Republic Day
On this day 65 years ago the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina was founded within historical borders dating back to the Middle Ages. It happened at the first meeting of the Regional Anti-Fascist Council of People’s Liberation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ZAVNOBiH) in my hometown Mrkonjić-Grad. It’s my country’s birthday and it will be celebrated not just in BiH but also by many Bosnians and Herzegovinians across the world who were forced out of their country in the 1990s.
Some time ago, I joined a Facebook-group called “I want to declare Bosnian-Hercegovinian as my nationality!” (I apologize for the translation), a group for “all those who are neither Serb nor Bosniak nor Croat, and who don’t want to be Other either but simply want to be citizens of their country”. The group has planned events in Sarajevo and Tuzla to mark this day with the first gathering of Bosnian-Herzegovinians. As I write this, more than 1.000 people are listed as “Attending” while another 900 are “Maybe attending” the events.
I’d love to go myself, although I’d probably tick some people off by bringing the fleur-de-lys flag instead of the official one, as they ask on Facebook. Our official flag means nothing to me, sadly enough, as it was imposed on us by the High Commissioner who decided that our original flag was offensive to - well, to those who would prefer that BiH didn’t exist. And we wouldn’t want to offend them, now would we.
There is good meaning in organizing these gatherings on this day. Back in 1943, BiH wasn’t founded as a country of Bosnians and Herzegovinians, but of “Serbs, Muslims and Croats”. Still, it wasn’t until my parents were adults that it became possible to declare oneself “Muslim” in a census. Until then, they could choose to be Serb or Croat. It’s understandable that it felt like a success to be able to declare oneself Muslim. But there was still no box that said Bosnian-Herzegovinian.
Today we have the Dayton agreement, which calls BiH a country of “Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs” - and Others. I am neither of those. I’m a child of my country. There are many of us out there and we still want that “Bosnian-Herzegovinian” box to check. The demands of those who seek to divide the people and divide the country have been met all too often; it’s about time we who want to reunite are listened to.
The river Bosna that gave name to my country. The word comes from bosona, the Illyric word for water.
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- Dec 1, 2008: Global Voices Online » Bosnia & Herzegovina: Ethnicity and Statehood
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All citizens of B&H are Bosnians and Herzegovinians by nationality. However, in the Balkans nationality is neatly tied to ethnicity, so you will find huge majority of people declaring themselves as Bosniaks, Serbs, Croats, etc. Serbs and Croats I spoke to had no problem saying “I am Bosnian,” because they were born in Bosnia; however, they hold their ethnic names (Serb, Croat) to a higher regard. Yes I am Bosnian, too, but first of all I am Bosniak (and then Bosnian).
Why? Only strong Bosniaks mean strong Bosnia, because we are the only ethnic group that wants Bosnia to survive. Most Serbs and Croats don’t care about Bosnia and they certainly wouldn’t think twice about destroying Bosnia, dividing it into pieces, and achieving their goal of Greater Serbia and Greater Croatia.
Genuine Bosnianhood cannot be achieved. Serbs and Croats will never accept it. And they don’t have to. As long as they don’t start partitioning and destroying Bosnia, we can all live in peace. Internal administrative lines don’t mean anything to me. Politicians can deal with political issues, while ordinary citizens can enjoy their freedoms.
No part of Bosnia-Herzegovina will ever be part of Serbia or Croatia.
And let me congratulate you Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Statehood Day!
SRETAN DAN DRZAVNOSTI BOSNE I HERCEGOVINE !
Congratulations!
Thank you
@Daniel: Actually, sometimes I think that the word Bosniaks is meant as a synonym for Bosnians (= the people of the country), but for me as a Bosnian refugee it’s important to make sure other countries know that BiH has a people.
You should only see how this whole topic is portrayed in Danish media. They insist on calling it a civil war, and every time someone says “Bosniak”, they add “which means Bosnian Muslim”. They simply get confused by so many names for people who live in one country.
The danger is that with time they’ll start thinking the same way as those who want to dismantle my country. “Whatever is called Serb belongs to Serbia, whatever is called Croat belongs to Croatia. And this last group are just Muslims, they can belong anywhere.” So you see why I make a strong point of using the word Bosnian. Plus I’m a linguist.
As a fellow-linguist you have my support in being fussy! If you go to Jasmin’s Heart blog at http://jasmin-morehard.blogspot.com/ Jasmin’s posting an interview (in five parts) he did with Nihad Hasanovic, a Bosnian novelist, who discusses this very same issue that you raise of why Bosnians can’t be BiHans (sorry, I cheated!) instead of having to label themselves as one of the three constituent nationalities.
Happy Statehood Day everybody!
That’s a beautiful picture, Amila.
I need to get myself a fleur-de-lys flag. Aside from the historical and cultural value of what I still consider the REAL flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina–it’s a much more attractive flag, and I say that without intending any offense.
