I wanted to end my Advocacy Project Blog by discussing a moment that was very important for me in Belgrade.  During my fellowship, one of the interview questions Donna and I asked activists was “What is your greatest memory associated with Women in Black?”  I first wanted to show you a clip of what WIB activists said but due to some technical difficulties I’m going to have to skip the video for now.  But just to give you a glimpse, WIB activists often answered the question by referring to Srebrenica Commemorations or by discussing the friendship and solidarity they have gained by being a part of WIB.

My own personal greatest memory associated with Women in Black was the second Srebrenica Vigil Women in Black coordinated on July 10^th, 2009.  I spoke about my experience at this vigil in an earlier blog post.  I am thankful that I was fortunate enough to express solidarity with Srebrenica victims’ families.  The Serb nationalist group that was standing in opposition to us on that day gave me an even greater conviction that political activism is essential.  The world cannot become a better and safer place until more of us contribute to the politics of our nations and to the politics of the international community as a whole.  We also need to be sure to educate younger generations about the importance of being politically involved - an element of our society that is often lacking, especially in the U.S.

This specific vigil made me positive that Women in Black is working towards something that is very essential in Serbian society: goodness and morality.  While you probably won’t find these two words in a list of WIB’s top ten goals, I really think their endeavors can be summed up as such.  WIB is basically asking its people to stand up for what is right and stand up against a regime that has committed mass atrocities.  It really doesn’t seem like too much to ask.

I really hope that my work in Belgrade was able to contribute to WIB’s agenda and that the organization reaches its goals in the near future!

WIB Activists

The question that I was most often asked in Serbia was “What are your impressions of Serbia?”  It took me a long time to figure out the answer to this question, and now that I’m back in New York I’m still not sure if I have a precise answer.

During my trip I was fortunate enough to be located in Belgrade which is the largest city in the Balkans region.  I loved being located in a central city where I felt connected to the rest of the world.  Belgrade was like any other city with movies, plays, restaurants, activities in the public square, bars and lots and lots of lovely cafes.  As a tourist walking down the streets of Belgrade you wouldn’t necessarily notice that Serbia is a country that’s still suffering from the wars of the 1990s.  But once you dig a little deeper you notice that even though the wars have been over for years, their effects are still lingering very strongly in Serbian society.  These effects are even more easily seen once you travel outside of the city into the rural areas of the country.  Unemployment levels are high and many individuals reminisce about how life was under Tito’s regime.  While things were of course not perfect under Tito, it seems like people were a lot happier under his socialist government.  I heard too many people reminisce about times before the war, when life was easier and more enjoyable for them.

During my trips to Potocari, Srebrenica, Tuzla, Sarajevo, Pristina, Mitrovica and Prizren, I noticed that people in the Balkans region altogether live in highly politicized environments.  It’s as if the wars ended just yesterday.

Without a doubt, Serbia still has a lot of work to do in terms of facing the past and changing its regime.  The overthrow of Milosevic was just one step in the right direction.  While this step was essential to a better future for the Balkans, it was only the beginning.

Fortunately, Women in Black is the top organization leading the way in taking additional steps towards a better future for Serbia, and for the Balkans altogether.  Let’s just hope that the people of Serbia start listening and follow in its footsteps.

I decided to spend this last weekend, my last weekend in the Balkans, exploring Kosovo.  For a brief background on the politics surrounding the relationship between Serbia and Kosovo, please refer to my previous blog post.

It was a great feeling going from Serbia, a country where Americans are not very well-liked, mainly due to the bombing campaign coordinated by NATO, to Kosovo, a country where Americans are LOVED. I actually don’t think I’ve ever been to another country where Americans were so highly regarded.

I could feel the love even through a music video I saw on one of my many bus rides of the weekend.  Behind the singer, three flags were displayed: from left to right they were Kosovo, Albania and the U.S.

Here’s a quick photo summary of my weekend in the country.

Pristina - View of Pristina, Kosovo.

