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Monthly Archives: December 2009

Belgrade’s Chaotic Charm

Jackie Clark, an American exchange student in Hungary, did a great blog post recently, which contains great photos of Belgrade as well, where she wrote:

If inside of my head there was not in fact a human brain but rather a city, I would like to think that city would be a lot like Beograd: chaotic, ridiculous, disorganized and yet filled with wondrous and entertaining surprises and somehow mysteriously capable of functioning.

Don’t get the wrong impression about what she’s trying to say here! Jackie told me that she meant that in the absolute best way. Also, she explained to me why in love with the chaotic, ridiculous, and disorganized city of Belgrade she is:

A lot of places try very hard to maintain this image of order and improvement and hide the things that are real and unique about them. In Budapest I just watched a crew power washing, scraping, painting, and completely removing all of the graffiti at Deak square, which is famous for being this young people’s hang out spot where all the alternative types gather to skateboard and drink. The graffiti is part of that place. What I mean is that Belgrade has a pulse, a strong pulse that you can see and feel everywhere. 

I couldn’t have put it better myself. Belgrade is a world away from carefully organized European capitals like Prague or Budapest — which makes it perfectly suited for visitors who don’t need their lives hermetically sealed in air-conditioned shininess. Belgrade is chaotic, ridiculous, disorganized, but Belgrade is alive, and here, you feel alive; Belgrade’s chaotic charm.

Liverpool Chamber Of Commerce Bad At Geography

Wikipedia writes about Western Balkans “European Union institutions and member states define the “Western Balkans” as Albania and the constituent republics of the former Yugoslavia, minus Slovenia. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development uses “Western Balkans” to refer to the above states, minus Croatia. Now, someone should edit this article and add: Liverpool Chamber of commerce defines the Balkans as Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, and the constituent republics of the former Yugoslavia, minus Montenegro! Oh, one other thing? Liverpool Chamber of commerce includes Serbia in the Balkans, but there’s a downside, Kosovo disputed independence is not even mentioned.

Oops, We Play Cricket In Serbia

Oli Broom is cycling 25,000km from Lord’s Cricket Ground, London to Brisbane Cricket Ground “The Gabba” to see England take on Australia in the 2010 Ashes series, all for charity. He’s searching out cricketing hotspots in every country, and he’s made it to Serbia. And yes, we play cricket in Serbia!! Oli Broom wrote a short piece for Wisden Cricketer, and it is about Serbian cricket. He met Vladimir Ninkovic, who with his friend Haris Dajc founded the Belgrade Cricket Association in 2007, and he said that the 15-over match in the grounds of Belgrade’s ancient fortress that he played was certainly the most stunning backdrop to a cricket match that he has experienced!

Oh, one other thing? While in Belgrade, Oli Broom was joined by Kvazibarki’s Laci Josza, a Hungarian film-maker and amateur cameraman. Laci Josza came down to do some filming in Belgrade when he was there. He has edited a very short film that gives a good introductory picture of Belgrade, “a wonderful city with a painful recent past – its ancient fortress dating back to the 4th Century AD, the faded, grand town centre, and above all the spirit of its people.” So, once again, yes, we play cricket in Serbia: It makes you wonder why Serbian expatriates in England, Australia, South Africa, India, Pakistan, New Zealand.. don’t move back to Serbia. That said, enjoy Kvazibarki’s video.

National Geographic Very Wrong About Serbia

Mima Stanojlovic sent the following letter to National Geographic Magazine, in response to an article in the publication’s July profile of Serbia ‘Serbs Face the Past Future‘:

I have just read the article entitled “Serbs Face the Future” published in the latest issue of “The National Geographic” and as a Serbian and Belgrade born, I am deeply shocked by the photographs and comments which accompany the article. If the photographer Christopher Anderson lives in Serbia or Belgrade, or has spent some time there, he must have been very well aware that besides the topics he decided to present in this distinguished magazine , which is also published in Serbian language as one of the most popular among the foreign editions, there are others as well. Unfortunately, it is all too obvious that the above photographer was utterly ill-disposed in choosing his themes, purposely taking shots of the decayed parts of the capital city Belgrade, presenting hooligans at the football match between the two greatest rivals, giving false comments that harvest in this country is still maintained by hand in “some parts”. Before writing this, as a good journalist, he should have seeked the right information referring to the Serbian agruculture. He also gives false information on the number of citizens. Instead of 1, 6 million as stated in the text, Belgrade has more than 2 million. “The police presence is often heavy on the capitals’ streets” is a lie. In order to maintain order during the football matches between the rivals, it is common for the police to line the streets in all European towns, Belgrade is no exception. Why has the case in Belgrade been exaggerated?

Some pedestrian over or underpasses are truly decayed, but why didn’t Mr. Anderson show another face of the city as well, the spots which are brand new, modern and pleasant to the eye? He made a biased choice and photographed the ugliest depatment dwellings in New Belgrade, ignoring the fact that New Belgrade has modern developments with manicured parks and lush greenery, 40-year-old trees, new shopping malls surrounded by parks, avenues lined with linden trees, beautiful and the longest Belgrade walkway by the river Danube overlooking the Great War Island. I wonder what the reactions would be if a photographer from Serbia took pictures in the States depicting only the homeless, the slums, deserted buldings, beggars, unattractive urban areas and publish them in any of the respected European publications? He would probably loose his job?

Belgrade is not, as the photographs indicate, a miserable city inhabited by miserable people. The citizens of Belgrade are not barbarians as we have been presented in the Western media for more than a decade. On the contrary, the city is vibrant, open-minded, and hospitable with a positive attitude and its people are eager to speak English. Not long ago, it was the capital of the most advanced country in the Southeast Europe. A meeting place of the two rivers, the Danube and Sava, have shaped Belgrade into a proud and beautiful city, where the locals have a refreshingly relaxed approach to life. It’s also a place that takes pleasure seriously, offering one of the best clubbing scenes in Europe and a diverse cultural life, which, I am positive, Mr. Anderson has witnessed himself.

But it’s a shame that a professional photographer working for one of the the most distinguished World magazines (which could be bought in Belgrade as long as thirty years ago) , sees this city only as decayed, impoverished and a place to be avoided. For, these malicious pictures can only mislead those who know nothing or but little about Belgrade. Was this the aim? Is this the way for Mr. Anderson to earn his salary? If so, it’s a disgrace both for him and the editorial board of The National Geographic.

Well, I agree with everything said in this letter. I wasn’t surprised to see Serbia depicted as it is in the article. I was, however, disappointed. It looks like National Geographic just want a “good story,” truth or fiction. I invite National Geographic staff back, and encourage them to take a broader look at Serbia and help us convey to the world what Serbs already know: that Serbia is a great place in which to live, work, visit, study, have fun, and do business.