel.

I gotta say, though, I agree with and believe the EU commission.  I’ve already made clear my stance on Bosnian politicians in previous posts.  But looking at the situation objectively, BiH does not meet the standards to gain visa free travel in the EU.  Perhaps this situation will force the politicians in Sarajevo to act in the best interest of their people.

So, we come back to the title of my blog, “What Would Tito Do?”  Tito has come up a lot in my conversations lately, especially in regards to visa free travel, unemployment (over 35% unemployment in BiH), and living conditions.  There are very different perceptions of Tito in Tuzla.  Most people my age and a bit older see the time Tito was in power as a golden age for all of the former Yugoslavia.  According to a friend, his parents didn’t have to pay for health care or even their housing.  However, there was definitely a bitter side to Tito’s rule.  His communist regime was without a doubt oppressive.   Suppression of religion seemed to only increase nationalist sentiments by the time he died in 1981.  These, like much of my impressions, are just that – impressions, but not absolute fact.  Perhaps people are so frustrated now, because they see the current ethnic tensions more oppressive than the “Golden Age” when employment wasn’t as much of a problem and ethnic groups were seen as “equals.”  And unfortunately for me, it’s hard to defend the current politicians and their policies.

You gotta love Hollywood for all the different kinds of movies it makes.  I’m not even trying to be totally sarcastic.  For all the romantic comedies, horror movies, and action films it produces, sometimes it does attempt to make a film about a “real” subject.  However, often times the “truth” of the event is skewed in the resulting film, because of either political issues or “artistic license.”  Hollywood has tried to take on genocide.  Who hasn’t seen Schindler’s List or Hotel Rwanda?  For all the films I have seen about different genocides, I have never been able to grasp the concept of what it really is.  Even after taking courses with units on genocide, I now know I had no idea what it means (that is not to say that I do now, but at least I’m gaining a better understanding).

I’ve mentioned in previous blogs that all the women at BOSFAM are from Srebrenica or surrounding areas.  They are all victims of the war and the genocide that occurred in Srebrenica on 11 July 1995.  For those of you (I was one of you before I came to BiH) who are not too familiar with the genocide at Srebrenica, take a look here or here.  Basically, what was supposed to be a UN guarded “safe” zone ended up being the location where over 8,000 Bosnian Muslims were killed on 11 July 1995.  It was mostly men who were killed, but babies, children, women, and the elderly were also tortured and murdered on that date.

Houses in Srebrenica.

The Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) carried out the genocide.  With my next statement, I by NO means think what the VRS was acceptable or even humane, but it’s one thing to kill 8,000 people, but it’s another to destroy tens of thousands of lives of the survivors of Srebrenica.  The wives, children, sisters, and other relatives of those massacred at Srebrenica are still dealing with very deep wounds 14 years later.  Two posts ago I discussed missing persons in BiH.  However awful it is to still have no idea where-in what grave, river, or valley-your loved ones are, the survivors are still rebuilding their lives and culture and grieving their losses.

Sajma and Djeva finishing one Memorial Quilt which commemorates victims of the 11 July 1995 genocide at Srebrenica.

As 11 July quickly approaches, I am becoming increasingly annoyed with reading my friends’ Facebook and Twitter statuses.  For those of you who don’t know what “FML” means, please look it up.  For those of you that do, I cannot tell you how sick it has made me to read statuses like, “I have to work a double shift today. FML,” or “I have to take an 18 hour flight to Australia. FML.”  I’m sorry, but GIVE ME A BREAK.  The war in the 1990′s and the genocide did not just claim lives, but also a large part of Bosnian Muslim culture and mentality.  The library in Sarajevo is a clear example of the culture lost, as it has yet to be completely restored.  Many mosques were destroyed with valuable writings and architecture as well.

