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At a dinner in a small, smoky restaurant in Belgrade, Serbia, during a youth program set up by the German War Graves CommissionSomeone asked me:
“So what are the stereotypes about the Western Balkans where you are from? »
Growing up in London, I was exposed to a wide range of cultures. But this question revealed my alarmingly minimal knowledge about this vast region. If you had asked me last year to draw a line around the region that constitutes the “Western Balkans,” I probably would have been horribly wrong. I just couldn’t answer.
It is precisely for this reason that I decided to embark on the project. peace lineThe Yellow Road would bring together young people from Bosnia, Serbia and North Macedonia to discuss peacebuilding in regions that have experienced historical and recent conflicts. peace lineThe aim is to encourage dialogue about cultures of memory and how they vary across Europe so that respect can be built within the continent and to highlight the importance of preserving historical reminders in the promotion of European unity. This sparked reflection on the idea of the individual versus the collective memorialization of the past and the recovery of conflict through the arts, infrastructure and legislation.
The region is undeniably underrepresented when it comes to giving a holistic picture of European history, even within the nations themselves. Much of the political geography of the region has been dictated by the politics of memory, which determine how future generations will continue to remember their loved ones and how they will perceive their identity in terms of ethnicity and religion. Setting a starting and ending point for the Balkan Wars, in particular, is almost impossible, and the volatile narratives focus on the identities of the “victims” and “perpetrators”, rather than appreciating the loss of life. civilian humans. Art has become a particular focus for expressing both contempt and remembrance of such a past in the Balkans – its abstraction has the capacity to unite in a collective creation. memory, but it can arguably also be used to draw attention to strong beliefs. So one of the many facets of Peace Line was being able to explore the culture of remembrance through art, which is something I have been led to think about when considering building lasting peace in the region.
Bosnia and Herzegovina – Sarajevo and Srebrenica-Potočari
We started the program in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The most notable part of the city at first glance is not any particular landmark or view, but rather the overwhelming presence of bullet holes. It is a relic of the siege of Sarajevo, which lasted 1,425 days from April 1992 to February 1996. It was the longest siege of a capital in the history of modern warfare and the longest long siege since World War II. Many of these facades have been partially restored so that the holes remain visible, while respecting construction quality standards. These scars in Sarajevo have directly fueled local art, a way that reflects residents’ ownership of their past and reflects a modern culture of remembrance. One such artistic method is that of the “Roses of Sarajevo”, where bombing craters were filled with red resin, each location marking an attack in which at least three people lost their lives. The city’s recent development has led to the loss of many of Sarajevo’s roses, taking with them the memory of war victims in a country that often lacks official memorials to commemorate their losses.
What strikes me about Sarajevo is that even though it doesn’t have a single voice, the city speaks for itself. The War Childhood Museum tells the stories of those who grew up there between 1992 and 1995. It depicts personal – not political or martial – stories from the time of the siege.
The one that stood out to me the most was called “A Dress for Dancing,” in which a brother recalled preparing for a dance competition with his sister, Nina. The museum displays the pompoms that her mother made to accompany a dress given to her by the dance teacher. Nina had no other way to buy one, but the dress allowed her to compete. The day after the competition, 12-year-old Nina was injured and died a few days later in hospital, making her one of the last child victims of the siege. These are the objects which, despite their low material wealth, are essential for generating a culture of memory around conflicts by humanizing those who are victims of them.
We continued to discuss the Bosnian War in Srebrenica-Potočari, in the region of Bosnia known as Republika Srpska. Srebrenica, as declared by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, was the scene of the genocide of approximately 8,372 Bosnian men and boys over the course of a week in July 1995.
There we met a woman who had lost her husband and sons during the events in Srebrenica and who led the organization “The Mothers of Srebrenica”, which sued the UN and the Dutch government for their role in the events. . She owned a small store outside the cemetery for the victims, where she sold carefully sewn white and green flowers with eleven petals, commemorating the day the genocide took place. As one of the few Bosniaks to return to Srebrenica, she expressed concern that one day Srebrenica would be left behind, while expressing affection for her children, who she believes can shape a future of peace and of reconciliation in Europe.
In the days following the departure from Srebrenica, 30 more men and boys were buried in cemeteries after their identification, highlighting the time it took for families to learn the fate of their loved ones and have a place to stay. individual memorial for their bereavement. . To this day, approximately a quarter of the July 1995 victims remain unidentified or missing. The Flower of Srebrenica has become a symbol of resilience for those still awaiting the identification of their lost brothers, sons and fathers, uniting those who lack a palpable venue for individual commemoration.
Serbia – Belgrade
Belgrade offers a striking contrast with Bosnia. While Sarajevo has art mixed with a rugged cityscape, Belgrade interweaves gleaming skyscrapers and skyscrapers with the bombed-out ruins of former ministries. Belgrade, like Sarajevo, bears the scars of a turbulent past, which are felt in modern-day Serbia through murals and, in many cases, their vandalized counterparts. Depending on which day you pass Njegoševa Ulica, you may or may not see a mural of Ratko Mladič, leader of the army of Republika Srpska, convicted by the International Criminal Court for orchestrating the genocide in Srebrenica. It was cemented in place a month after his conviction in The Hague and, despite numerous attempts by the building’s residents and Belgrade-based peace organizations, it remains.
Further exploration of this topic took place later in the day when meeting with young Serbs, many of whom were members of the Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR), an NGO based in Belgrade which caused many members to be arrested while attempting to cover the mural. A discussion with young people showed how Belgrade’s walls and buildings are used as a battleground for conflicting political ideals, particularly to promote Serbian nationalism. Marko Milosavljevic, head of the YIHR, said that “the glorification of convicted war criminals has led to the fact that we have a monument to Ratko Mladič, embodied in a mural, which is protected by both the police and the organizations extremists,” highlighting the lack of intergenerational unity following the breakup of Yugoslavia.
Cultures of remembrance – the way forward
Sarajevo’s use of art as a memorial in the center of the city, rather than demonizing a particular group as the perpetrators of these crimes, gained wide international influence due to its perception of the Bosnian War, viewing the siege of Sarajevo as an attack on the city’s wealthy. , multi-ethnic history. That said, the culture of remembrance has not been perfect in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as evidenced by the installation of plaques in schools. Bosnian teachers and students who were victims of the war generally wear plaques in their former schools which, while serving as a souvenir, have a double function as an accuser. Mourning for Serbian losses in Sarajevo is mostly held in secret rather than collectively, and many believe Bosnia is more sectarian than it has ever been.
Battles no longer take place on the ground, but walls and bridges are scarred as nations face a turbulent past. There is a need for an interdisciplinary approach to reconciling the past, which encourages community expression of grief and remembrance. Ubiquitous street art, for example, depicts grief healing cities in the absence of formal reconciliation. Collective expression through the arts can then serve as a basis for a debate on how to better formalize collective memory within these nations, regardless of ethnicity or nationality.
The Western Balkans peacebuilding agenda represents a critical learning opportunity. I found it worked as a way to permanently commemorate what was lost to the horrors of wars.
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