Rollin' through the Balkans

This post is going to set up a little differently. Normally I go through day-to-day on what I did and what happened but for this post I think I'll just right about my general impressions and what I learned because a) I took too long to enter this post and b) I think it makes more sense.

As part of my abroad program, we took a 12-day tour of the Balkans, traversing Nuremberg (Germany), Vienna (Austria), Budapest (Hungary), Belgrade (Serbia), Sarajevo (Bosnia), Zagreb(Croatia), Ljubljana (Slovenia), and finally Munich (Germany) before making it home to Brussels. Th purpose if this trip was to teach us about the experiences of the Balkans, potential for EU membership, and how ethnic divisions are contained within these territories.

Although I had a good time on the trip, it sadden me to see the state of some of the Balkan states. The turmoil of 1992-1995 has not yet left the streets of Belgrade or Sarajevo, and daily reminders of the war do not help the collective memory of these countries pull together and overcome their obstacles. In Belgrade, you can still see the destruction done by NATO missiles on the facade of buildings, and in Sarajevo, sarajevo roses color the sidewalks to show where bullets and bombs torn up a life. Additionally, ethnic tensions amongst the Orthodox Serbs and Muslim Bosnian continues to plague the political and social lives of many in Bosnia, especially internal conflicts over Repulbika Srpska and Kosovo for Serbia.



At this rate, I don't see either country belonging to the EU for some time. The EU won't allow internal and external conflict to enter within their "club" and the international dilemma that is Kosovo has put the EU and Serbia in quite a standstill. Talking with the office of the foreign minister, they seem to indicate the Kosovo takes presidence over EU membership and as for Bosnia, potential for violence is too great to result in the development and security it desperately needs.

Unfortunately, Bosnia and Serbia are yesterday's wars and conflicts and without international oversight, progress in these nations seems to move a snail's pace if that.

On another note, it was such an amazing opportunity to visit these locations and hear from local residents about their feelings and attitudes towards their neighbors and the EU. We also got a chance to visit Srebrenisa and the tunnel built by Bosniaks suring the seige of Sarajevo to provide supplies for those in the city. Experiencing the war from a soldier's and genocide survivor' perceptive helped put the conflict into tangible and realistic terms.

For those of you with the opportunity to ever travel to the Balkans, I suggest you do so and learn about the cultural conflict that has driven so many to fight and keep fighting for their homeland and territories.