Imagine a city that just thirty years ago was a bloody battlefield where Muslims and Croats fought fiercely, and today it looks like the war never happened. That city is Mostar! Calm, relaxed, no barricades, no shouting, no hatred on the streets. Now look at Belgrade – a city that was never a war zone, yet it looks like the war never ended. Houses burned, people divided, hatred and hostility ruling as if the war is still on. How is this possible? Do Serbs even know what living in peace means?
In his column, prose writer Svetislav Basara lays down a brutal truth: while Muslims and Croats in Mostar managed to overcome war traumas and live side by side in peace, Belgrade and Serbia are stuck in eternal grand-nationalist daydreams and conflicts. Basara suggests Serbia should function like the Serbian Post Office – an institution that receives and sends parcels without asking who you are or what you are, without hatred or division.
This text is a cold shower for anyone who thinks peace in Serbia is normal. It’s not! Until we shed grand-nationalist fantasies and learn to live next to each other, conflicts will continue. Mostar is proof it’s possible, Belgrade is proof it’s not easy. What do you think? Is peace in Serbia just an illusion? Or is it time to wake up and change things? Share your thoughts, maybe together we can find a way out of this vicious circle!
