REFUGEES AS HARBINGERS of POLITICAL CHANGE in SERBIA Andrei Simić University of Southern California
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Anthropology of East Europe Review 1 REFUGEES AS HARBINGERS OF POLITICAL CHANGE IN SERBIA Andrei Simić University of Southern California The recent wars of secession in former In this essay, I will focus on these and Yugoslavia have resulted in the most massive other related topics as viewed through the eyes movement of refugees in Europe since World of Serbian refugees I interviewed, and with many War II. Of all of the republics of former of whom I interacted informally on numerous Yugoslavia, it was in Serbia and Montenegro occasions in purely social settings during the (then still united in the rump Federal Republic of summers of 2002, 2005, and 2006. The Yugoslavia) that the largest number took refuge. impressions gained from these contacts were A census conducted in April through June of further strengthened by the many conversations I 1996 showed that there were 537,939 refugees in had with academics, journalists, and government Serbia and 28,338 in Montenegro (United officials,5 as well as with friends, relatives, and Nations High Commissioner for Refugees people whom I met spontaneously in the course (1996:16). In 1997, the Ministry of Information of everyday life. In addition, I regularly reviewed of the Republic of Serbia estimated that there the Serbian press (Politika, Večernje Novosti, were about 490,000 refugees in Serbia; of these, Danas, Vesti and Blic) for reports and 185,000 were from the Bosnian and Croatian commentaries related to this study. In doing so, I Federation,2 49,000 were from Republika sought to become familiar with sources which Srpska, and 256,000 were from Croatia, the vast were contributing to the views of my informants, majority of whom were Serbs (62-63). While a as well as to those of the Serbian public in number of refugees have returned to their homes, general. moved to Republika Srpska, migrated abroad, or The sample for this study consisted of 81 simply are no longer counted, others have been refugees living in Belgrade and in Indjija and added to their ranks by the more recent exodus of Kikinda (in Vojvodina). Of these, 34 were from Serbs, Romi, Gorani, Turks, and others from Bosnia-Hercegovina, 41 from Croatia (Lika, 3 Kosovo Metohija subsequent to the NATO Kordun, and Slavonia) 4 from Kosovo, and 2 attack on Serbia in 1999. Current estimates from Sandžak. In addition, 17 Serbian returnees judge the number of refugees and other displaced (povratnici) in two families were visited in 2002 persons in Serbia to be between 500,000 and and 2005 in the village of Kolarić in the Kordun 600,000 (Professor Dušan Drljača, Ethnographic region of Croatia. Also, in 2002, a Croatian Institute, Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts returnee was serendipitously interviewed in the and Miodrag Božović, Ministry for Diaspora, village of Drenov Klanac in the Croatian Belgrade: personal communications, June 2006). province of Lika (Croatia), a village which we These refugees followed in the footsteps of those thought to be totally depopulated at that time. who had fled to Serbia from Kosovo, Bosnia- Informants were located in a number of Hercegovina, and Croatia during and following ways: through my wife’s and my own relatives World War II, and with whom they shared who were themselves refugees, at a refugee similar experiences, and to whom many were camp in Belgrade, through introductions by connected by ties of kinship and other personal friends, and as the result of fortuitous meetings. relationships. Even though the sample is neither random nor Regardless of the approximate nature of significantly large, the extrapolation of the the above-cited figures, the number of refugees results to a much larger population seems is surely quite large and very significant given justified by the unusually high degree of Serbia’s population (without Kosovo Metohija) unanimity of responses. Also, I believe that the 4 of less than 8,000,000. The presence of respondents were extremely open in describing hundreds of thousands of refugees and displaced their experiences and expressing their views persons in an economically depressed and because my wife and I were perceived primarily politically unstable country evokes a number of as “Serbs from America,” rather than as generic questions related to the internal stability of Americans. Moreover, a number of informants Serbia, the direction of political change, and the were contacted during all three summers, and ramifications for Serbian relations with America their responses were not only consistent over and the West. Volume 24, No. 2 Page 81 Anthropology of East Europe Review time, but also exhibited a strengthening of the massacre of Moslems, to attend on the following views originally expressed. day the commemoration in Bratunac of Serbian Based on the narratives of those interviewed, victims of convicted Moslem war criminal, it is clear that they had arrived at their