February II Update

So, I've been in Serbia for two months now. Am still so glad to be here and learning what I am. There are always lots of projects going on at work and it is a joy to be getting to know people better and make new friends. I'll touch on a couple of things from the last month, starting with the trip to Sarajevo...

Road trip to Sarajevo, Bosnia

We started out on our road trip to Sarajevo Bosnia with about three trusty maps. We found out later that they weren't so trusty as each one had "variations." But that is only a minor detail. Maps, for better or worse, eventually get you to where you need to go. And when they don’t do this so very directly, well...it may merely increase the adventure factor to one's benefit. This point, I suppose, would aptly summarize the trip to and from Sarajevo.

First, some ponderings: It is an odd feeling, you know, to be traveling somewhere and then it suddenly dawns on you where you really are. Serbia. Bosnia. Sarajevo? I guess I’ve always thought of this region in a sort of "romantic" sense – you know, when it is only a place you read or hear about but never imagine you will ever visit. In fleeting moments while driving through the country, however, the scenes of Serbia and Bosnia seemed almost familiar and unextraordinary - reminders of hills, mountains, rivers etc. that surrounded me while growing up. The pastoral scenes transported me back to the hilly and mountainous folds of patches of Montanan country-side. And I think to myself for a moment, “It is all the same really. To be here or there is all the same and there is nothing new to be said of being here.” But then I snap from my reverie and realize, ah, no, it is not the same. History will quickly acquaint you with the fact that familiar bucolic scenes can be a façade over wounds of the past. Mountains, hills, and plains are simply a stage upon which different human dramas are played out. Sometimes these dramas are rather placid. Sometimes they are rather tragic. Here, I see that even over the remnants of the tragic dramas, the grass will grow again...like after a fire when new green sprouts of grass begin to appear on the hills and spread over the blackened mess of earth. So too, the green grassy hills, easy gliding river, and snowy mountains tucked in fog, while they demanded my admiring stares as we traveled along, almost deceived me into thinking that this was a land of un-interrupted peaceful and rustic life. Not so, not so, says the historian.

Unfortunately, I am far from an expert on the history of this region. And unfortunately, I feel like I never gain a suitable level of knowledge of the places I have been recently. I think it a great shame that it seems it will take me my whole life before I ever understand this life. What a waste of time. Then again, I suppose learning imparts life. Consequently, I shall try to convey through little glimpses a deeper, more complicated picture of recent times in these countries. And for me, I feel it is no good to go somewhere and not attempt to learn what you can of it. I invariably am then able to scratch a little deeper at who "we" are as humans, I like to think. I digress.

Despite the length of time it took us to reach Sarajevo (nine hours instead of expected six), I would say the drive was as great as visiting the city. A few wrong turns, bad signs, some backtracking, discrepancies in the maps, and a few unexpected dirt roads to “who knows where, but hopefully to X,” we arrived at our destination. We three girls only had a few stares as we drove through the little villages. Just a few funny looks when asking the fisherman on the bridge which road to take to X. And we were only driving on an empty gas tank once...albeit along a narrow two lane road with no shoulders on which to pull over…unless the car could float on the river to one side or climb a rock cliff on the other side. Who would have thought that there would be no gas station for at least 60 kilometers! Anyway, we manageed not to drive off onto really suspect roads and thus risk exploding any still hidden land mines (especially a problem around Sarajevo). Ah well, I think I’m just making it sound more adventurous than it really was…perhaps.

Sarajevo

Sarajevo is the capital of Bosnia & Herzegovina and is something of a charming little city tucked in a valley. The city represents an interesting mix of culture. For example, many mosques mixed among the Austro-hungarian influenced architecture. Historically, the city has been a place of peaceful religious diversity - Catholicism, Judaism, Islam, and Orthodoxy. Sarajevo is also known for a rather unfortunate event in history - the incident that sparked WWI, or the final straw among a number of straws that broke the camel's back, if you will. While visiting the city in June of 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip, a young nationalist and Bosnian Serb, on one of the little bridges. Enter WWI.

The city is very much influenced by the Muslim presence (not extremist). Here was the first time I have ever personally heard the call to prayers sung/chanted over speakers from the Mosque towers. It was beautiful really. It was fascinating to see men at the mosque bowing and praying on their carpets. The old town of the city is in the Bosniac (Bosnian muslim) part of Sarajevo.

