Obviously this is a very heated, controversial subject with unhealed wounds that still seem fresh. In saying that, I spoke to my husband just several months ago about visiting the Balkan region once he retires. Now that I watched the movie in its entirety and read many of these comments, that will no longer be an option for our travel destination. Peace to all.
shareWell, the Balkan region is a very broad, long area. I'd suggest you visit Croatia (nothing to do with this film) but if you were thinking about doing so in Bosnia, I'd strongly advise against it. It's not worth your money. It used to be a beautiful country but during the war it was FUBAR.
shareThanks for the tip. I realize the coast is long, but I feel a certain trepidation in this unfamiliar territory. The wounds are too fresh ,
shareThe wounds are incurable, unfortunately. The Bosnia, from what I understand, is now chopped up in all these different regions. The Croats have few of their cities, the Muslim theirs (and beware: since the Middle Eastern Islamic extremists/Jihadists who came to help fight with the Bosnian Muslims have now stayed and have planted the seed of their `culture` and extremist sentiment which was never there before) and the greatest irony of all: the Serbs who invaded the parts on account of ethnic cleansing have retained it!. So, in short: a damn mess. And the foreigners (especially us, the Americans)are hated by all sides (well, perhaps not so much by theCroats), so it's best to just stay away. I used to go and visit before the Serbian aggression, when it used to be a beautiful country, but no more. There is nothing left to see and enjoy anymore. You'll just be harassed and/or ignored. Try Croatian coast. It's beautiful and the people are very welcoming and nice. The Serbs tried to invade it, too, but failed against all odds. They have managed to destroy some of the cities and their centuries old architecture and art, but the Croatian government has repaired most of the damages (unlike in Bosnia). Good luck. I, myself am planning to go and tour Dalmatia in the new year, if all is well, so I'm looking forward to it.
shareAnd you shouldn`t also go to balkans at all, especially NOT in Dalmatia and coast....Serbs who live there for thousand years, and who performed "aggresion" to their homes and their grand grandparents land, would invade you, kill you, and probably eat your liver.
And for all other normal people arround the world I just can say - you are free, and safe to come - from Slovenia on north over Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia and Montenegro and Macedonia on south. All people there are nice, warm, pleasant and very open to foreigners....no metter whether you American, Russian or African, just that you are normal, and not supercilious. And it will be very safe to come even for someone with such narrow mind, poison language, rude, and shallow - but please don`t, please.
This is easily the most backward, ignorant message on the IMDB yet.
First of all...American politics, military, government etc.. are hated in 90% of the World (other 10% are some parts of US and North Pole). They are hated by the Serbs mostly because they sided with and enabled those Jihadists to come to Balkans.If you didn't know both Bin Laden and Bil Clinton were Bosnian Muslim allies.
Second of all, Bosnia and Hercegovina is divided into TWO entities based on pre war minorities, and some minor post war changes in borderline areas.
It was a civil war, Serbs already lived there, as well as the Muslims and Croats, but because of the politics, they came to blow with eachother, they fought the neighbours, same as in any civil war. So nobody invaded anything...Ethnic cleansing was done by those who wanted a new country, clean of all those whose presence would disable them from proclaming independence and functioning as a state (in this case an Islamic state)...Destroying a village is a massacre, a war crime, not ethnic cleansing.
The last part about destruction, invasion etc is a pure fantasy on your part. All those countries, though much poorer than earlier, still have many things to offer.
And the stuff about harrasment is just sinister...I don't remember any American citizen having any problems whatsoever in this area. You should really know this isn't Middle East, people here divide tourism from politics.
Serbians (from Serbia) and Serbs from Croatia didn't invade Bosnia? Hmmm... I guess Arkan and Sesejl and Scorpions and all of JNA in early 1992 and all the others were all Bosnians then, okay.
"Ethnic cleansing" is a term that was invented by the Serbs in first place. It was supposed to be a nicer-sounding substitute for genocide.
Some minor changes in demographics.
By your backward logics, Bosnia was also invaded from the Iran and Afghanistan,US,Germany and Canada, since there were thousands of fighers from those countries fighting in Bosnia, killing inhabitants of Bosnia, destroying property of the state and people living there.
LEgaly, it was a civil war, not a war of agression. I know it doesn't fit your propagandic and dogmatic approach which supposed to portray Muslims as poor, inocent bunch of peace lovers (who just happened to be Jihad oriented, and egnited a war or two - the one with Croats)..but it is truth.
Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group
Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic or religious groups from a given territory with the intent of creating a territory inhabited by people of a homogeneous or pure ethnicity, religion, culture, and history.(You know, what Croats did with Operation Storm, or what Bosnian Muslims failed to do, but wanted, according to their leader Izetbegovic> "... Muslim nations will never accept anything that is explicitly against Islam, because Islam here is not merely a faith and the law, Islam has become love and compassion. He who rises against Islam will reap nothing but hate and resistance. ..."
"... In perspective, there is but one way out in sight: creation and gathering of a new intelligence which thinks and feels along Islamic lines. This intelligence would then raise the flag of the Islamic order and together with the Muslim masses embark into action to implement this order. ..."
"... the Islamic movement should and must start taking over the power as soon as it is morally and numerically strong enough to not only overthrow the existing non-Islamic, but also to build up a new Islamic authority. ..."
"... Islamic order may be implemented only in countries where Muslims represent the majority of the population. ''
There can be no peace or coexistence between the "Islamic faith" and non- Islamic societies and political institutions. ... Islam clearly excludes the right and possibility of activity of any strange ideology on its own turf. - And he acter accordingly. How could such mind become close to ''justice and freedom loving'' American government, beats me..What I know is those poor folks in WTC payed a price for that a decade later.
"Ethnic cleansing" is what JNA and associates invented to describe for what they were doing. It was supposed to be an euphemism.
Bosnia was invaded only the invaders, "Iran and Afghanistan,US,Germany and Canada" came in to assist the government and not to attack it.
The Croatian aggression was started by the Croats, from Croatia. Specifically by Tudjman, after he and Milosevic have agreed to split Bosnia between themselves.
I live in Belgrade, capital of Serbia. A strange thing to say, but..... we have tourists of all kinds, so to speak, and I guess they enjoy their staying here since they keep on coming.
It's a normal city, like any other.
I suspect that, in regard of a tourist visit, every country in the Balkans is open to tourists, the peoples here are warmhearted and friendly, the nature is beautiful and there are things to see and experience in all of the countries.
Yes, we have unhealed wounds, true, but unless you start chatting with everybody you meet on the streets on the subject of a recent national war, which quite frankly I don't see why would you since you're on vacation and trying to have a pleasant time, the staying here will be just like in any other country. Maybe even better.
The excessive negative comments on this board largely come from persons with extreme anger regarding these subjects, and I personally wouldn't make a generalized opinion of the whole nation based on such individuals.
:-)
Just last year in Croatia,Montenegro,Serbia and Bosni we live skinned and ate at least 17 mill. tourist.You should avoid this part of Europe.
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