A Letter
No one chooses his life: the pecking of boats at the ramparts. My messages to friends, my shame toward those whom we will conquer: you know the end and the beginning of everything, the words […]
Articles
The Washington Agreement
Time and Place Tuesday, 22 February 1994 (Washington) It is difficult to arrange the days in retrospect, because time has shifted. We flew for nine hours on Sunday, setting off at 11:30 a.m. that day […]
The Dayton Agreement
Preface After the Vienna talks about the cantons and the final organisation of the Federation of BiH that took place from 8 to 11 May 1994, I stopped keeping a journal about the events that I […]
White Field
New Year’s Day. Snow overlaid the minefield. Adin Ljuca Translated by Keith Doubt
Economic Science Crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Midst of the Economic Crisis
In the context of the continuing economic crisis the issue of where the Bosnian economics is today is often raised as well as the issue of whether it can act in concert with economic practices […]
Grand: A Film Review
Almost all the domestic film production in the ex-Yugoslav region inclines subtly to the ideological views of the country of origin and is set or reflected of war and the post-war period. One truly remarkable […]
Rest
She sheds a tear when no one is watching She feels the pain bottled in her chest She hopes the end is near She sheds a tear when no one is watching Her father, uncle, […]
Residents of the Yellow Building, Grbavica
Chapter I A Shot In a fraction of a second there was no connection between Diki’s senses and his brain. He could not comprehend or explain to himself any of the things that were happening […]
An American Linguistic Tragedy
Alexander, Ronelle. Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, a Grammar: With Sociolinguistic Commentary. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 2006. xxi + 464 pp. Alexander, Ronelle and Ellen Elias-Bursać. Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, a Textbook: With Exercises and Basic […]
Witness of Genocide: I have to tell the truth to oppose oblivion
It is July 9th today. On this day, 20 years ago, I was almost nine years old which are symbolized by these nine flowers of Srebrenica on my clothes today. I survived genocide. Once in […]
The True Treasures of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The National Museum in Sarajevo is a magical place. Four million exhibits. Yes, million. As you walk through its hallways and exhibit rooms, you journey through the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina: wooden objects our […]
Bobovac
An infographic guide to Bobovac, the nest of kings of Bosnia […]
Émile Durkheim and Sarajevo Marlboro
For ethnic identities to disappear into one national identity, mechanical solidarity needs to be established. “The social molecules which can be coherent in this way can act together only in the measure that they have […]
Nationalism and Sarajevo’s Organic Solidarity
Nationalist discourses and political agendas often announce an objective of returning to a homogenous, self-contained society. Emile Durkheim’s concept of mechanical and organic solidarity provides a useful conceptual framework for understanding the binary oppositions that […]
The Balkans
I’ve never anywhere seen a quince, but lindens bloom in Scandinavia also. Rinsed by the tea of rains, though, their scent is faint. Like a strong perfume, the scent of the Balkan linden tree in […]
Dear President Obama
I am Midhat Ridjanović, professor emeritus of English and linguistics at the University of Sarajevo. I am now writing as an ordinary citizen of Bosnia-Herzegovina to inform you about the current catastrophic situation in my […]
Vojislav Šešelj: The Question of Ethics and Responsibility
The ICTY Trial Chamber decided on a temporary release for Vojislav Šešelj, leader of the Serb Radical Party. The decision itself was not unanimous but was unique for having been made despite many legal deficiencies. […]
The Transformation of Traditional Foodways in the Bosnian American Community
It is now generally recognised that the food of an ethnic group is not the same as that of its homeland, but, rather, the result of creolisation, the long process whereby food and foodways are […]
Bosnian Folk Poetry — Wedding Songs
1. When a girl leaves her home to get married Our sister, our dear friend, You are going, and leaving us behind. Are you sad, may your mother rejoice, Are you sad that we are parting? […]
Love
We flickered the yellow lamp out Around your body the blue cloak fell Outside forests, clouds, trees Outside heavy white wings fly My body stretched beneath your feet My hands bend, yearn, pray Dear, let […]