The most devastating effect of the war, genocide, and ethnic cleansing-according to me, anyway-was the destruction of ethnic harmony in BiH.  Many people have told me that before the war Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims), Bosnian Serbs, and Croats lived and worked together.  However, neighbors began to turn on each other and many Serbs fled to Serbia and the Republika Srpska and many Bosniaks sought refuge in Croatia and other countries.  An ongoing conversation I’ve been having with my friend, Davor, is whether or not you can blame a war on just the leaders, just the general “people,” or both.  He often argues that, “You can’t have a war without people.”  I often retort, “But if the leaders use propaganda and other psychological strategies to turn neighbors against each other, is it really the people’s fault?”  We’re at a stalemate.  Either way, the war has really divided the country.  Tuzla is apparently the most “progressive” of BiH and people of all ethnicities live together.  Still, its population is mainly Bosniak.  Mostar, on the other hand, is extremely divided.  On the covers of the few travel guides to BiH, the bridge (Stari Most) in Mostar is usually the picture representing the country.  Its beauty, however, is minimized when you realize the Neretva River it covers completely divides Mostar between Croats and Bosniaks.  From schools, restaurants, and places of worship (of course, Croats in the Catholic churches and Bosniaks in mosques), the city is completely divided still after 14 years.

The beautiful bridge in Mostar takes on an ugly meaning when you realize it divides the city between Croats and Bosniaks.

For those of you, who think you can imagine this division, let me remind you that there is absolutely no difference in appearance between Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs.  The differences are mainly in religion.  When the Balkans was Yugoslavia, these divisions were not nearly as stark as they are now.  Now in BiH, divisions between ethnic groups, as in Mostar, are very common.  The country is comprised of two entities, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska (RS).  I’ll let you guess where the majority of the Serbs live.

The ethnic divisions are not only in the “people” level, but BiH’s political system was designed to reflect the ethnic divisions in the country.  A three person, rotating presidency of one Bosniak, one Serb, and one Croat is just one part of a complex and big government.  Right now, as there often is in BiH, there is political tension between the Federation and the RS, because as time goes on the Dayton Accords dictate that power from the entities must be transferred to the country of BiH.  While the war probably could not have ended without certain stipulations in the Dayton Accords, 14 years later, it is making for a very politically heated summer.

The River Drina divides Serbia from BiH's Republika Srpska.

So, that was probably the most disjointed blog ever, but I needed to try to explain why and how the divisions in BiH are still such a big deal.  On Saturday, 11 July while many Bosniaks, some Croats and Serbs, and internationals commemorate the 8,000 people who died at Srebrenica, some towns on the River Drina between the RS and Serbia will be holding a regatta.  Perhaps when other ethnic groups stop holding celebrations on 11 July, the Bosniaks who were massacred on that day will be properly remembered and honored.

Unfortunately, it seems current information about BiH is not accurate or widely known.  Some of the questions I was asked when I told family and friends my summer plans were, “Isn’t there, like, a war there?” “But you’ll have NO internet (gasp!).” “Is there even an airport or a train station?”

The questions were endless, but I could answer some questions: the war ended over a decade ago; I will have internet, but maybe not wireless everywhere I go; and yes, there are both an airport and train stations.

But I couldn’t get too angry with my very concerned family and friends, because the truth is: I didn’t know much about BiH before I started researching online and in the library.  So, hopefully this blog will not only be a vehicle to tell the story of the women I will meet and the current situation in BiH, but also a resource for readers to understand how and why BiH is in their current situation.

The situation of the women I’ll be getting to know this summer is not a good one.  My goal through this blog is to tell their story as best I can and without sugar coating.  Don’t get me wrong, I am optimistic about my fellowship and my work with BOSFAM, but the reality of this situation is that these women, who have suffered the loss of their homes, possessions, and most devastatingly, many of their male relatives-even their sons.

Their story must be told and more importantly, people must listen.  My goal is to bring awareness to their situation and move readers of this blog to-if not action-a greater understanding of the importance of advocating for disempowered communities.  I am very excited to continue updating this blog on a regular basis and I hope you enjoy reading it.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=48sq0JA6F1o

An ongoing project of BOSFAM to commemorate victims of the Serbenica Massacre

An ongoing project of BOSFAM to commemorate victims of the Srebrenica Massacre