MONDAY MUSINGS

August 18, 2008

Croatia, Slovenia and More

On Wednesday evening, August 20, at 7 p.m., Pat and I will relive our recent trip to the countries on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea.  The nation known as Yugoslavia began breaking up in 1991, giving rise to ancient ethnic areas that became independent countries such as Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and Macedonia.  This move to independence prompted the horrible incidences of ethnic cleansing that plagued that part of the world in the mid 1990’s.  In spite of that troubled history, we found this part of God’s good world to be filled with beauty and new possibilities.

You are invited to share our experiences as we talk about a trip that started in Dubrovnik and took us to places like Mostar, Sarajevo, Osijek, Zagreb, Pula, Lovan and Ljubljana.  These countries are eager for tourist trade to provide the financial capacity to rebuilt their cities and infrastructure and provide an inviting future for their children. 

The stories we heard about the atrocities are unfortunately true, a frightening testimony of the acts of inhumanity, supposedly justified by ethnic or religious purity.  Mostar in Bosnia had been one of the most inclusive communities, with mosques and churches and synagogues visibly present among a population that included Serbs, Bosnians, Croatians, Albanians and others from that part of Eastern Europe.  The tragedy is that today the city of Mostar still bears the marks of the warfare that decimated that ancient and proud city.  The present conflict between Russia and Georgia over the region of South Ossetia is another chapter in this seemingly endless story of territorial claims based on ethnic populations.

We certainly are not experts but tourists, reflecting impressions from a brief visit to a complicated and historically rich part of Europe.  Perhaps we can whet your appetites to take a similar trip to see for yourselves.  Peace.  John Krueger