Balkanized, again

Balkanized, again

Mirjana Tomic International Herald Tribune

TUESDAY, MAY 23, 2006

MADRID I heard the news about Montenegro's independence in Spain, where I currently live. I felt neither joy nor sadness. My first thoughts, in fact, were of a purely practical nature: What will happen to my passport? Will it be recognized abroad?The cover of my passport still reads Yugoslavia. The country changed its name to Serbia and Montenegro several years ago, but the authorities had no money to change passports.A week ago, a policeman at the Madrid airport asked me: "Where is this passport from?" "It is from Yugoslavia," I said, "but the country changed its name to Serbia and Montenegro. In a few weeks it will have a different name." The policeman smiled. "In a few years Spain will be in the same situation," he said. "I shall be from Andalusia."The disintegration of a country implies many practical problems. The solution to these problems, those that people care about, depends on political negotiations. So far, Balkan politicians have not negotiated in good faith.What will happen to pensions, social security, properties and divided families? In my case, I do not even know who will inherit my country's (sorry, my former, former country's) embassy in Spain. Will I have to go to France or elsewhere to solve a simple issue or get a paper? Who knows if any of my Yugoslav/Serbian documents will be recognized abroad, anyway.Even the answers to some simple questions become complicated. When asked "Where are you from?" I have several answers. When speaking to Europeans, I usually say that I am from Belgrade, the city where I was born and got my education. When speaking to other people, I say that I come from the former Yugoslavia. It is too complicated to explain that the country no longer exists.In my country of birth, there were three official languages: Serbo-Croatian, Slovenian and Macedonian. Serbo-Croatian was spoken in four republics, each now an independent state (or about to be one): Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro. Now, each independent state has its own language, that is, Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian and Montenegrin.Slovenian and Macedonian are, in fact, different languages, but most people in all the republics spoke or understood the language previously called Serbo- Croatian. Now, when I speak with my friends from different parts of former Yugoslavia, we still communicate in the same tongue, but we each call it, "our language." That way, all misunderstanding is avoided.Professional and business people from the former Yugoslavia still meet and keep in contact. Now, however, their meetings have an international character. The favorite meeting place is Vienna. The reason is pragmatic: The Austrian capital has direct flights to all the regional capitals. There are no plane connections between Zagreb and Belgrade, for example. In addition, one can buy newspapers and magazines from the entire region at Viennese newsstands. Not so in Skopje or Sarajevo.The organizers of international conferences, as well as the various multilateral and nongovernmental organizations active in the region, usually deal with all the countries in the area. But it is no longer acceptable to say the former Yugoslavia, so a new concept has been forged: Southeastern Europe.When organizing international forums, institutions play to local sensitivities (nobody wants to be associated with the extinct country) and usually include participants from neighboring countries: Romania, Bulgaria, Albania and even Greece. Thus a new problem emerges: language barriers. People from the former Yugoslavia do not understand Romanian, Bulgarian or Albanian. So, international dialogue is held in English.In early May, I participated in an international conference of media professionals from Southeastern Europe held in Vienna. The presence of Austrian, Italian, Greek, Bulgarian, Albanian and Moldovan journalists obliged everyone to speak English during the official sessions.During coffee breaks and official dinners, however, all the journalists from former Yugoslavia stuck together, speaking Serbo-Croatian, or, rather, "our language." Even the Albanians from Kosovo preferred the former Yugoslav crowd.Journalists talked about their respective countries, asked about mutual friends and compared whose economic situation was more favorable and which country was closer to joining the European Union. Nonetheless, the aspiration to join the EU did not translate into any interest in Europe. I tried, without success, to comment on the media situation in Spain. Nobody was interested. "I live in the Balkans, not in Europe," commented a colleague from Macedonia. Mirjana Tomic, a freelance media consultant, lives in Madrid.


Copyright � 2006 The International Herald Tribune www.iht.com
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/05/23/opinion/edtomic.phpThe independence of Montenegro- the further disintegration of a country- implies many practical problems.