Could QR codes join candles and rakia at Balkan gravesides?
It can be interesting to see how different cultures deal with death and the issues of loss and remembrance.
Losing someone close is bound to be unsettling but how we handle the aftermath and go on living is reflective of the people we are, the values we hold true and the society in which we live.
Graveside rituals and memorials can ensure that families are neither out of sight nor out of mind.
In the Balkans, death and loss never seems too far away.
Cemeteries of various denominations, black and white memorials on fence posts and photos of lost loved ones on the mantelpiece in homes across the Balkans all provide succour for those left behind.
No price is too high for pride in one’s country
As rumours and half-truths spread about the claimed cost of policing the Belgrade Pride parade, it would seem inevitable – and, no doubt, will be embraced in some quarters – for people to be up in arms about the amount of money allegedly spent to protect the people and their city.
While no official figures have been released, some media have reported unqualified estimates of €1 million to Belgrade’s coffers.
Pride organisers have laughed off this claim as ludicrous, believing that this figure is being bandied around for political purposes, to rile up those opposed to the parade and to stoke negative feeling towards the LGBT community.
Pride organisers say that this estimated figure includes a staggeringly exaggerated €600k for loss of trade to restaurants, bars and shops.
Police strikes and religious rhetoric cannot crush Serbian Pride
With the democratic rights of Serbia’s LGBT community effectively held to ransom by Belgrade’s police force, the fate of the controversial Pride Parade hangs in the balance once more.
The Serbian state, Orthodox Church and extremists have successfully crushed the Pride Parade in recent years.
The authorities could have been handed the justification to pull the plug on Sunday’s parade, too, thanks to opportunely-timed strike action being threatened by Belgrade police unions.
While police claim they will step in to protect the city if called upon, they have presented a perfect excuse for authorities that have previously used security issues to ban the gathering. Whether they choose to use their power to block the parade remains to be seen.
Dedicated volunteers ensure Serbian flood relief gets through
When I volunteered to help with flood relief efforts at the Serbian Embassy in London, it was because the harrowing news footage and distressing stories relayed by friends who have been directly affected by the natural disaster in Serbia and Bosnia had moved me to act.
Good friends in the submerged town of Obrenovac have been made homeless and lost all their personal effects overnight, while in Bosnia, others I know have been evacuated to safety or are still holed up in their homes in Doboj.
In these times of 24-hour news coverage we can be numb to the roll call of tragedies and disasters around the world.
All too often these events can seem in such different worlds, that they are removed from our own sphere of reality.
