The next big stop, about a six hour journey from Sarajevo, was Banja Luka which is the capitol of the Republic of Srpska. I was actally planning to make a visit to BL for a day to get a perspective of how life is in the Serbian part of Bosnia, but then I was having such a spectacular time in Sarajevo and decided to spend an extra day there. I kept asking people in Sarajevo if they knew anything about it or whether it was worth visiting. Most said it wasn´t anything special and wasn´t worth my time. The Lonely Planet Guide for the Western Balkans, which is essentially the bible for the traveller through former Yugoslavia, mentioned that an earthquake in 1969 destroyed 80% of the town and that local Serbs in the town destroyed all 16 mosques, most of which had been standing for more than four hundred years.
So before I explain more about the journey north into the “other side”, let me try to briefly explain as how I understand it, how the current borders or territories of the two entities in BiH, Republic of Sprska and the Federation of Bosnian Herzegovina, were drawn up. In 1990, Yugoslavia which was formally made up of 6 republics (of which Bosnia was one) was starting to crumble during the big wave of changes that occurred in Europe in 1989 and 1990. Slovenia first declared independence in 1990; then Croatia in 1991. War ensued between a newly independent Croatia and Yugoslavia (controlled by the Serb-run Yugoslav army and Slobodan Milosevic, the Serbian Communist leader of Yugoslavia who pushed for the idea of a greater Serbia) as conflict embroiled over an area of Croatia where 600,000 Serbs had lived for centuries. Amongst all this chaos, Bosnia declared independence in early 1992 (after 99% in Bosnia voted in favor of independence), wanting an out of an economically instable and corruptly run Yugoslavia and was soon recognized as a new member of the UN. All over Bosnia, Muslims (many being Muslim only by identity but non-observant religiously), Serbs and Croats had intermarried and spoke the same language. The new government was to be made up of Muslims as well as Serbs, Croats and people of mixed parentage and it also refrained from creating an army. Sadly, Milosevic and Serb nationalists led many Serbs in Bosnia into believing that they would be persecuted in an independent Bosnia led by a Muslim dictatorship. Serbs in villages and towns started taking up arms against their neigbors and the Serbs nationalists also had arms from the Yugoslav army. Very quickly conflict began between the Bosnian army (which was defenseless) and the Serbs. Many cities and towns were “cleaned” of its Muslim and Croat residents and became strictly Serb territories. In the south, fighting broke out in Mostar in 1993 between Muslim and Croats who had first fought against the Serbs together. Pretty soon, everyone was fighting everyone. It wasn´t until 1994 (I believe) when NATO started getting involved. When the Dayton Peace Accord was signed in 1995, the two entities Republic of Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovnia were created. The Republic of Srpska is the territory in Bosnia captured by the Serbs during the war whereas the Federation is what was not captured by them. This is just a very brief explanation and please feel free to comment if you feel I haven´t accurately portrayed and explained the events and their results. I of course cannot do justice in this explanation to all those who lost or risked their lives in this conflict; had to flee their home; and of course the countless people, Serbs included, who risked their lives to defend their neigbors during this sad chapter in history.
From Banja Luka, the train chugged north to Omarska and Prijedor and then finally to the border with Croatia. As it travelled along, I saw beautiful rolling, green hills and farms with dome shaped hay stacks. New homes had been built and children were seen in various places riding their bicycles. Seeing the occiasional Serbian flag hanging in windows and the lack of mosques was however a sad reminder what changes had happened in the landscape only 15 years before.
Questions that remain after my travels and volunteer work in Bosnia (and Croatia) this past month are whether peace will sustain. Is having two separate political and administrative entities in Bosnia really conducive to creating a Bosnian identity whereby those who perscribe to it believe in living in a unified Bosnia regardless if they are Muslim, Serb, Croat or of mixed parentage? As someone who has only been a traveler in this country and is by no means an expert, I do not know the answers to these questions. I hope however that the behavior I saw demonstrated by Firefly kids at the camp while they cheered for each other during a football match, enthusiastically waving the Bosnian flag and chating the country´s name, is indicative of how the young generation will bring things forward in the Bosnia.
