Čiste namjere / Pure Intent

I sometimes have a hard time figuring out why the hell we are so immune to ultra violence.  But then again...for most of us it wasn't too long ago that living under siege for three or four years became a normal thing. 

Still...silence like a cancer grows...

When the first foundation stone for the Ferhadija Mosque was laid in Banja Luka several years ago a man was stoned to death in front of the world.  It was Banja Luka and that resembled Tehran (as Dodik has referred to Sarajevo) then...and from the Serbian side we heard little or nothing about hooligans, nationalists and cetniks setting fire to buses, hailing racist insults and barraging an international delegation with stones...and like a medieval tribe, literally kill a man by stoning him to death.  The only thing that was more shocking to me than the event itself was how little anyone talked about it afterwards - particularly from the side of the perpetrators.

Croats repeat a similar ritual in Mostar on a regular basis. Whether it be a Muslim funeral on the west bank or, god forbid, Croatia proper losing a football match - somebody is going to pay with blood.  And they always do.  And again....i have never heard the Croatian community openly talking about this disgusting display of fascism. 

Now we have our wahabi's.  Some are saying it was only a small group.  Some are saying they certainly do feel angered or ashamed but i get the feeling that way too many are silent for all the wrong reasons.  Homophobia here is particularly strong.  One would think that the ultra violence that tortured this town for so long would stir strong support against any type of violence.  But it seems like the 'democratic struje' of the leading parties here remain strangely silenced and rather unaffected that a group well organized, militant-like extremist literally hunted citizens and guests of this city down like dogs to attack them.   What's to say they won't keep doing so?  Maybe now some of us can get a inkling of a feeling of why some minorities here may feel vulnerable or even threatened? 

This should shock us.  It should scare us.  And yet the silence to me is the loudest sign that we are far from resembling a democratic or multi-cultural society.  Our acceptance of violence is certainly a result of our war years.  And perhaps there does exist a certain degree of understanding of our numbness to it.  But i hope and pray it hasn't killed the tremendous humanity that lies in the hearts and minds of many here. 

If not, believe me, the violence will find a way to perpetrate itself again on us.  There is an African saying that warns...'we always pay for the violence of our ancestors.'  

perhaps my words may seem strong...but fuck it....

Fascism is alive and well and Sarajevo.  For a place that celebrates its partizan liberators, claims to be a multi-culti European city, and has just survived one of the most brutal and fascistic sieges in modern history.....we just showed the world, and indeed ourselves....that fascism is not an import nor a foreign concept to many Bosnjaks here. 

I feel ashamed.  Ashamed that people who claim to dedicate their lives to living the word of 'God' can brutally attack people in the same way they were attacked (and for very similar reasons) just 15 years ago.  I am disgusted that a group of teenagers acted like English football hooligans and stalked the 'opposing' team. 

They hunted people down like they were hunted.  Randomly practiced extreme violence against people they had no right to judge.  The ultra right vehabi's and idiot football hooligans have now stained not only their name but the name of all Bosnjaks.  They have shamed our city....as we sat by passively and let innocent people fall victim to the unfortunately long, long tradition of Balkan fascism. 

We should all hang our heads and do a bit of soul searching after the cancellation of Queer Fest.   We literally sat by as an innocent minority was targeted by so-called 'god fearers' ....does any of this sound familiar?  Or did we forget already? 

How short our memories can be.  How did we feel when the world abandoned us is 1992?  You may try to tell yourself it was 'different' then.  But we all know its not. 

What happened to our Sarajevo...a Sarajevo that has never allowed fascism to penetrate its heart and soul.  Did someone kill Valter?

I have lived in Sarajevo for over 10 years now.  When i moved here from Mostar i was 27.  Many of my friends were in uni at that time...and even years down the road, having a partner that is 10 years younger than me, i have been surrounded by the young, creative, and rather resistant uni crowd. 

Why resistant?

Well, sort of like gore-tex being waterproof, university students had to be professor-proof. 

I don't want to knock the honest and morally driven professors that DO exist in our university system....but i have really not seen a morally bankrupt intellectual elite in quite like ours.  The students had to bear the brunt not only of dispicable corruption but of incompetence, arrogance, and emotional torture. 

