Soldiers are marching in parades across the region. Politicians in Serbia are once again speaking of threats to the nation, in Croatia, they are flirting with the Ustasha salute, and in Bosnia, threats are coming from Banjaluka. In Montenegro, they cannot agree on the powers of the president… One crisis replaces another.
What lies behind the fact that 30 years after the war, there is no stability in the region? the region still lacks stability? What are the solutions? And how have young people in PERSPECTIVA reflected on these questions over the past ten years? First, how do they describe the state of society?
We are living in a state of war, only without weapons. All other methods are in use.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9p1xwnIKus&t=1s
Even today, we have some political elites, in all countries in the Balkans, who still, very covertly, pursue the politics of the 1990s, just in a more sophisticated way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rialuJOSjnk
They teach us that we have nothing in common, which is absolutely impossible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjecTqER_T8
The problem is that we have three national groups, three ethnic groups, blinded more by personal interests than by the national interests they claim to represent.
As a people, we are quite extreme, so we are never in favor of, let’s say, a moderate option. Under communism, we were the staunchest communists; we sent the masses to Goli Otok. In the 1990s, we had to show the greatest nationalist impulses as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cpHLrlwb44
We have this, put simply, pack mentality, we feel the need to belong to a certain group in order to, maybe, have a stronger, more stable identity. And young people especially, perceive it that way. Without a group, it’s as if you don’t exist!
Where do the causes lie? Whom or what do young people blame? They point to politicians and the political system, education, the interference of religion in politics, and false patriotism.
There’s this false patriotism that makes us idealize our ethnic group. We’re taught that we are ideal, God-given, perfect, and so on. And that we have no flaws and that everyone else is to blame. Politicians instill this message, spreading it through media and social networks. As a result, religious institutions shape our future, teaching us to hate others.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryp6Rm2sulk
We have this problem that the political system was designed to be bad. That is, it was made to put non-workers and, in general, unskilled people in the foreground.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsgWX2f7VEE&ab_channel=RadioSlobodnaEvropa
I think that it is certainly the desire of political parties and those currently in power to silence smart and intelligent people who could actually do something and bring about change.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQuroNF1zfU&t=1s
I’d like to focus on the word “leader.” What kind of leader are you if, after thirty years, the country hasn’t moved forward? Thirty years later, those of us who never lived through the war still have to carry its weight, the burden of something that should have been resolved long ago.
https://www.slobodnaevropa.org/a/perspektiva-sarajevo-sff-mladi/32028503.html
I see that religion is not free of criminal activity. I once had a friar come to me and tell me who I should vote for. Why? He has no right to tell me who I should vote for.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OU1Oeif1QBk&ab_channel=RadioSlobodnaEvropa
But what is the way out? What do young people see as the solution and what do they think needs to be done? They call for new politicians, an education system that does not promote hatred, an end to the victim mentality, opportunities for the capable rather than the obedient, and a culture of tolerance.
When will this bigotry end? It will end when we get rid off this government that has been around for years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9p1xwnIKus&t=1s
No one hates anyone here. I think that hatred does not exist here, that it is neither natural nor human; we are just taught to hate. It’s very hard for me, and it upsets me to talk about it. We are told that we must hate our neighbor who is of a different religion. It’s, I don’t know, it’s terrible for me. So, it’s not a matter of me feeling it, it is imposed on me.
https://www.slobodnaevropa.org/a/perspektiva-beograd-20-02-22/31712505.html
If you show your true qualities, it’s seen as a threat. That’s why society cannot progress. As long as this persists, we’ll remain stuck. We, ourselves, are also responsible for what happens.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rialuJOSjnk
That is the problem in our country. What someone loves is not respected. It’s not about disrespect, but more like, “That’s not okay for me, so it can’t be okay for you.” This disregard for others’ opinions is a huge issue in our country; other people’s opinions are not respected.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rialuJOSjnk
Jelena says that in the region we are living a reality based on ignorance.
When people cling to national identity as their primary label, it often reflects a lack of ability, capacity, or will to achieve anything else. By hiding behind those labels – being this or that -they build their personalities on fragile ground. This creates an ideology, a grouping, based on unhealthy foundations. And nothing good can come from that. Prejudices grow out of ignorance, out of an inability to view issues through multiple lenses. Instead, we get a one-sided picture that prevents dialogue, understanding, or problem-solving.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP7-gqkqSyM
For years, young people have been pointing out the same problems, the same causes, and the same solutions. The tragedy is that those in power know: if they listen to the youth, they will lose their grip on power. And power is a drug that, as singer Djordje Balasevic said, “you can’t give up.”