Mitrovica Bridge - This is a bridge in Mitrovica that dividies the Albanian side of town from the Serb side of town. On either side of the bridge the flags, languages and currencies are different - Albanian and euros on one, Serbian and dinars on the other.

Mother Teresa - While Mother Teresa was born in Macedonia, her parents were of Albanian origin.

Serbian Flag - Serbian Flag hanging on the Serb side of town in Mitrovica.

EU - Political graffiti is common all around the country.

Self-determination - Political graffiti stating "No Negotiation, Self-determination."

NEWBORN - The NEWBORN sign in downtown Pristina - this was erected right before Kosovo declared independence. At first I thought all the writing was graffiti, but it's actually people's signatures.

Destroyed Homes - In 2004, riots erupted against Serbs in Prizren, Kosovo. These are remnants of destroyed Serb homes.

Destroyed Homes 2 - Broken windows in a destroyed Serb home.

Destroyed Homes 3 - Barbed wire around a destroyed Serb home.

Destroyed Homes 4 - Inside of a destroyed Serb home.

Mosque - A mosque in Prizren.

UNMIK - Building for the UN Mission in Kosovo.

KFOR - The Kosovo Force is a NATO-led force in charge of keeping security in Kosovo.

Bill Clinton Boulevard - There is a huge picture of Bill Clinton on Bill Clinton Boulevard in Pristina.

A few weeks ago I saw an interview on BBC that made me a bit angry. It was an interview with Erik Solheim, who is Norway’s Minister of International Development. I was very irritated at how the host of Hard Talk, Stephen Sackur, kept insinuating that Norway has been counter-productive by negotiating with leaders of rebel groups, such as the leader of the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka. During the whole interview I felt like Sackur kept attacking Solheim for Norway’s diplomatic, non-violent peace efforts. Sackur was continually condescending when he should have instead been applauding Norway. When it came to the Sri Lankan situation in specific, Sackur even stated that “it’s obvious that in the end, the solution was a military one…” Why such negativity towards diplomacy? If you’re interested you can watch a clip of the interview below and let me know if you agree with my assessment.

While I agree that it is important to be cautious in one’s approach towards diplomatic relations with rebel groups, I also think that it is imperative to engage in peace talks with them. If we had more discussion over disagreements than the violence we generally have today, there would be so much more peace in the world. Responding to violence with just more violence is not always the answer.

So over the past few weeks I have been thinking about the role of ethics in international relations. I have been trying to figure out if it is possible for a country to make ethical choices without giving up its success and without making itself vulnerable. Or even more simply, is it possible for a country to live ethically and survive in this harsh world? Must politics and ethics be mutually exclusive or can both co-exist?

The Nordic countries such as Norway, Sweden and Denmark etc. give me hope that it is possible to live ethically and with the best of intentions and to simultaneously avoid harm. But I think that part of why the Nordic countries have been successful in this area is because they’re not continually searching for greater power. I think it is a lot less feasible for a country like the United States, continually wanting to stay the number one superpower of the world, to always act ethically and still retain the same power. So I guess in this scenario the question comes down to what is more important - power or ethics? I’m sure you can guess what I personally think is more important, but unfortunately many others would probably disagree.

To make the issue further complex, it is often debatable what the ethical decision even is. For example, in 1999 when Serbia was at war with Kosovo, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) launched a bombing campaign against Serbia in order to stop the military action and repression that was taking place in Kosovo. I personally struggle with when someone should decide to take up arms in defense of others, or even in defense of themselves. While the NATO bombings in Serbia are controversial for many reasons, they still raise the general question of whether it is okay for other countries to use military force in order to stop mass atrocities that are taking place. Or have leaders resorted to using violence too quickly? Isn’t it possible that diplomacy, and diplomacy alone, can lead to peace in war-torn countries?

I really want to believe that diplomacy is enough but I’m still not sure if it is. Still, I have a lot of respect for peace mediators and countries such as Norway that make an impressive, non-violent effort to help other countries resolve their disagreements. If everyone would take the path of non-violence, then simple diplomacy could go a long way.