What has bothered me...and continues to do so...is the remarkable ability of our young people to do absolutely nothing (except grow an extra hard coat of skin) in the face of adversity.  My friends have always told me horror stories of slipping professors 500 KM in their index come ispit time.  I have had female friends crying to me by offensive sexual gestures made by male professors.  I have seen top students lose yet another year because of some asshole, napolean complex, i bought my doctorate degree during the war, 'professors.'

What i never saw was anyone with the courage to stand up to these injustices.  We just whined.  Complained.  Felt sorry for ourselves.  This sentiment has been perpetuated for countless generations since 'peace' has reached our land. 

Thanks to a slightly more democratic...and tonnes more braver student body in Croatia - someone finally said 'enough is enough.'  Now the snowball effect has kicked in...and the avalanche has crossed the border.  Neka je.

Remember MLK and brother Bob my friends....remember him well

"The greatest tragedy is not the doings of evil men but rather the silence of the good ones'

You gotta get up...stand up....stand up for your rights.  Get up...stand up.....don't give up the fight.'

Fight on dear friends.  If you have truth on your side....justice cannot be avoided.  Be patient.  Don't give up. 

peace

I spent the past few days working with Jasmila on her new film. After filming for the first half of September on the Jablanica Lake, they've moved back to Sarajevo to film at Sarajevo International Airport.  I helped arrange some 'extras' for a few scenes. 

I've known Jasmila for many years now.  She's a dear friend.  I know how committed she is to her work and creating art that moves her...and us....to do better things.  She's a perfectionist - which sometimes isolates her from others.  But it makes her work shine and the people she works with as well. 

Her crew is fantastic.  They are a class act!  Leon Lucev has got his Sarajevo accent down to perfection....and Zrinka Cvitesic has worked with Sabina and Ermin Bravo to sound like a Sarajka.  She walks around listening to her mobile with taped conversations of Sabina speaking 'Sarajevan.'  That was Jasmila's idea...and a good one.   Zrinka sounds like an original. 

One of the things i really respect about Jasmila is her commitment not only to honest art...but her insistence on providing bright and talented women a venue to show their stuff.  Most of the main roles in producing her films are held by women.  The energy they create on set is phenomenal.  And, at least to me, it shows in her work. 

'Memory Full' is a great story...and you'll all have a chance to see it sometime next year.  I could be wrong but my guess is that we'll see this film at Cannes.  Call me crazy...but its just that good. 

No artist from this region has dealt with the varied dynamics of the Muslim community here in Sarajevo and indeed BiH.  Let alone to do it through a love story.  Jasmila objectively dissects the simmering unrest between the old school secular Muslims and the small, newly emerging, but vocal, wahabi community. 

To be honest I thought she would go a bit heavy on anti-wahabi sentiment.  But through her research and careful listening to people she managed to depict both sides in an astonishingly fair manner. 

Much like the Sarajevo FIlm Fest and the many world class cultural events that this country produces, watching Jasmila and her crew work reinforces my belief we do have the snage to be exactly what we imagine ourselves to be.  We have the young talent and moral foundation to create a society we can be proud of.  We don't have to be a political septic tank.  We are not the black hole of Europe. 

We can be exactly what we aspire to be.  The Beastie Boys would simply tell us to 'check our heads!' 

peace

Hello my friends.  I've just realized that i haven't said much about our eco-home project in quite some time. 

Things are...well...going.  Going slowly.  But going.  I have entered a dimension where i have never treaded before.  The learning curve is a large one. 

Today i ordered and had delivered 20 cubic metres of reclaimed stone.  The process of mining and explosives for rock seems rather violent and intrusive to me.  So i sought to find stone from one of the many old buildings that have been knocked down from the Austrian Hungarian era.  These stones were not mined...and were all hand carved.  They are really beautiful.  And f***ing expensive. 

I have looked high and low for majstors. Many have promised me the sun and the moon.  And delivered me...well, nothing.  Some of them just never appeared.  I did manage to track one stone mason down.  He is an older man from Foca...now living in Sarajevo.  Quite a lovely chap...as long as he is sober.  When he's not - its apparently a dangerous occasion.  He has been reported to the police ten times for being violent towards his family and friends when intoxicated.  Sober....he's quite and calm as a mouse. 