opinions Naser Orić. Tadić further inflamed public and concomitant political views in a number of opinion by sending a wreath with an inscription mutually strengthening and reaffirming ways. in Latin characters rather than in the Serbian The basic foundation of their political orientation Cyrillic alphabet (cf. Politika 7/9, 7/11, and is undoubtedly their own negative experiences 7/13/2005). Directly related to the events in during and following the recent civil wars. These Srebrenica, and even more negatively perceived experiences are perceptually frozen in time, and as anti-Serbian bias, was the decision of the are told and retold with an immediacy as if they Hague Tribunal to sentence Naser Orić, a man had occurred yesterday. At the same time, they whom the Serbs have accused of responsibility are also generalized within the context of Serbian for the destruction of more than 100 Serbian history as a whole. Thus, their personal sagas are villages and the killing of several thousand not simply understood as a series of unique Serbian peasants in the countryside around events, but rather are linked conceptually to their Srebrenica, to only two years imprisonment, He own parents’ experiences and even to those of was released for time served, and received a distant, sometimes apocryphal ancestors. In this hero’s welcome on his return to Sarajevo regard, analogies were particularly drawn to the (Politika 7/1/2006a). While such highly persecution of the Serbs by Croats and Bosnian publicized occurrences have an immediate, Moslems during WW II in the pro-Nazi dramatic impact on the political consciousness of Independent State of Croatia (Nezavisna Država both refugees and the Serbian public in general, a Hrvatska). myriad of less sensational reports appearing almost daily in the press have a similar, though It is significant that refugees, although cumulative effect. resettled in many different locations, nevertheless have maintained intense networks For refugees, news related to their places of communication and personal contact with of origin is of particular interest, and very others from their places of origin. These influential in forming their largely negative networks have the effect of creating a kind of decisions about repatriation. For instance, there consensus of belief and opinion. This is frequent mention in the press of difficulties phenomenon has also been noted by Svrdlin and discrimination which Serbs are encountering among Serbian refugees from the Hercegovinian in Croatia, and the Bosnian Federation. village of Žitomislić6 (2004: 243): Similarly, articles appear with even greater frequency regarding violence against Serbs and In 1992, our villagers dispersed in all the destruction of Serbian churches and other directions.... to Belgrade and other property in Kosovo Metohija. cities....What they had in common was the need to learn as much as possible Refugees and Political Change about each other....Thus, from the very There are strong indications that while beginning, they knew everything about Serbian public opinion is sharply divided each other....They spent their last between those favorably oriented toward the money for telephone calls, and for West and those who are often labeled as travel to find out how others were traditionalists or ultra-nationalists,7 the latter getting along. (my translation) group has been steadily gaining ground over the past several years. For instance, on June 25, Another profound influence is the media. 2005, in a poll conducted by Belgrade TV, 63% Opinions are continually validated and of respondents expressed opposition to President strengthened by reports and commentaries on Boris Tadić’s “implicit recognition of Serbia’s radio, television, and especially in the press. Of guilt” by attending the commemoration of the particular impact is the reporting of what may be Srebrenica massacre. More recently, a poll of termed “major reaffirmative events.” One 2,000 respondents taken in May, 2006 by example, which caused widespread indignation Medijum Galop showed a strong shift in favor of and commentary in Serbia, was the failure of the nationalistic, anti-Western Srpska Radikalna Serbian President Boris Tadić, who had attended Stranka (SRS) which received support from the July 11, 2005 commemoration in Srebrenica 40.2% of those polled in contrast to President of the tenth anniversary of the alleged Serbian Tadić’s Demokratska Stranka which garnered Volume 24, No. 2 Page 82 Anthropology of East Europe Review only 21.1% (Politika 6/9/2006a). This same America really didn’t have a true democracy survey also identified Tomislav Nikolić of the because “the rich were in control of everything.” SRS as Serbia’s most popular politician. The Breakup of Yugoslavia Moreover, there are strong indications that political apathy among voters may result in the There was unanimity that America and SRS winning 50% of parliamentary seats, which Germany were largely responsible for the breakup is described in Politika (6/10/2006b) as a of Yugoslavia and the resultant civil wars.