What a wonderful post! Thank you for that. It was what I was missing on your blog but also everywhere else.
@Daniel: Serbs and Croats I spoke to had no problem saying “I am Bosnian,” because they were born in Bosnia; however, they hold their ethnic names (Serb, Croat) to a higher regard. Yes I am Bosnian, too, but first of all I am Bosniak (and then Bosnian)
But Bosnia is not only a country of those who are Serbs, Bosniaks and Croats - it’s a country for ’others’ as well where I consider myself to belong. Others, in my terms are people who may have so called mixed backgrounds, or who generally want to live the way we used to live – in a multiethnical country where we all have one nationality that is Bosnian. Sadly it is true that many Serbs and Croats are not there yet, but MANY other people are – and not only Bosniaks.
In my opinion the most exposed minority in Bosnia are the people who actually want this country to happen. And the only way is if we have common nationality, economy and culture, which we did and still do on an individual level.
I:
SRETAN DAN DRZAVNOSTI BOSNE I HERCEGOVINE !!!!!!!
amila pozdrav i sretan praznik. .pogledaj fotke, na mom FB, kako nam je bilo
na okupljanju u sarajevu, pozdrav od zonzona, planinara koji se okupljaju oko
zone 2000
http://www.zone-2000.net
Thank you guys
Thanks for the tip Owen, I’ll make sure to check it out. Kirk, I actually bought my flag in the USA of all places, but it’s a bit hard to come by nowadays because it’s not the official one. Unless you go to BiH, there must be some stores that have it there. Or how about ebay..?
Feka, hvala takodje
Ne vidim tamo slike u grupi, je li do mene ili su samo na tvom profilu?
Owen, I was just reading the interview on Jasmin’s blog and this part really struck me:
“As regards translating, taking myself as an example, if I was able to find another way of earning a living without having to translate, I would never have translated a single word. I translate out of necessity and for me it’s a skill I possess that I can use in order to earn money. Writing on the other hand requires much more effort but I’m unable to survive by writing alone.”
Oh, how well I know the feeling..
Here’s another part I have to quote. Simply excellent:
“To make a career in the government service this person has to identify himself or herself as belonging to one of the three main ethnic groups. What else is that but a subtle form of racism? It is impossible to become President of Bosnia unless you are prepared to identify yourself as a Serb, Bosniak or Croat, and what is that if it’s not discrimination? The Bosnia created by the Dayton Agreement leaves no room for a civil alternative to have a voice within the system of government. Everything that passes through the mill of Dayton emerges perverted, crushed, destroyed and ludicrous.”
Actually Amila on that particular passage I take a completely different view to you and Nihad. I love translating, my only regret is not being able to do it better. It has brought me so much knowledge and awareness of the rest of the world and insights into places and ideas that I’d never have known otherwise. Of course it helps that I stopped having to translate EU directives fifteen years ago!
To avoid confusion to anyone, that was Amila’s first quote I was referring to, not the one immediately preceding my comment!
Daniel: “Serbs and Croats I spoke to had no problem saying “I am Bosnian,” because they were born in Bosnia; however, they hold their ethnic names (Serb, Croat) to a higher regard. Yes I am Bosnian, too, but first of all I am Bosniak (and then Bosnian).”
If you think in that order then why are you wondering that other ethnic groups (e.g. Serbs and Croats) hold their ethnicity in a higher regard. In fact, for me you are pretty much as the same as they are…You all, all together, by doing that do not do any good for Bosnia/Herzegovina.
@Amila, Bosniaks are autochtone Slavic peoples of Bosnia. Up until the mid 19th century, the term Bosniak was used for all inhabitants of Bosnia regardles of faith. In medieval Bosnia, Bosniaks were largely members of an indigenous Bosnian Church and were considered heretics by both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. As a result, some Bosniaks were forced to convert to Caholicism and Eastern Orthodox religions. During the Ottoman period (15th-19th century) mostly heretic Bosniaks in large numbers converted to Islam.
During the 19th century (Austro-Hungarian period), the Bosniaks of Catholic and Eastern Orthodox faiths acquired Croatian and Serbian national identites and came to be known as Bosnian Croats and Bosnian Serbs.
I reject notion there was a civil war in Bosnia. According to the statement by Chief UN War Crimes Prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, to the Security Council on June 7 2006, the Prosecution has proven an international armed conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina no less than five times. You can read it here: http://srebrenica-genocide.blogspot.com/2007/07/srebrenica-genocide-questions-answers.html
Also, the 861-page book from Human Rights Watch organizes the tribunal’s decisions by topic, including war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity, command responsibility, sentences, fair trial rights, and guilty pleas, INCLUDING CHAPTERS “Conflict between Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia” and “Conflict between Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia.” You can read it here http://srebrenica-genocide.blogspot.com/2006/07/international-conflict-in-bosnia.html
Det gamle er absolut pænere end det nye, ja. :s