Bosnia: Towards a multicultural Sarajevo

A hundred thousand young people have moved away from Bosnia Herzegovina in the past years. To seek their fortune else where, certainly. But also to escape the contradictions and the social and cultural divides that have split their land and their people, dividing cultures, ethnic groups, religions, cultivating misunderstandings and conflicts, and often even violence.

Nevertheless there are those who don?t give in to segregation and attempt to recreate peaceful coexistence, reconciliation, intercultural and inter religious dialogue. Such as the Italy based Movimento cristiano lavoratori (Mcl) ? the movement of Christian workers, a non profit association that promotes social work, solidarity and volunteering. The Mcl has given a helping hand to this process, perhaps a small hand, but meaningful nevertheless, and even symbolic. The Movement has committed itself to financing the creation of a big multi-media centre in Sarajevo, a place for young people, where they can meet, communicate, be informed and inform others. Above all, the centre will be open to everyone, be they Catholic, Orthodox or Muslim. And is being created through the efforts of people of different cultural origin working together.

The project has been launched by the diocese and by a local association Napredak, and is funded by the Mcl. It is the first structure of its kind in Sarajevo, which is why after years and years of division in every aspect of life, it represents a common good that belongs to everybody, independent of cultural and religious identities.

Promoting cultural dialogue
The ?heart? of the multi-media centre complex will be the institute for the dialogue between cultures and civilisations: a multifunctional room that will serve as the location for Napredak?s meetings as well as open forums, seminars, study sessions, artistic and sporting activities. It is Napredak?s goal to offer support to students and artists (for example through scholarships) and to promote environmental awareness, which is why a nature school will created inside the centre as well.

Twelve years after the conflict in Bosnia Herzegovina reconstruction goes slowly on, even though there are signs of modernity. The multi-media complex will be built on the side of mount Trebevic (at an altitude of 1120 metres), 8 km from the centre of Sarajevo, and will be a little symbol in a country that wants to be born again but that is also disorientated and has become a kind of three headed monster.

The three headed monster
The treaty of Dayton, that brought an end to the war that opened the ethnic divides of the country, has in fact decreed that Serbs, Croatians and Muslims must be fairly represented in the nation?s institutions. But what should have been a sign of pluralism has become a chaotic element: three Presidents, three Prime Ministers, three ministers for the economy, three ministers of justice and so on. The result? That the monster has given birth to 110 ministers.

Every ethnic group, therefore, has the power to veto matters regarding other ethnic groups: laws and reforms are slow in being approved. Above everyone sits the high representative of the international community, who has full power over everyone else. Overcoming all of this will take time, and time will have to facilitate the culture of dialogue and coexistence, a process that is hard, but that won?t have to start from zero.