With weak laws and no place to imprison them, Bosnian minors with criminal records have become “the untouchables”.
Whole Sarajevo is still shocked from the last horrifying crimes committed by minors in this city - in January it was a death of an old woman who was poured upon by petrol and then set on fire by three 15 and 16 year old boys. In police station, boys said they did it for fun…
In February it was a murder of a 16 year old boy in a tram full of people. He was beaten and then stabbed to death because his murderers did not like the way he was looking at them…. It happened at broad daylight. Murderers were 17, 18 and 19.
Boys from the first story will walk free in less than two weeks.
The youngest boy from the second story bragged to the police: You cant do me a thing. I know my rights. I’ll be out in a couple of days…. And the saddest thing is that he’s right.
Bosnian state has literally given these kids licence to kill.
Continue reading ‘Licence to kill’
Want to learn English from native speakers and have fun? an advertisement just like this one caught my eye few days ago while running down the corridors of Sarajevo university . There was something familiar with it, and it took me few seconds to place name of the organization in my memory. Bingo! So, the story goes like this (it will be short I promise and it will make sense in the end):
Continue reading ‘Learning English in Bosnia’
don’t puzzle, we’ll be running all sorts of blogs from here soon.
Yet another input relevant to the, shall I say phenomenon of east European homophobia, this time in relation to Hungary. The most energetic throwers of eggs and bottles during the gay pride in Budapest this year were supporters of Jobbik, a far-right political party. They are well know for the anti-semitic and homophobic rethoric, and recently celebrated the creation of its very own paramilitary wing, set up “in order to carry out the real change of regime and rescue the Hungarian people.” Not quite moving with the times there.
In a recent article an Hungarian sociology professor expresses his regrets about the developments and says that Hungarian democracy, being as young as it is, “still needs to be developed rather than challenged.” It made me think, who has ever said that development and challenge are mutually exclusive in relation to democracy? Isn’t the latter often a way for the former to happen in the first place? Especially in the case of Hungary, where the political situation is relatively favorable to democratic and tolerant trends. Specifically in regards to the issue of gay rights versus homophobia, a law legalising same sex marriage, for example, is in its draft stage. Look a few borders north-east, to Latvia, where the same law was taken off the agenda in December last year. Moreover, Hungary has two established politicians who are officially gay, and a prime minister who publically condemned the attack on the pride.
Political extremism and intolerance is never good news, but if the alterantive is good enough, the contrast could work in favor of democracy, tolerance, even civic participation. It’s more likely that people have opinions when there is something to have opinions about. And people often find it easier to define what they want when they know what they don’t want. It might be wrong of me to think that this is the case for Hungary. But you get the idea.
I recently read an interesting essay which speculated around the links between the hostile outburst of homophobia in Latvia, and the Soviet past. These are presumably links which have been drawn before, and they may be terribly far-fetched and despicably generalizing. But for me, being quite new to all this, it made for a very good read. The best thing about it was that it offered some relief primarily because, in my interpretation at least, it called for patience. First and foremost, the author stated, the ex-communist countries have a long tradition of applying one truth, and one truth only. Furthermore, they rather missed out on the sexual revolution in the 1960’s; no wonder they are not embracing public homosexuality, the essay argued.
I’ve just been given an opportunity to have a look into a Lithuanian LGBT organization and I’m already wondering if I wouldn’t be overwhelmed with impatience if I was actually working here. I keep looking at it from the broad perspective. How does a small NGO, whose survival depends on constantly adapting their project proposals to limited funding opportunities, tackle issues which in this environment are genuinely hardcore? This little office, hidden away in a square, employing but a handful of people can hardly scratch the beast, can it?
It is therefore a relief to read about the time factor. I thought of it myself. However much the Polish and Baltic youngsters I came across back in London sighed and shock their heads over the homophobic trends in their home countries, they most often concluded with something indicating that it doesn’t really apply to young people. That’s always something. The older generation will, after all, eventually die out.
That way, it is easier to praise the indisputable symbolical value of the organization I work for. They’re working on becoming more known, maybe first and foremost to other gay people, so that the latter at least know that there is something out there, on their side, maybe even to offer direct support. And maybe, for now, it is of secondary importance what they actually achieve practically. Most of the money they receive seems to go to networking with organizations in other countries. Hundreds of euros spent on traveling, accommodation and food for people whose minds already are wide open; how does that change the Lithuanian public?
I find myself thinking in terms of practical and concrete measures. Or at least conduct a survey based on real people, and make recommendations. Maybe research is more my field. I find these issues endlessly interesting, especially so in the east European context and I know that the NGO sector has played and will continue playing a crucial role in advancing these kinds of issues. But when it comes to actually taking measures, it tends to always seem insufficient.
Bulgarians are famous of being hot-blooded and party-type people. A less known way of expressing these features is the way we celebrate our graduation from high school.
Most students graduate from school in the 12th grade (high school is from 8th till 12th grade). The graduation is celebrated in two days.
The first day celebration consists of an official send-off by the school. Most often it includes music, prizes, long speeches, etc.
The second day of celebration is in fact the real one. It is held at one date usually between the 20th and 31st of May. It first starts with a huge gathering of relatives and closest friends at a restaurant or at home. Then the graduate goes either to the school or directly to the class teacher’s place by car decorated with as many baloons as possible. That’s when the real fun starts.
