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Quick post before I catch the train to Vienna. I’ve just seen this news item about a photo exhibition (Nick Danziger & Rory MacLean) which will be travelling from London’s South Bank to the western Balkans (including Sarajevo), Brussels, Strasbourg, Ottowa & Bern – so not far from several friends who sometimes see this blog. More info from ICRC.
Stef O’ Driscoll (award-winning theatre director) and Mark Griffin (St Mary’s University College, London), friends I’ve made through my thespian daughter, are off to Sarajevo on Friday. They want to dramatise some of the wonderful stories in Miljenko Jergovic’s Sarajevo Marlboro, a collection of short stories on how the young people of Sarajevo from the different communities – Croats, Serbs and Bosniacs – helped each other to survive during the siege. They plan to stage performances in London and in Bosnia.
They’ll spend much of their time listening, I suspect, and it will be hard.
Amila and Niko at Blackburn Cathedral
We had a wonderful time in London this evening with some of the Bosnians who have been taking part in the Forgiveness Project exhibition at Blackburn Cathedral. They fly home tomorrow morning. Stef met Silva (a young woman from the Croat community), Amila (who teaches English in Tuzla and is connected to the beautiful madrassa there) and Niko (Deputy Bishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Tuzla area).
In a wholly uninspiring hotel lobby, conversation ranged from the dreadful and continuing pain of multiple and unexplainable bereavement, to justice denied, the thirst in Bosnia for creativity, beauty and the arts, the power of women’s stories and of the life-giving and transformative possibilities of carefully devised theatre. It’s impossible to have conversations like these with our Bosnian friends without a great deal of laughter, too – I love it.
I also caught sight of Chris and Anjum from Blackburn Cathedral, who worked hard to bring our Bosnian friends to the UK. We’re hoping that the final report of the original UK visit in October 2009 will be the kind of document that people will say, “If you’re going to Bosnia, read this”.
Alexandra Estate NW8
A great evening with old friends from Papua New Guinea days (now dividing their time between Timor and the US). Then TV news footage of the devastating earthquake in Haiti and a ‘phone call from someone with connections there.
Before turning off the television, surprised to find an Anthony Minghella film on BBC1, based in London (Alexandra Estate NW8), which includes characters (and a copper coffee ibrik) from Sarajevo – Breaking and Entering. Bit of a syrupy ending, but the distant and rather romantic view of Bosnia portrayed probably comes close to my own view before travelling there last year.
Glad to find Doreen Massey’s For Space mentioned in Stephen Greenblatt’s Cultural Mobility – a Manifesto, one of the books I shouldn’t really have bought from the London Review Bookshop the other day. Greenblatt reckons that cultures or patterns of meaning have rarely been stable or fixed. The kind of radical mobility that is taking place today is in fact an old, old story.
To grasp the shaping power of colonization, exile, emigration, wandering, contamination, and unexpected, random events, along with the fierce compulsions of greed, longing, and restlessness, cultural analysis needs to operate with a new set of principles.
It was good to mull over with friends how Papua New Guinea is doing nowadays, how Timor is getting along, how Bosnia is working its way to becoming part of the “international community” – and what our role is, as citizens of far more powerful nations. Although I associate the word ‘protectorate’ with days of empire, some small countries struggle to rise much above this status, even in the C21st, or perhaps particularly in the C21st.
Packed congregation at St Andrew’s Church of Scotland this morning – and a truly international one, too. Forty-nine nationalities. A very warm welcome, a mix of Sydney Carter, Richard Gillard and the Threefold Amen, choir in blue gowns and beautiful Southern African stoles, proper children’s address – and a happy buzz downstairs for coffee afterwards. Met a Canadian who is also just back from Sarajevo – not part of the major EU/US delegation but Canada plays a peace-building role.
People arriving before the service at St Andrew's Church of Scotland in Brussels.