There is a fine line between citizens that are nationalists and citizens that are exercising their right to self-determination.  According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, self-determination is the “determination by the people of a territorial unit of their own future political status.”  Nationalism, on the other hand, is defined as “loyalty and devotion to a nation; especially: a sense of national consciousness exalting one nation above all others and placing primary emphasis on promotion of its culture and interests as opposed to those of other nations or supranational groups.”  In my time in Belgrade, I have had many conversations about the difference between these two terms.  While Women in Black activists generally denounce nationalism, they usually agree with citizens’ right to self-determination.

Personally, I also think that we need to stop thinking of ourselves as Americans, Serbs, Croats, Arabs, etc and instead start thinking of ourselves as just human beings, plain and simple.  We’ve outlawed racist actions in the United States, but many individuals don’t realize that strong nationalism often leads to racism on a global scale, too often justified by a country’s border lines.

A country that is currently treading this fine line between nationalism and self-determination is Kosovo.  Excuse my ignorance but before my arrival in Belgrade I didn’t know that the status of Kosovo as a country, was even an issue.  Perhaps this ignorance stems from the fact that the United States recognizes Kosovo as a distinct country.  Unfortunately, Serbia does not.  Kosovo, a territory with a population that is 88% Albanian and only 7% Serbian, declared independence from Serbia in February 2008.  This was Kosovo’s second attempt at independence; this was provoked partially by the burning of homes, rape and mass murders of Albanians at the hand of Serbian authorities.  If I remember correctly from my International Law class from the fall, succession from a country is only allowed under international law if a group’s human rights are being violated and no other solution can be found.  In the case of Kosovo, it seems that it was justified to secede after the Serb authorities committed mass atrocities.

Currently, 62 out of the 192 United Nations member states recognize Kosovo as a sovereign state.  But the United Nations has not recognized the country, mainly due to Russia’s opposition to recognition.  And since Russia has veto power through it’s seat on the Security Council, it is unlikely that the UN will recognize Kosovo anytime soon.  Unfortunately, citizens of Kosovo are unable to travel to many parts of the world since many countries do not recognize a Kosovo Passport.

In one of my earlier blog posts I spoke about the role that governments and laws should be playing in protecting citizens.  But when a government so clearly fails to protect its people, and is actually the one causing harm, shouldn’t citizens have the right to govern themselves and claim independence?  How did we become a world in which we are not allowed to ask for our basic human rights and exercise the liberty of governing ourselves?

Too often I hear individuals say that their small actions won’t make a difference in this large world.  And they use this as an excuse to follow the actions of the mainstream.  I personally believe that each individual can make an impact, however large or small, on the happenings of the world.  And the more individuals that change their lifestyles for the better, the better the world becomes as a whole.

My recent trip to Sarajevo, Bosnia provided me with proof of my belief that each individual can make a difference.  In this specific instance, it was actually the work of an entire family that saved thousands of lives and ended up saving the city of Sarajevo from Serbian control.

During my trip I visited the Tunnel Museum, which gets its name for a 800 meter long tunnel that was built in the backyard of the Kolar family’s home.  During the Bosnian War, the Bosnian Capital of Sarajevo was seized by Serbian forces and all routes in and out of the city were blocked off.  This is what spurred the digging of the tunnel.

While the tunnel was dug by Bosnian volunteers, the Kolar family made a great contribution by allowing the digging in their backyard and supporting work surrounding the tunnel.  This act is even more heroic during war-torn times where any punishment is possible towards people taking part in resistance activities.

