SUNDAY BRIDGES -- The siren....

It's that bridge again, this time with an air siren tower to the right. During the NATO bombing of 1999, which began on March 24th of that year, this tower and others like it wailed at least twice a day. Its warning to take cover siren, nicknamed Šizela (she-ZEL-a) from the verb that means 'to freak out, panic', sounded at least once a day, and its twin sister, Smirela, (smee-REL-a), from the verb 'to calm down', followed at some point. If you'd like to listen to Šizela, you can do so right here. We did so for 78 days....still gives me goosebumps.

See other bridges at Louis La Vache's SUNDAY BRIDGES.

SUNDAY Bridges--The Serbian Minister of Defense...He Who Opens Bridges!

As nearly every week, I was having coffee (this time outdoors, hurrah) with some friends, and who should stroll by but Dragan Šutanovac, Serbian Minister of Defense. He's the one waving at me in the first photo and the one on the right in the second, still smiling. The gentleman in the lavender tie is the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Dmitar Salamatin.

And what does this have to do with bridges, you might ask?

Last year Mr. Šutanovac opened a bridge in Mazarac, Serbia, and also one in Svilajnac, which you can read about here and here.

Check out more bridge posts at Louis La Vache's SUNDAY BRIDGES.

SKYWATCH FRIDAY--traces...

A statue on the Republic of Serbia Government Building looks at the ruins of an army headquarters building, destroyed during the NATO bombing of 1999.

See other skies at SKYWATCH FRIDAY.

ABC Wednesday "R" is for "Razing"

Eleven and a half years later, the former Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, which was bombed during the NATO bombing of Belgrade in 1999, is finally being razed. Some say the embassy's bombing was not an accident, as NATO claimed, but was done deliberately. In any event, the Chinese now have a new embassy here in Belgrade in another location.

Find out what other R's are out there on ABC WEDNESDAY.

Collect them all!

These little pins, or 'znacke' (ZNACH-kay), used to be so popular to collect. When I first came here in 1977, you could find people selling them or trading them on the street. I came across a fellow selling these Tito-era pins, along with all kinds of others, on Knez Mihailova, Belgrade's pedestrian street. I asked him if I could take a photo, and he said, "Okay, as long as you're not an inspector," which of course I was not. Many street vendors don't pay the tax to have a stand and often just conveniently pack up and disappear when they see or are told an inspector is coming.

Out in full force

Yesterday a Gay Pride parade was held in Belgrade. A few years back, things turned very nasty, with several participants being beaten up by indignant citizens (a euphemism I'm using for 'huligani' or hooligans, as they're called here.) Last year when members of the Gay Pride movement wanted to march, they were told that the police could not ensure their safety...lame excuse. This year, the City of Belgrade made every effort for a peaceful parade to take place, with the aim to tell the world that all minorities are respected here, and assigned around 5000 police to make sure things went smoothly. The parade itself did go smoothly. However, since in every society there are people who are just waiting for any excuse to smash windows, overturn garbage bins, create general unrest, and provoke the police into using tear gas, some such incidents did take place. In the above photo you see part of a cordon of special police who have blocked off two main streets to vehicle traffic. (taken from my window)

Happy Birthday

Josip Broz "Tito" was born on May 7th but celebrated his birthday on May 25th after he became president of Yugoslavia. His birthday was institutionalized as the Day of the Youth in the former Yugoslavia. I took this fellow's photo the other day on Branko's Bridge. I've seen him many, many times all over the city, and he's a bit of a legend here. I haven't been able to find anything about him, but next time we meet, I'll see if I can get him to stop.

Give me back what's mine!

Can you imagine owning a home or property, then having it confiscated by the State? This woman most probably had parents to whom such a thing happened, and as their descendent, is protesting the fact that only Serbia has not yet adopted laws regarding the return of property that is rightfully hers. This photo was taken at yesterday's Europe Day Celebration in downtown Belgrade.

The Network for Restitution (NFR) or 'Mreza za Restituciju' as it is known here, is a non-profit citizen's group that offers support and free legal advice for Holocaust and Communist terror survivors trying to regain confiscated homes from the W.W.II era.

