Around the globe, there are millions of reported cases of people who are missing or have disappeared. This first issue of BalkanThemes explores how governments and organizations are addressing this problem in the countries of the former Yugoslavia.
“Only the details differentiate the narratives of WWI from those of the 90s Balkans wars. The latter speaks of Greater Serbian nationalism and the endangerment of other peoples, as well as some concept of Yugoslavia only mildly related to Yugoslavia itself, whereas the former is but another excuse to repeat the same arguments.”
For Bosnia and Herzegovina's politicians, the vocabulary of commemorations, victims, the past, and crimes should be replaced by words such as activity (i.e., work) and accountability.
A hundred years have passed since the first bullets were fired near the Latin Bridge. The century-long period saw numerous pits and canyons—and unmarked graves. In them, hundreds of thousands are “resting in peace”. They have names of mothers, wives, daughters, sisters, and brothers—but still, they remain unknown.
What do their fates mean to the world - the fates of those nameless, lads who got stuck in trenches far away from home? We could only pin clichés onto their fates, but in my mind, I have countless questions about the colors of the world that surrounded them.
Ciara Costa reports on the Post-Conflict Research Center’s recent meeting with Luis Miguel, Envoy to the Spanish Embassy in Sarajevo, where discussions focused on the parallels between the post-war experiences of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Spain.