For a better understanding of the war in Bosnia and its history, I recommend “Love Thy Neigbhour: A Story of War” by Peter Maas. He was a correspondent with the Washington Post during the war and in this book, he explores the universal question of why war between neighbors happens. Using the example of Bosnia, he examines the events that far too often have occurred and will happen again in all parts of the world.
I have also attached a map of Bosnia with some markings which may be helpful to see where Brcko is as well as the where the lines are in BiH that separate Republic of Srpska and the Federation.
While I was in Sarajevo, I met some incredible people- many of them other travellers discovering the city like me; others living there to conduct PhD research; and others who were local Sarajevans. We would go out in a group at night and sometimes more people would join us spontaneously. On my last night there, I walked with a couple of these newly found friends (whom I felt I had known for far longer) up to a hill overlooking the city. Down we looked onto the city which was starting to close down for the night. Overlooking a large cemetary from the recent war and then the famous city library which was also heavily hit during the war; then over to the Turkish quarter; then over to where there was some night life happening gracefully next to churches and mosques; and then finally over to the hills opposite to where we were; I realized that Sarajevo is a city that is resilliant. The tragedies and colorful events that have occured there have become a part of its charm. I knew taking one last glace down to the city, that I will indeed return one day.
I've been in Sarajevo for the past four days. I've not had the best luck with reliable internet connections so today is the first time I am posting this blog that I wrote four days ago.
Last week I was in Mostar. Mostar is in the south of BiH in the province of Herzegovina. And so you are not confused, it is in the the Federation part of BiH and not in the Republic of Srpska part of BiH. About that.... I had some confusion when I first arrived in Mostar and tried to buy additional credit for my mobile phone on a sim card I bought in Brčko. I unsuccessfully tried to put credit on the phone and it kept saying that there was no credit, in spite of several "natives" trying to help me sort it out. Finally, I was told that adding credit on my phone wouldn't work because it was a Serbian phone number (I thinking they meant the country Serbia). I kept assuring people that I had in fact bought the sim card in Bosnia and in Brčko and that I had a Bosnian telephone number (with the country code 387). But as it turns out, the area code I have was in fact from the Republic of Srpska and that it why I was unable to add credit to it in the Federation. If you are confused and don't really understand the situation, then you are no worse off than I am. It turns out that with the creation of the two entities in Bosnia, there are completely different infrastructures from postal systems, phone networks, etc. With the two different entities in BiH, it really makes it seem like there are two different countries within BiH. Even though it is one country, I get the sense that in the Federation, the Republic of Srpska is perceived as this wild frontier and territory you just don't trek into unless you really have to.
On a different note, I was able to connect with the Mostar Women's Citizen Initiative (MWCI). They are an NGO that formed after the war and women from all the communities in Mostar are involved. Working together, they are committed to finding solutions to problems that are effecting all women as well as youth in Mostar. Women in the community have come together and expressed what issues are of greatest concern to them. One issue was maternity leave for young mothers where there is almost no support from the government. There has also sadly been a surge of drugs and crime related to drug trafficking in Mostar as well as all over BiH (apparently one of the unpleasant aspects imported from the West.....). Apparently children are being targeted as young as primary school now by drug dealers. MWCI is finding innovative ways to educate both children and their parents and to combat this problem. In September they will be having a community wide roundtable so that more people will be come aware of their group and how they can become more involved. Thanks to a connection made with the help of the National Democratic Institute in Washington DC, MWCI has starting collaborating with an NGO in Banja Luka which is in the Republic of Srpska. This is no small feat and as I explained in the paragraph, there is still a large mental wall in BiH between the two entities, so the collaboration between these two organizations is indeed a big deal. Finally I should add that these inspiring women are involved in many different causes and wear several hats to help create a better Bosnia. They come from many different professions and are also committed to other causes such as environmental organizations. I was very pleased to give a small donation on all of your behalf (since we were so successful in fund raising and had some additional funds). They were very grateful and send their heartfelt thanks to all of you! :)
You can also learn more about the Mostar Women's Citizen Initiative through this article from the National Democratic Institute:
Bosnian Women Healing Wounded City