Once the tunnel was ready, it was about 800 meters long and about 1.5 meters high and wide.  About 1 million people passed through this tunnel to and from the Sarajevo airport, which was under UN control.  About 20 million tons of food was brought into Sarajevo through this tunnel.  The tunnel also allowed for humanitarian aid to enter Bosnia and helped the Bosnian army acquire weapons from the outside world.  (Facts from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarajevo_Tunnel)

“The memory of the tunnel is being kept alive by the Kolar family, whose house was the starting point of the construction… The family itself helped to dig it and has kept all of the tools and materials that were used in the process.” (Quote from http://www.wieninternational.at/en/node/13830)

I’m glad to see that the Kolar family is able to run the museum itself, rather than having to give it up to the Bosnian government.

In conclusion, I just want to say that each person’s individual contribution to activism is extremely important.  Whether that contribution is lending a backyard to create an escape route, or boycotting a pair of sneakers that were made by slave labor, each individual can (and should) make a difference.  We need to make others more cognizant of the fact that they can make a large impact by simply making conscious choices and realizing that if they want to, they can have a say in the way the world works.

Each year on July 11^th, many activists and officials from around the world attend the Srebrenica Genocide Commemoration in Potocari, Bosnia.  This year I had the honor of joining Women in Black on their trip to the commemoration.  You can see a quick summary of the day’s events in the video below (pay special attention to the caskets towards the end).

As you saw in the video, even though it’s been fourteen years since the genocide, victims’ bodies and body parts are still being found.  Fourteen years later and families are still burying 534 bodies!  Fourteen years later and these families are just getting the chance to get closure from the atrocities?  And there are so many families that will still find their mother’s or father’s or son’s or daughter’s or sister’s or brother’s body, or maybe just a finger or a leg.  How are they ever supposed to get closure and move on?  Fourteen years seems like a long time and seems long enough to recover and heal.  But I don’t know how these families can move on when they have yet to find their family members and bury them.  I don’t have words to express the sadness of this situation.

I don’t think there’s anything an activist organization can do to heal the wounds of victims’ families, but I do think that activists can do their best to offer families support.  Women in Black has been the only Serbian organization to show solidarity to victims’ families.  And it is clear that this solidarity and support is appreciated by Bosnians.  Let me explain.

At the commemoration, I was fortunate enough to meet the U.S. Ambassador to Bosnia, a Congressman from Ohio and his wife.  My co-fellow, Donna, and I were talking about how much easier it is to meet international officials when you are abroad than when you are in your own country.  Since the number of English-speaking individuals, especially from America, is so limited here, Donna and I always get introduced to other Americans in the vicinity.  This happens when there is another student like ourselves around, or even when there are high-up officials like the Ambassador and Congressman - it’s great.  We most likely would not have been introduced to them back home.

Even though I’m going off on a tangent, the reason I bring this up is because of something very special the Congressman’s wife, Laurie, said to me and Donna.  WIB left Belgrade at 6am but still arrived to the commemoration a few minutes late due to heavy traffic right outside of Potocari.  So Laurie told us that a collective gasp came over the crowd when WIB walked on to the site.  This was another moment that made me very proud of the organization I’m working with this summer.  To know that WIB is making a difference to the families of victims is reason enough to love the work they are doing.

It’s also great that Bosnians support WIB’s work, even though many of the activists are Serbian.  I’m happy to see that Bosnians have not gotten wrapped up into nationalistic stereotypes by holding grudges against all Serbians because of the atrocities that certain Serbs committed against them.

Every July, Women in Black’s (WIB) work focuses on commemorating the atrocities that took place on July 11^th, 1995 in Srebrenica, Bosnia.  In 1995, 8,000 Bosnian men and boys were killed in Srebrenica, a town considered a UN safe area.  This past July 10^th, a day before the big day of commemoration, WIB held two vigils in remembrance of the victims of Srebrenica, and to show support and solidarity to the families of victims.

The first vigil took place from 12pm to 1pm in a park in Belgrade.  WIB stood silent and held up banners asking the public to never forget the victims of Srebrenica.  Serbian police attended this vigil to ensure WIB’s safety and make sure that no one harassed or hurt WIB activists.  That afternoon, everything went smoothly.