From the class teacher’s place (where everyone drinks as much alchohol as possible, of course) the whole delegation of graduates and friends heads to the place where the ball will be held. Usually it’s held at big restaurants or halls.
After the ball (which ends at about midnight, when usually the drinks included in the cover are over) graduates go to clubs, dance all night (and continue drinking, of course), have breakfast in the morning at one of the 24-hour opened restaurants and then go to the school to say “hi” to the teachers, to boast in front of the not-yet-graduating students and finally at about noon go back home to sleep.
The whole event is a total madness for parents and ordinary people in the city streets. This event has few but very simple rules:
* The more expensive the car is, the better;
* The more cars that escort the graduate, the better;
* The louder the graduate and his or her friends shout “1, 2, 3, 4,…, 12″, the better;
* The more often the cars’ claxons sound, the better;
* The more expensive the graduate’s dress/suit and accessories are, the better, etc., etc…
The worst case is the capital Sofia where there are about 100 high schools so one can only imagine what the noise is. Here more parents can afford luxurious cars, clothes, accessories and celebrations for their children. And children make their best to get this noticed by as many people as possible. That’s why they would sit on the window frame, having no safety concerns at all.
I have no idea when this tradition started and why. I can only notice that each year it gets more and more lavish and extreme and at the same time roots deeper and deeper in the Bularian culture.
The Russians are proving their excellence in all things ballet again. According to Pravda (who would have thought this paper will still be quoted 16 years after the fall of USSR?), the British composer Keith Harner picked a the Bolshoi star Ilse Liepa to perform in The Princess of the People, a ballet about the life and death of Princess Diana.
Here’s more.
“It was important for Keith Hearne to stage the production with the Russian ballet as he considers the Russian ballet school to be the best in the world,” Pravda quotes Olga Lyakina, the director of Moscow concert company Premiere, the project’s official agent, as saying.
On the project’s website (www.princessofthepeople.co.uk), Hearne states, “I’m really delighted that such a star as Ilse Liepa wants to dance the main role in my ballet. After the Moscow première, it would be wonderful if she and the Bolshoi troupe could also come to London this summer for a performance, especially to mark the 10th anniversary of the death of Diana, who inspired me to write the work.”
Well, good to see that Russians still keep it up. Good luck with the debut!
Building a tent cities just became the newest way of protesting in Bosnia.
I always found it sad that people had to protest on the streets to achieve something, but now I see that there is one thing sader than that. And that is when Government pays no attention to these protests.
So, more than 600 days (yes 600 days !!!) has passed since farmers started their protest in front of the Parliament building in Sarajevo. And… Well nothing. Tents as well as farmers are still there. Only three of their seven demands have been fullfulled.
Youth organization also had their tent just next to farmers. They also asked for some changes in the law. And as much as I know, their protest did not accomplish anything.
Newest addition to Sarajevo’s tent contigent are Srebrenica people, who hope to solve their issues with the Government by moving to Sarajevo and protest by living in a tent-city. I wish them luck! But the truth is that protesting in Bosnia never solved anything.
Maybe they should learn from the farmers. Are they sure thay want to spend next two years under the tents?
About a month ago I happened to be in Vilnius, the charming capital of Lithuania that I try to visit at least once a year. Everything seemed OK: people were busy and a bit unhappy (Lithuanian is the world leader in the number of sucides per capita), weather was unpredictably gloomy, and the food and drinks incredibly cheap. So far, so good. But then I hoped on a local bus — and what did I hear? I heard the sounds of classical music playing on the bus, accompanied by the loud voice of the Soviet babushka-conductor.
Well, to say that there was some dissonance would be an understament. I asked my Lithuanian friend, why on Earth the Lithuanian buses are playing classical music in the middle of the day on a busy Vilnius street.
“Ah, we are going to be the European capital of culture in 2009, so the government decided to teach all of us what composer wrote what music. So they normally play the music on the bus, and put the picture of the composer somewhere on the exterior”.
That did seem quite ingenious. It didn’t really match the gloomy faces of people on the bus–and I am sure that not every bus driver would tolerate such music for the whole day. Yet, that was something–getting ready for the honor two years in advance!.
So when I read the program of activities to celebrate this honor, I truly wanted to go back:
In June, on the night before the St. John’s Day the city will host the European Night of Culture. From dusk till dawn the city will teem with countless events. The city will be renamed after cultural notions – Salsa Square, Classics Alley, Jazz Street, Dance Square, etc. Parks will turn into cinemas, and the river will become the concert platform.
In September Art in Unconventional Space should engage the citizens and guests of the European Capital of Culture. The project will bring art to the places in which it has never existed before – the city’s medieval yards and cellars, bunkers and missile shelters inherited from the Soviets and other most incredible places.
In November science, medicine, nature and arts will join forces in the LUX International Light Festival to uncover the mysterious world of colours and light and help us get over the routine November depression.
You can find more about the celebrations here.
When it comes to designing libraries in Eastern Europe, futurism is the new black.
Compare this photo of a controversial new library recently built in Minsk, Belarus (yes, it can probably also serve as a bunker, in case you were wondering)
to this photo of a planned new library in Prague (that’s the pic of a winning design)
Ok, I get it: the Belarusians are traumatized by the years of authoritarianism and the Czechs are all psychedellic because of, well, many things, but come on…I still remember the times when libraries were places to read books…The new design probably reflects the growing pressure for libraries to make themselves attractive to tourist budgets…
More photos of the Czech wonder here.