While everything is still fresh in my mind, I’ll add some photos of our last few days in Bosnia (in reverse order) which will complement some of my recent messages on Twitter.
It’s a relief to get back to my comfort zone of a qwerty keyboard and reliable internet access, but I am already missing beautiful Bosnia, the impressive people we encountered, the warm hospitality we received and the challenging discussions from breakfast to late at night during our journey.
I’ll add more reflections later, as the experiences bed down. I’m mulling over our theme “how faith communities can help to sustain civil society and promote social cohesion” both in Bosnia and the UK, but also thinking about how identity (religious and other) affects local, national and international life – how much commonality/separateness do we need/want, the impact of migration/roots/history, how pluralism works best (Bosnia provided a very different model from the UK), the particular contribution of women, the particular contribution of education and the academy, what defines Europe and Europeans, what or who speaks for faith communities, and what we may do as a result of the visit. A big thank you to SANA and the Christian Muslim Forum for organising such a thought-provoking visit.
Thank you everyone who has kept in touch over the last week – it has made it a much more connected experience for me.
And a special welcome to Bosnian friends who have joined us! Please post your thoughts and keep in touch.
UK group – I hope there will be an opportunity to meet up one day, maybe at the report launch with The Lord, you never know.
Baggage reclaim at Heathrow: Anjum & Chris re-entering UK life
Our last night in Sarajevo - women dancing to the folk musicians in the restaurant. The one leading the line used a paper napkin which reminded me of Greek dancing.
Anjum spurns the menu and creates a chip butty, Blackburn-style.
Junuz in front of graffiti in Sarajevo - Don't forget Srebrenica. Junuz showed me where the UN had put huge containers along the streets during the siege so that snipers couldn't aim at people in the street.
Non-confessional space in central Sarajevo for everyone to use as a place to pray or contemplate. It isn't finished yet, but it is being used. Built and hosted by the Franciscans, I was interested in the language used, which reminded me of Bonhoeffer's German Confessing Church which opposed the Nazis.
Fr Paulo, Paul from SANA (partially hidden), a Franciscan friar involved in the trauma centre based in Sarajevo (open to Bosnians from all communities) & Anjum.
Students at a street stall campaigning for petitions to the Bosnian government to be debated in parliament.
A quiet moment for Guy at the Franciscan seminary in Sarajevo. The Catholic churches and chapels we saw were light and airy and included modern works of art. Stations of the Cross were prominent.
We travelled up through the hills on a dirt road to the Croat village of Drijenca where there is a Franciscan church.
Fr Marco telling us that the church here stays with the people of Drijenca to support them when everyone else seems to have abandoned them. There are villages nearby which are completely deserted since the war. Along with the coffee, we were offered locally distilled rakia - firewater! The countryside is beautiful around here and perfect for hiking, hill-walking and eco-tourism were it not for the landmines. These could be removed if someone was willing to pay and if any of the groups which used them during the war was prepared to share information on where they are planted.
Pop Nico, an archpriest in the Serbian Orthodox church, a member of the Bosnian group, Lila, from the Roman Catholic church in Tuzla, and Alenka Tanovic, our interpreter from the Muslim community who was once an au pair in Thamesmead in London. There were many times during our trip that it was clear that individuals from the three main communities in Bosnia were friends and building bridges across the divides. More organised and insitutional multi and inter faith activities were less common. Figures show that there has been a massive increase in organised inter/multifaith activity in the UK since 9/11, so circumstances obviously play a part.
One of the Stations of the Cross from the Catholic church in Tuzla. Bosnians (the different communities represented by their different hats) contribute to the world's suffering.
A work of art in the Franciscan seminary created by a Muslim artist from war debris.
Children at the Catholic high school in Tuzla, which accepts children from all communities (currently 30% are Muslims). Our UK group had different views on the two schools we visited, although this high school and the madrassa are not strictly comparable (the latter being partly a theological college for future religious leaders). This school was certainly a lot more noisy than the madrassa! Fra Zdravko, the Prior of the Friary, is standing behind the children. He had a very relaxed manner with them. It is easier to say Bosnian names than to read them . .