In Serbia, the only country in Europe that did not return to its citizens' property confiscated by the communists and the Nazis, there are around 500,000 people waiting to get their property back.

Restitution of property to the rightful owners is not just the righting of a historical wrong. When foreign investors inquire about buying land in Serbian cities, they encounter serious problems with land ownership rights.

The Other Side of the Tracks

These two photos, showing you a view in two opposite directions, represent a hot social issue in Belgrade. Just a little over a year ago, I showed you this photo regarding an international sport competition organized by the International University Sports Federation (FISU) under the sponsorship of the International Olympic Committee. From July 1st to the 12th, this competition brings together student sportsmen and sportswomen. The second photo shows only part of the many new apartment buildings going up to house the competitors. These apartments will then be sold, and actually quite a few of them already have.

So that the competitors (and future occupants) won't have to look out on the huts of several hundred gypsy and refugee families who are living in the unhygienic conditions you can see in the first photo, the City has razed their homes, forcing them to the streets. The City has promised new housing to those squatters who have national identity cards, but only a tiny percent do. These are primarily Serbs who have escaped from Kosovo, and not the gypsies.

The sign you see on both photos reads, "No one is worried about Belgrade's citizens. They're only interested in refugees. They get everything, and Belgrade's children get nothing, and must go on the street. We are praying for help."

This is an eternal problem for Belgrade's gypsy population. In the past, they have been promised resettlement, but residents near possible relocation sites have staged protests to keep them out.

What's your view?

ABC Wednesday--"T" is for "Tibet"

I was intrigued by these Tibetan prayer flags, not only because I've hardly ever seen them here, but also because they're displayed around a dwelling way up on top of these stairs, like Lhasa is high in the Himalayas. The chain link fence that I had to photograph through symbolizes for me that Lhasa was once known as The Forbidden City.

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Students' Square

This post is dedicated to Branka from Canada, who wrote that she often met with her friends in this park during her student days in Belgrade. This square is the city's oldest, dating from 1824 when the first attempt to regulate the city streets was made. Earlier on, it was the “grand market” inside a fortress on the main road to Istanbul. Now it's still on a heavily traveled street, although not one that leads to Istanbul, and the square is the last stop for all buses serving downtown Belgrade. The park is now more of a gathering place for dog walkers than students, though the Faculty of Math and Natural Sciences and the Philological and Philosophical Faculties are nearby. If you're wondering about the hammer and sickle, this is just some graffiti spray-painted by someone longing for days gone by!

A Politician with a Sense of Humor

Nikola Pašić (PA-sheech) 1845 - 1926, was a politician and diplomat. He was the most important Serbian political figure in the country for almost 40 years, twice mayor of Belgrade (1890-91 and 1897), several times prime minister of Serbia (1891-92, 1904-05, 1906-08, 1909-11, 1912-18) and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (the future Yugoslavia) 1918, 1921-24, 1924-26). He was also an important politician in the Balkans who, together with his counterparts in Greece and Romania, managed to strengthen their small, still emerging national states against strong foreign influences, most notably from Austria, Hungary, Turkey, and Russia. This is all quite admirable in itself, but Pašić was also known for his sense of humor. I wonder if he'd think it was funny that there's often a pigeon on his head.

Another protest

This photo dates from the end of July during a protest held by the Serbian Radical Party to protest the sending of war criminal Radovan Karadžić to The Hague. Aside from the actual protestors, these events are often attended by groups of unruly young people looking for a "good time," i.e. wreaking havoc and causing millions of dinars in damage to public property. Indeed, the terra cotta feet I'd posted on August 27th and similar art creations which were on display on the pedestrian street, Knez Mihailova, made handy projectiles.

Serbia moves forward!

Yesterday Serbia's parliamentary elections took place, and it had all come down to a very simple choice: forwards or backwards, i.e. forward toward the European Union or back to the isolationism of the '90's. This little Belgrade sparrow, complete with his little šajkača (SHY-kah-cha) a typical Serbian hat, is pleased to announce that citizens voted to move forward. I took this photo fairly early this a.m., as a new day dawned on Serbia.