Unfortunately, the second vigil of the day, at 7:30pm in Republic Square, Belgrade’s main public square, was met with a lot more animosity.  When we got to the square there was a group of Serbian nationalists standing in the square, waiting for our arrival.  What happened after illustrated stark parallels between love and hate.  WIB was working on spreading more love in the world, while Serbian nationalists were simply promoting hate.

WIB’s actual vigil was beautiful: Women in Black activists stood next to each other surrounding a blanket with imprinted roses.  Each activist also held a rose, each one symbolizing a victim of the Srebrenica Genocide.  In silence, WIB commemorated the 8,000 men and boys that were killed.

Even though the commemoration was beautiful, it was extremely difficult to not listen to the hate being spewed by the individuals standing on the other side.  Policemen were standing in a line blocking WIB from the crowd for protection.  The relationship between WIB and policemen is complicated as it’s unclear whether the police are there just to protect WIB, or to make sure they don’t get out of line.  Still, in this specific scenario, I was proud of the protection the police provided.

In front of the policemen, however, Serb nationalists were singing Serbian nationalistic songs, repeatedly chanting “Serbia,” and even making threats to all the WIB activists present.  While the nationalists were speaking in Serbian, it didn’t take more than a second to feel the hate that was emanating from them.  My dear activist friends translated to me many of the things that the nationalists said to us.  Here’s a sample: “whores in black,” “witches in black,” “bitches in black.”  They also mentioned something about killing homosexuals, and threatened to rape the activists with the roses they were holding.  While these things in themselves are disgusting and horrific, I think the worst part was that they were holding up pictures of Karadzic and Mladic and chanting their names in praise!

Karadzic and Mladic are war criminals that committed numerous war atrocities during the Bosnian War.  Karadzic is currently on trial for war crimes, including genocide, at the International Criminal Court of the former Yugoslavia.  Mladic was the commander of the Army of Republika Srpska, the units that committed the Srebrenica genocide, and is unfortunately still at large.

This was both my saddest moment in Belgrade, as well as my proudest moment to be a part of Women in Black.  My mind just can’t comprehend how so many people can praise individuals like Karadzic and Mladic??  I’m trying to understand - is it ignorance? Is it lack of education? Is it immaturity? Is it plain stupidity?  I really don’t know the answer.  And of course, it was so sad to see WIB activists be threatened and cursed at like this.  These activists are such brave individuals with great hearts, and the last thing they deserve is to hear such insults while doing something good by standing up against evil.

Another issue I could not understand was why the Serb nationalists felt the need to continue chanting “Serbia.”  Why the nationalistic insistence?  Is Serbia such a great nation that it can heartlessly kill thousands of people and still garner support?  While the WIB vigil of course has numerous political implications behind it, the real purpose of it was to remember the victims of Srebrenica, to show comradery to their families, and pay respect to all those who suffered.  The point of the vigil was not to bring down the Serbian government or punish perpetrators, but it was simply to commemorate and remember.  Although we can never truly understand the depth of victims’ families sorrow, we can understand that the pain they have suffered, of losing their children to crimes of hate, is the worst pain a parent can feel.  But this nationalist group would not stop shouting profanities and nationalistic chants at us - they would not even let us simply commemorate and mourn the loss of thousands of lives.

Of course I am a supporter of free speech and a demonstration of free speech was shown by both WIB and Serb nationalists on July 10^th, 2009.  Everyone has the right to their own opinion, and there is no doubt about that in my mind.  But it’s heartbreaking to see how so many people’s beliefs are simply full of hate and evil.

The vigil was an experience I will never forget.  I highly commend Women in Black for fighting such hate and not losing hope when confronted with such offensive remarks.

You can see a clip of the WIB vigil as well as the nationalistic demonstration below.

Title Translation: BON APPETIT IN SERBIA!