Europe for Sarajevo mural - something I had underestimated before the visit.
Going into Pop Nico's Serbian Orthodox church in Tuzla with our Bosnian friends. We spent one day with the Muslim community, one with the Serbian Orthodox church and one with the Roman Catholics, who are mainly Croat and mainly Franciscan.
Inside the church, Nico telling us about its history, interpreted by Alenka on the left. Different churches have different traditions and in the orthodox tradition, only Christian priests are allowed behind the screen at the head of the church. Some discussion about this within our group, including the recent incident of Jim Fitzpatrick MP and his wife walking out of a Muslim wedding reception in his constituency because men and women celebrated in different parts of the building. When in Rome . . . or stick to your principles? The symbolism of the building itself (eg some parts set aside for particular activities such as the font or lectern, pictures as teaching aids, sacred geometry) seems more prominent in churches, whereas behavioural symbolism (eg filling up the rows of prayer so that worshippers are close together, not walking in front of someone who is praying) seems more important in mosques. Put me right on this huge over-generalisation by posting a comment!
The starry dome of Nico's beautiful church. Daniel (a Muslim member of our group) saw this on my mobile later and remarked that at first glance it looked like the Islamic symbolic crescent.
Inside the Serbian Orthodox church at Bijeljina which is in the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia.
Prayer request slips and posting box - in my experience, commonly found in churches from Iona to the South Pacific.
Pop Nico in the centre, flanked by the director of a church project supporting children with disabilities and their families (left) and the Serbian Orthodox priest of Srebrenica (right). Earlier in the week we had listened to Bosniacs who had lost members of their close family in the Srebrenica massacre. People from all three main communities lost friends and family in the three-way war as a result of armed combat. More difficult is the unresolved issue of those from all sides who broke the Geneva Convention and whether any of the religious (or other) authorities have a responsibility to pursue justice on this. One of our group was involved in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa and others of us are involved in mediation, restorative justice and peace-building in the UK. When there are competing narratives of victimisation (a mention of one illegal war incident can be countered by another, involving the alleged victims of the first as alleged perpetrators), there are various possible ways forward, either at grassroots level &/or at higher denominational, governmental and international levels, but it is unlikely that significant movement towards substantial reconciliation will be considered unless clear structures and safe places for discussion are first provided. We were privileged to be part of small, unofficial conversations during our visit which I found humbling and heartening.
Leslie Griffiths, one of our group, addressing the Mayor of Bijeljina.
Local TV interest was strong - Junuz and Paul facing the press after our meeting with the Mayor of Bijeljina. The concurrent USA-EU-Bosnia talks on changing the Bosnian constitution may have been a factor.
Serbian Orthodox Archpriest Pop Nico (seated in front of the waiter), hosting a wonderful meal for the UK group (Muslims & Christians), Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian RC Croats. The hospitality we received was very generous. You can see that in Bosnia people from all communities can and do have an excellent time together!
Nico in Christological discussion with Muslim members of the conference.
The latest edition of Dani, a political weekly, showing a selection of High Representatives in Bosnia (but not including Paddy Ashdown) wearing UN helmets, with the Srebenica safe zone sign in the background. Of all the people and organisations implicated in the Srebenica massacre, I am closely related by the democratic process to one, the UN, which failed to protect the thousands of civilians who fled to the safe zone for safety.
Patchwork strips of agricultural land - it is traditional for families to have some land and if they live in the countryside they will often have a day-job but also keep some chickens, a cow and maybe grow some maize or hay as well.
Approaching Sarajevo - there are many, many cemeteries in Bosnia
Paul and Junuz from SANA, our hosts, who have put together an amazing programme for us
Live folk music is common in restaurants - a family group couldn't resist dancing along to these guys. They played one of the songs on my Rough Guide to the Balkans CD and later sang along to it from my ipod - beautiful!