Pretty town, yes. Tumultuous times, yes. Sarajevo, once the host of the 1984 winter Olympics, experienced the full force of Serbian barrage during the 1992-1995 war when Bosnia declared independence from the Serbian dominated Yugoslavia. Once home to about 500,000 people, thousands were either killed or displaced. For four years, the city was surrounded and attacked from the hill tops by the Yugoslav National Forces and the Bosnian Serb Army. Not a good position for the city dwellers to be in. Thousands were killed. Estimates of victims range from a few thousand to up to 100,000. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle – maybe 15-30,000 people died in the conflict with many more wounded. They were cut off from water, food, and electricity supplies. In 1993, the UN demanded that Serb forces withdraw beyond a certain point or airstrikes would commence. Slowly, in 1995, with NATO involvement and continued resistance, Serb forces began to withdraw and a cease fire was concluded.

Today, one can still see a few scars of this war – quite a few bullet riddled buildings, marks on the streets where mortar fire struck, and the presence of cemeteries. Actually, the number of cemeteries was rather striking. Even in the middle of the city in park areas there are headstones erected. At first I thought these were just pretty white stones, and didn’t realize that these were gravestones until I got closer and saw the inscriptions. Driving by the former Olympic stadium, a huge cemetery of white head stones dwarfs the sight of the stadium. And graveyards also blend into the hills of city dwellers. I have lerned to be always conscious that beyond the “cute” and “charming” of such places as Sarajevo is pain and sadness.

We visited one very important place on the edge of the city because of its crucial role in keeping the people of Sarejevo alive during the war. The United Nations took over the Airstrip on the edge of the city, separating the city from the free area of Bosnia. However, the agreement the UN forces made with the Serbian forces was that if anyone tried to escape across the airport runway and under the fences to the free area, they must be stopped and returned. If the UN forces did not stop them, the potential escappees would be picked off by the snipers on the hills. Many people attempted this route across the airstrip to reach freedom with their families, or gain food and other supplies to keep their families alive in the city. Thus, many died. However, in 1992 construction commenced on a secret tunnel to be built under the airport. After four months of digging, the military personal completed the tunnel. It is attributed with having saved thousands of lives. Some 4,000 people used the tunnel daily. A wire for electricity and a pipe for water passed through itl, and food and weapons were smuggled through, as well as people. Today, this tunnel and the house it is in are a small museum. We visited this place and were able to walk through a few meters of the dark, damp, and cold tunnel that played such an important role in the fate of the city and protection of the citizens.

On our drive back to Belgrade, we visited one town in particular that I should mention - Srebenica (pronounced “Shreb-i-nitsa”) just on the Bosnian side of the border with Serbia. This town is very well known for a very sad reason – it was the sight of a mass genocide of about 8,000 Bosnians and one of the worst war crimes during the war. Ratko Mladic, who some of you may have heard of, was a commander of the Republike Srpske forces at the time and carried out some of the killings himself. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has demanded that he be turned over to the court. However, he is in hiding somewhere in Serbia or the region and people are thought to be hiding him. Mass graves are still being found today. We were able to stop for a little while at the memorial recently erected in the city. See the picture to right....one half of the monument listing the names of the dead.

That's all from the trip!!

Today, conditions for so many in Bosnia as well as Serbia are not so good. People have lost hope in their political leaders who persist in corruption and self-interest. Where is justice? Seems everywhere it is the same story – rulers oppress the people, the poor suffer, and justice stumbles in the street.

Kafana

So recently I experienced a night out at a Kafana, a Serbian type club for drinks, dancing, and just hanging out with friends. Well, I certainly got more of a taste of Serbian music and culture I suppose! Just know that I wasn’t one of the girls dancing on the tables. Honestly, girls were doing so. But don’t imagaine dirty dancing or something – dancing on the table to traditional Serbian folk music by way of two brilliant accordions, a fiddle, guitar, and some fine voices. Really, though, it is hard to stay in your seat once they get going and the whole place is singing along because they are songs they’ve grown up hearing. There were, of course, a few token interruptions of some “turbo-folk” music – something like folk music on a jazzed up techno beat. Yeah, crazy, if nothing else it is wholly entertaining to people watch. I don’t think I can think of anything in the U.S. to compare it to, so I won’t try. Maybe, next time I’ll be on the tables. Just kidding. Orange juice on the rocks please! (picture to right: In Sarajevo enjoying a slab of steak)