Many people have asked what I, being a pescetarian, have been eating in Serbia so I thought I would write about it.  The first few days I was here, it was quite difficult to find vegetarian options on the go, especially since I couldn’t comprehend the Serbian signs listing food and was also unable to ask for meatless items in Serbian.  But over the past few weeks I have learned how to say “nay meso?” meaning “no meat?” and have found a few good fast food options that I can pick up on the way to work.  For one, I was lucky enough to have a falafel and fries place right down the street from my apartment.  I also often eat a spinach and egg pie that reminds me of quiche.

But generally, Serbian food includes a lot of meat as well as a lot of oil.  Almost all sandwiches include some form of meat, but even more surprising, it’s often difficult to find a piece of vegetarian pizza.  Plain cheese pizza seems to be a hard to find catch.  But even though Serbian food focuses so heavily on meat and oil, it at least consists of all organic meat and vegetables.  While I haven’t tasted the meat here, I have heard that it is a lot better than ours in America.  And I can say from personal experience that the local tomatoes and various fruits and vegetables are full of flavor.

My experience in Belgrade, specifically at the local green market, has made me really think about how many chemical and hormones are injected into us through the food we eat in the U.S.  Even if we try to eat healthy by eating fruits and vegetables, we’re still eating chemicals and hormones that simultaneously harm our bodies.  And if we decide to purchase organic items in order to avoid such chemicals, it hurts our wallets.  It’s quite sad that in order to eat healthy in America we need to spend more money.  I really think that it should be the opposite.  It should be cheaper to eat healthy - healthy food should be the norm, not the exception.  And if we want to “treat” ourselves by eating something unhealthy, we should expect to pay more for it.  It should be similar to the concept of taxing cigarettes - we should have increased incentive to eat healthier, rather than greater incentive to save money and thus eat food that causes us harm in the long run.

I just want to end by sharing a clip of the Zeleni Venac City Market, my local green market, as it makes me wish I had something similar back home, without it costing an arm and a leg.

My main role at Women in Black (WIB) has been to create a video archive of interviews of WIB activists.  The goal of this project is to leave WIB with the ability to tell the story of their whole WIB Serbia network, rather than just focus on the few individuals in the main Belgrade office.  It is also to have some memory of each individual activist to hold on to.  WIB will be able to make use of the videos in whatever way they deem necessary in the future, whether it be a documentary film about their activists or short video clips for their website.

Yesterday Donna and I interviewed a very knowledgeable law professor and dean, Vesna Vodinelic, at a private law university in Belgrade.  She made an important point during her interview that I’d like you to watch below.

It’s interesting to see the two sides of law, and how one has so often been abused.  While it’s sad to admit, we can’t deny that law is partially used for the government to control its people.  But the important side of law, in my opinion, is the one that works to protect its citizens.  Laws should be in place to ensure that citizens are granted all the rights they deserve, to ensure that murderers are not allowed to freely roam the streets and harm others, and to ensure that one can choose how to live one’s life, freely and happily.

But even the issue of using law to protect citizens can be problematic: who gets to determine how citizens should be protected?  Should they be protected from individuals that incite hate or is that a limitation on free speech?  Is it okay for the government to protect citizens from truth about imminent danger in order to avoid panic?  Where do we draw the line?

Furthermore, it is appalling how frequently the law has been abused in order to suppress a country’s people; or how often the protectors of law are complicit in horrific crimes.  For example, the law still does not allow homosexuals to marry spouses of their choosing in most areas of the world, including the majority of states in the U.S.  The law has turned a blind eye in too many countries when minority groups have been abused and tortured.  Women in many African countries do not have the legal rights to own any land, making them forever dependent on men, often leading widows and their children to live in poverty.  Laws in Afghanistan actually prohibit women from seeing male doctors without the accompaniment of a close male relative.  But since women in Afghanistan are also forbidden from becoming doctors, too many Afghan women unnecessarily die during child birth.

While it is clear that laws should not be in place for governments to abuse their people, the question still remains: what is the perfect relationship between the state and its citizenry?  And how can we stop the abuse of law that is taking place in too many countries around the world today?