Muslim gravestones here are white and shaped liked small Cleopatra's needles. Carved turbans on the top are the graves of those believed to have gone straight to heaven.
Scented and spiced tea - cinnamon I think
Turkish coffee is served everywhere and frequently - I'll have withdrawal symptoms when I leave.
The Defence Attache at the British Embassy - he gave us a full briefing on EU and NATO support for and concerns about Bosnia.
The view from my Tuzla hotel room - socialist architecture from Tito's time, but well maintained and good quality.
Laying flowers at a memorial for young people who died when a shell hit the place where they used to hang out in the evenings.
Some buildings in Sarajevo have not yet been restored.
A dedicated substance abuse rehab centre run by the Muslim community in Bosnia.
The old town in Sarajevo.
An Abrahamic trio at lunch - guess who's who. And some verses of Persian poetry on the wall behind in Farsi and Bosnian. Bosnia loves its poets, too, & they are quoted frequently.
Just out from a reception at the British Embassy where we were briefed by the Defence Attache. Both entities within Bosnia, the Republic and the Federation, which are kind of parallel administrations, are in favour of EU and NATO membership, but there are difficulties in meeting the requirements. I was interested to know why the EU and NATO were keen to see Bosnia become a member of both groups.
Much talk about religious, cultural and ethnic identities. I have seen a few women in fashionable hijabs but no niquabs so far. Plum brandy is a local speciality and seems to be drunk by all communities when, for example, visitors come for supper.
The best laid plans . . . no wi-fi at the motel, but I have an hour’s free time now in central Sarajevo and have found an internet cafe: Bosnian keyboard (not quite qwerty and lots of extra accents). Central Sarajevo is buzzy and feels like a petite Paris or Vienna – warm sunshine, lots of cafes and smart shops, stylish young people, a river, cathedrals. Extras include small, Ottoman-style mosques, powerful one-shot turkish coffee and some mortar and bullet damage on the buildings. One of our hosts over lunch told me about three families (Serb Orthodox, Bosniak and Croatian Roman Catholic) sharing a small block of flats during the siege who took it in turns to go to the water pump each day (risking sniper fire) to get water for all the families. The history, particularly C20th, inevitably comes up a lot. Getting directions to this cafe I was told, “near the assasination point”. The houses on the outskirts of town are like Swiss chalets – large, detached, not in rows and with balconies and pitched roofs. Inside: IKEA no, solid wooden unpainted furniture yes.
At the moment we are trying both to get to know one another (we are five Muslims and seven Christians from the UK – although it isn’t obvious at a glance who is what) and also to start meeting Bosnians and learn about what’s happening here.
Over half of Europe is right out of my comfort zone – the iron curtain had a much more profound effect on my understanding than I’d realised. I’m far better informed about countries with colonial & trading links to the UK, with a bit of western Europe thrown in.
Having visited Andalusia, I was fascinated to meet a Jewish woman from the Sephardic tradition here whose family was thrown out of Spain after the reconquista. But just like the shocking events in Salonica, the Jews from here were also put on trains to the extermination camps. There was an island off the Dalmation coast which had a concentration camp. And it was people from two countries within my comfort zone, Italy and Germany, who were responsible.
We met Serbian Orthodox, Croatian Roman Catholic and Bosnian Muslim (Bosniak) religious leaders at the Inter Religious Council this morning. Building civil society, and how religious groups can support that, is a challenge. I was interested, with my faith literacy hat on, to hear about the Council’s booklets and activities designed to inform the different communities about the variety of religious customs in Bosnia. Information certainly helps and I wonder whether the telling of personal stories about our heritage and values, as we do, might add to the experience of understanding one another. There was some discussion on the merits of confessional and information-only teaching of RE in schools. A very formal meeting.
