South-East Europe On Edge Of Civilization: Depending On Who You Ask – Essay
By Prof. Dr. Sabahudin Hadzialic
Kemal Monteno: A Legend has died, but hope arises … does it?
It is really a pity how only pain can unite the area of South-East Europe! In the Spring of 2014 the flood of century united the area of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia and on this January 21, unification went even further, after the death of the legend, a famous singer and song writer from Sarajevo, Kemal Monteno, who died at thr age of 66 at the Croatian hospital in Zagreb (Croatia) being from Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina).
Yes, within his soul you had everything what nationalistic exclusivity wanted, and even today want to destroy: identity of unification: a mixture of Catholicism (father – Italian) and Islam (mother – Bosnian Muslim) with the touch of the Ortgodox (through his wife – Bosnian Serb); altruism; love for the country(ies) – identification with the people of Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia. In one word: the area of former Yugoslavia.
Today, all the major regional news agencies wrote about Kemal Monteno:
- Daily DNEVNI AVAZ, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federation BiH)
- Daily NEZAVISNE NOVINE, Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Republic of Srpska)
- Daily POLITIKA, Belgrade, Serbia
- Daily 24 SATA, Zagreb, Croatia
- VIJESTI ONLINE, Podgorica, Montenegro
- RTV SLOVENIA, Ljubljana, Slovenia
So, we should all again and again listen to his songs of love, unification and that lack any harsh and tough words of hatred and exclusiveness.
So, we should all re-think again, and try to be like “Kemo”, who united us once more – in pain.
So, we should put aside all the stupidity of everyday life of nationalism and mediocrity and instead try to focus at least, for once, on humanity. Kemal Monteno was a human. He belongs to everybody, to all of us — as we all should all belong to each other, regardless that we are from different “nations”.
Can we be like him? At least we must try to be.
Unfortunately, as of tomorrow, on above news links the hatred will, just in different size and volume, like a waves of destiny, again continue to destroy the already destructed humanity. Yugoslavia sent a message to the world once upon a time. The world did not listen. That is why the Balkanization virus is all around the world now.
And Kemal Monteno has died.
Even while he was singing a song titled, “We eternally swear that we will not deflect from your path” (singing about Josip Broz Tito, most noble dictator of Socialist Federal republic of Yugoslavia back in 1980, in the year of his death).
Humanity over here and beyond died long time ago.