The 'trac' amongst the Kovaci majstors and truck drivers is that the only good majstors are alcoholics.  Keep the booze away from them when they work...give them a few days to 'wind down' (aka - binge drink)...and bring them back to finish the job. 

So we've managed to raise this ecological home of ours out of the ground.  Stone walls are gently emerging from their limecrete foundations.  I have a team of 3 stone masons from Herzegovina coming on Monday.  Undoubtedly they will greatly speed up the process.  Inshallah. 

I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off to tell you the truth dear friends. 

I have been trying to track down natural laneno ulje.

I have attempted...and failed miserably...in finding dry timber for the wall plate that goes on the stone walls.  I have 6 cubic metres of hrastove grede on the way.  I love oak...and and thrilled that we were able to find some. 

The Sipovo crew has been drying and cutting and treating our smrca i jelah. We are on track to finish our stone walls by months end.  In early October we will build the oak wall plate.  That is, basically, what will replace the concrete ploce that most homes use.  We'll be laying a strong web of oak that will hold the entire construction of the house.

Mid October the team from Sipovo arrives to construct the wooden structure.  We hope to have our roof on by November 1.  Ambitious, perhaps.  Realistic...well...we'll see. 

It's been a long, frustrating, educational and exciting road. And we've just poked our heads from our limecrete base.  Many in Bosnia say....'once you get out of the ground....things go fast.' 

God i hope they're right!  peace

I was in western Herzegovina this week with a few friends of mine.  It is one of the few places in BiH where i still feel like an outsider...even though my first year in Bosnia i spent a lot of time there working with refugees. 

I must admit there are a lot of things that bother me about the 'sentiment' towards BiH that oozes from vocal right wing voices - and rarely do i hear an opposing voice from there. 

But yesterday was different.  I had the opportunity to hear an opposing instead of an appeasing voice.  It was refreshing...and quite honestly, eye opening.  I think, though, that i will save this long subject for another blog.  This one, i feel, needs to be about the place of my birth. 

I have always questioned the world's loyalty to America before GW Bush came to office.  Although Clinton was an angel in comparison to the krkan in office now...i have always taken america's 'defense' of democracy with a grain of salt.  I still do....Georgia is a great example.  Although Russia can be pricks...and Putin has serious Napolean complexes....the Georgian were no angels in the muck up -- and my guess is that the Americans had their hands elbow deep into this mini war. 

But that's not my point either.  My point is Dayton.  Dayton was a fuck-up.  Yes, it did end an ugly war.  Or perhaps i should say that it ended the blood shed, not the war.  The war still rages.  And i think most of us wish the international community would put us out of misery and do something, ANYTHING, with the mess that we have been dealing with for so long. 

America made the mess.  Even though the Europeans proved themselves to be spineless and fickle, America drew the map and twisted the arms.  So i think its fair to say that America should fix it.  I am hoping that the new administration, whoever it may be (yes, i am pulling for Barack although i will not be voting for him), will finally step up to the plate and mend the horrible game of geo-political chess they  have played with this country. 

It's time for a checkmate.  The game should have been over long ago.  We should be, in some way, shape or form, a functional country.  Talk is cheap...and even though i despise this fact, if America has the will - they will find the way. 

I am in no way relieving our local fools of their responsibility for this sinking swamp they have created.  We must manifest our own destiny, no doubt.  But when our destiny is so horribly crippled by a rubbish constitution and an unfair peace agreement - I think America owes us to at least let us start with a clean slate. 

I know i am oversimplifying everything in this blog. But what gets to me most is the unwillingness of our leaders to take responsibility for anything.  Well, there should be no exceptions for the United States either.  The US has an obligation to the people of this country to right the wrongs.  And if it takes a little bit of muscling...so be it. 

All i am asking for is a fair playing ground for all peoples here.  A new starting point where everyone feels they have a fair shot at things from the get go.  I think that hope could be in the Obama administration.  But i shan't hold my breath.  The allegiances of my country come and go with the changing of the seasons. 

I sincerely hope I am wrong.  I even more sincerely hope that this country will be given a second chance.  After all, we all deserve a second chance don't we? 

peace