Elma Dandić, Blagaj, Bosnia & Herzegovina
The Blagaj Mosaic of Normality
Author: Elma Dandić
The clergy who previously served in Blagaj had positive experiences with the residents of Blagaj. It should be noted that there are two Orthodox families living in Blagaj, so we are a minority. Our first encounter was with a neighbour who lives across from us. She approached us and said that she was available to us and that we could turn to her for anything. This was her contribution to making us feel welcome. And indeed, that’s how we felt. Besides family, a good neighbour is very important because a neighbour is always there. A few days after our arrival, we had renovation work at the church. Three grandmothers approached us. At that time, I didn’t know that there were no Orthodox people here at all, and as I was cleaning something, they entered: “We came to get to know you, just to see how you are, we will come, we are here.” I told them that we have a service on Sunday and they should come. The grandmothers left. It was later explained to me that there are no Orthodox people here, and no one would come to the liturgy. They simply came to get acquainted. They knew Father Branimir, who was here before us. The church had a playground for children, which was full of kids. We then learned that the wind in Blagaj is actually a big problem, and that the playground served as a source of entertainment and play. Parents and children felt welcome in the churchyard.
One very interesting topic is communism. One day, we were walking towards the post office, and my husband was wearing his cassock. On the way, we met two men who approached us to have a conversation, and one of those two was very talkative, just like me now, and throughout the conversation, he kept mentioning that he is a communist. We found it interesting, and at the post office, they told us that we met the only communist in Blagaj.
Our life is specific because we come to the parish that is assigned to us. People often don’t understand that. Our first concern is whether we have our own people there because we come for the people. When we found out that there are no Orthodox people in Blagaj at all, we were worried and wondered what we would do now, how we would act if there is no community. We learned that people from surrounding villages come here. Before this, we were in the Bileća parish, and there were only 14 Muslims there, and we came to a place where the majority are Muslim.
On a personal level, it’s a tremendous stress when you move, regardless of where you go, because you pack your whole life into a suitcase and go somewhere where you don’t know how you will fit in. We have been here for a year now, and we are slowly fitting into the story that this is our home. For us, Blagaj is home because as long as we do what we came here for, to serve God, of course, this is our home.
In my view, every place is God’s land, and I can live anywhere, even in Blagaj, which is a small oasis. We came from Bileća, where there are rocks and karst, to Blagaj, where there is a river and greenery. Of course, it will take a few years to fully integrate because we are currently solely engaged with the Orthodox community, but it will take a few years to be able to talk about integration into the community. All residents of Blagaj have the same problems as citizens in any part of the country. Unfortunately, Blagaj lacks some very basic things, like a playground for children.
While it might be premature to declare community life as completely normal, the clergy encourages young people to be open-minded, proactive, and work together to create opportunities and overcome the divisions that exist within the nation. They emphasize the importance of unity and collaboration, suggesting that churches and mosques can serve as unifying forces. By focusing on shared goals and emphasizing unity over religious differences, young people can contribute to the improvement of life in Blagaj.
It is too early to talk about how life in the community is normal. I am very subjective in this matter and don’t have the facts. I would always turn to young people and urge them to be open-minded, to think and create opportunities for themselves, and to fight together. It doesn’t matter how long I will be here, but young people should unite and work together because the entire nation is divided, not just ethnically. They should work together to make life in Blagaj normal. Young people should fight for it. Today, information is most accessible to us, and we see young people using that information to distance themselves. We have this national division. We need to work together on what is common, and everyone can go to the place of worship they choose. Young people shouldn’t seek reasons to separate in all that abundance of information, but reasons to unite. Churches and mosques should bring people together. We don’t need to talk about religion, but together we can improve things, and we need to focus on unity.