Xenophobia on the Balkan

Many phenomenon in political and social life in Balkan warn that even fifteen years after the last war xenophobia is present among the huge majority of citizens. Apart the economic poverty and depression, prejudices, misconceptions, and stereotypes about the others and us are wittingly regenerating. It multiplies fear and hatred and in practice, results with massive violence. Have new authorities and citizens of Western Balkans acquired any experiences from the past war dramas? Can we talk about positive changes, when we speak about xenophobia and hatred? Unfortunately, this questions can be answered and have to be mostly answered in a negative way.

The absence of pointing this problem in public media, stigmatizing those who think different, people of different sexual orientation...are just some indicators of still present nationalism, chauvinism, xenophobia and hatred.

The conspiracy thesis against Serbs, Croats, Bosnians, Albanians and other nations is still indirectly or directly exculpated. The glorification of those nations and their history appears through the usual stereotypes. Some representatives of the new, current authorities still claim that "xxx" are only the defenders of its own existence, of its own spirituality, culture and democratic conviction. "They were and a protective barrier against invasion and destruction of other people". If this was the truth (which is not the case), the question remains - why after all that happened, suffering of other people during the previous wars is not mentioned, neither the responsibility of "xxx" nationalists, chauvinists and xenophobes for suffering and for suffering of one's own people during the wars in the nineties.

A certain prominent intellectuals, as well as politicians directly incite xenophobia and hatred using the language of war and hatred, unsuitable for philosophical/theological discussion. It is still spoken about "insidious neighbors", "neighbors, murderers and slaughterers", who "behold for ages at "xxx". And "xxx" are the subjects of hate of the others because of the power of their love, strength of their faith, depth of their belief, because they are bearers of good and the truth. Renewing the myth of the saint malefactor these xenophobes have abandoned the basic principles of the Christian / Islamic ethics.

Renewing and maintaining of the xenophobia has been simplified by the domination of collectivistic and authoritarian valuation orientation. The neighbors and the national minorities are thought to be dangerous factor concerning the integrity of "xxx". Ethnic distance is still very large. It is incontrovertibly that the lack of education of the citizens of Western Balkan influences the spreading of the xenophobia.

The role of the great state ideology in the initiating of xenophobia should not be diminished. On the contrary, by their mythomaniac, anachrone aims and the incompatible methods of their realizing, (the final solution of "xxx" national issue) "xxx" government had been infatuating the people, raised the tension and distracted the attention from the basic life problems of people.

Social situation in the country unrealistically showed as "good" and for the current situation accused the others and had constantly been spreading the prejudice, fallacies and stereotypes both about themselves and the others. Unfortunately, similar mechanisms of the manipulation have been applied by the actual governments.

To everything, mentioned earlier, must add some anthropological qualities of the people, which could influence the valuation determination of the citizens. Here I think about the predisposition for suffering, melancholy, as well as great emotionalism, and the need for the group identification and expressed mentality of the subjects. These predispositions imply search for the lamb to the slaughter for own weaknesses and adversities.

Therefore, not only every stranger is suspicious but every one within the ethnic group who dares to think and speak differently from the present stereotypes. The pressure of the tradition on the more modern forms of behavior has been and remained powerful.

All this leads to conclusion that the great majority of people in Western Balkan today still don't have cultural, educational, psychological, economical and other important preconditions to transform itself from mare slave to self conscious citizen. At the same time, it means that the process of transformation of Balkan countries to a democratic, legal, developed and modern European countries will be very slow and very long.

It is certainly not an easy question to answer: how to fight against xenophobia as an extreme form of repulsing of other and different in circumstances like these? Yet, it is necessary to act, even in hardest circumstances. By all possible means of democratic and civil struggle we have to promote a process of denazification and a special sort of decollectivisation.

Life with the other people who are different from us gives us chance to overcome the false stereotypes and prejudice, both about ourselves and about the other people. Life with the different enables better understanding of our own selves.