I spent three weeks in Croatia and Bosnia in September. As always, it was wonderful to see the great work of Heart & Hand’s partners. Unfortunately, our government’s support of nationalist leaders and the erosion of human rights in the Balkans has made the work of our partners more difficult. Twenty-five years after the end of the civil war, they are still fighting the effects of nationalism, blurred walls between church and state, and corrupt political leadership.
My partner, Kerry Lobel, met me in Sarajevo two days before the first-ever Pride March in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). From the start, government officials and media had been calling for violence against the marchers. Organizers negotiated with the government for weeks so that the march could proceed safely. The government called in 1,300 police from across the country, including many snipers, to line the route of the march. One week before the scheduled date, the organizers were told that they had to pay for crowd barriers and to hire 300 more private security forces.
The organizers had hoped for 500 people to attend. To their surprise, more than 3,000 people showed up and the police turned another 200-300 people away. Kerry and I marched behind the drummers—three from Serbia and three from Croatia. Women in Black from Serbia had brought a busload of LGBTQ activists and allies. The gay American ambassador to BiH, Eric Nelson, joined the crowd. It was a joyful day, reminiscent of anti-fascist marches of the past: straight people, gay people, and parents of gays all hugged sang and cried as they marched along the parade route. More than once I heard someone shout, “Now, this is MY Sarajevo!” Unlike past Pride marches in the region, there was no violence reported during the March or afterwards when people leave the big group and are most vulnerable to attack.
Each time I travel to the Balkans, I meet amazing women doing amazing work. I feel a responsibility to recognize their work and fund their organizations. CURE’s annual PitchWise festival was in full swing when we were there, giving us a chance to see old friends and meet new activists. We added two new groups—Forgotten Children of the War in BiH and Bona Fide in Montenegro – to the Heart & Hand list of partners. I hope that after reading our report of the work these brilliant and brave activists are doing that, you, too, will be moved to support Heart & Hand Fund as fully as possible.
Click here to read the newsletter.
Thank you.
Marta Drury
PS. Thanks to our friends at the Peace Development Fund, you can make an online tax-deductible gift to Heart and Hand by using mightycause or your credit card.