Religion

One of you asked about religion in Serbia. Hmm. It is fascinating and very interesting, really. Religion here is a complex issue and much different from what we would think of in America. First, religion is very much connected to ethnic and national identity. The majority of Serbians (About 78%) are Serbian Orthodox, 5% Muslims, 4% Catholic, and 1% Protestant (including Adventists, Baptists, Reformed Christians, evangelical Christians, Church of Christ, and Pentecostals). The breakdown by religious/ethnic identity: Catholics are Croats, Slovaks evangelicals, and then there are Bosnian Muslims (Bosniacs), majority of Roma are Muslims etc. There you see the ethnic division. Second, this leads to an observation - I do not think that religion or faith is so much a matter of the heart. Less a “faith conviction” and more an issue of identity as in the sense of being caucasion, asian, or African-American. You are what you are. It would be very odd to be an Evangelical if one is Serbian, Orthodox if one is a Croat. Third, religion has also played a role in the previous wars of the 1990s in the former Yugoslavia (though best not to overemphasize this factor). The conflict took shape along ethnic lines and, therefore, along religous lines. The dominant Serbian Orthodox Church played a role in encouraging the activities of the Serbian state in carrying out campaigns of ethnic cleansing and even genocide. You see in this point that the church has taken a very political dimension and even now in the country does so.

Regarding the current status of religious communities in the country: There are only 7 religious communities in Serbia recognized as “traditional”. Subsequently, “non-traditional” groups see the law as discriminatory, as it requires minority groups to register in order to be recognized religions in Serbia. Some minority religious communities have had to re-register although previously recognized and others have had their applications stalled. Other communities refuse to apply for registration because of the discriminatory, burdensome, and invasive procedures; they are required to submit names, identity numbers, and signatures of their members. Non registered religious communities face a number of problems, including the inability to have a legal bank account; employ staff; and rent, buy, or sell property. The Serbian Orthodox Church is by the most dominant and receives special treatment from the government. But the views of some leaders of the Orthodox church toward the evangelical, protestant, and muslim communities is sometimes very negative – the are labeled as “cults” and some accuse them of not being Christian and being “Satanist”. More a product of ignorance, I believe. But you see how deep lie the divisions between the communities

Concerning treatment of religous communities: Some religious communities experience acts of hatred. Although the number of violent attacks on Serbia's religious minorities has declined in recent years, numerous such attacks still continue. Police response to vandalism and other acts has sometimes but rarely resulted in arrests, indictments, or other resolution of incidents. Some government officials have continued to criticize minority religious groups as “sects,” “satanists,” and “deviants.” As one author concludes in an article I read recently, the religious communities and Serbian Orthodox Church should be more active and outspoken on issues of peace and justice, particularly in addressing past war crimes. She also points out that the church has important “moral and symbolic power, whose role is society should be by no means underestimated.” Very true. This positive moral authority could reach a greater audience in society through messages of tolerance and respect.

To me, the role of religion in the recent conflicts highlights the vital importance of separation of church state. One of my good Serbian friends bemoans religion, because the religion that she knows is one that has always been politicized and used to justify repression, atrocity, and corruption. It is so in many parts of the world. Of what value is such faith or religion if this is what the church stands for? Valid question. For this reason, I thing it is always important for Christians to carefully consider the ways in which the church steps into the political arena in its efforts to protect its “interests” and legislate “morality”. There is good reason for separation of church and state. From what I have seen and learned, particularly abroad, I think it can become a very scary gray area when the lines between church and state start to merge. But I'll not "go there".

Personal reflection, though, it is...sad, lamentable, shameful when the church becomes a tool of oppression whether actively or through omission rather than a bulwark of justice and grace in the world...true religion. Unfortunately, God often gets the blame for the injustices that the church or "believers" in general carry out. If the church does not stand for justice...who will? As I have come to realize more deeply recently, I think it is critical to remember that such injustice really reveals that it is we who have forsaken God and not vise versa…the same offer off grace for the world stays the same, the same image of a God who hates injustice does not change no matter how much our representation conveys a distorted image of God. This is one thing that has been impressed upon my heart lately.

Religion, yes...be careful what you all ask me to tell you about next time readers! See how I go on and on!

Conclusion

So, in the meantime, I am enjoying work increasingly more as I get involved in new projects and learn more about many issues here, including the situation of refugees and internally displaced persons, the marginalization of the Roma ethnic minority, and interesting and complex political issues, particularly the Kosovo status issue.