If
I had to select one thing or idea that summed up my feelings on the journey
through the post-communist world this winter, it would be one of the things
that came out in our meeting with a German MP, Hans-Ulrich Klose, in
Berlin. We were in a question and answer
session, and our discussion had turned to the topic of German Reunification. One of us had asked him if there was anything
major in the GDR that was worth preserving in the reunification, and his final
answer boiled down to “Germany.” There
were parts of his country, his native land, which he had not seen even as an
old man before the fall of the wall.
Many sites of historical and cultural significance to the German people
had been preserved behind the Iron Curtain.
Now that their country was whole, they could take full possession of
their heritage.
He later went on to say that the
cost of incorporating East Germany into West Germany had run to approximately 8
Trillion Euros, and in his opinion was worth every cent. When we later moved on to the topic of
European Unification, he said that it would probably cost as much, and also be
as worthwhile.
The juxtaposition of the two ideas,
of unifying Germany and unifying Europe, cemented an impression in my mind,
which held true as we traveled further into Central and Eastern Europe. Communism had cut off part of Europe’s
heritage and culture for over half a century, and now Europe had to re-unify
itself, incorporating the Soviet Bloc and Yugoslavia into its economic and
political sphere.
What exactly Europe ad regained
revealed itself as we stayed in each city.
In Budapest, we were immediately struck by the beauty of the
architecture in the city streets. There
are some of the most beautiful buildings in Europe in this double city
straddling the Danube; special mention must go out to the Parliament building,
which is one of the largest and most ornate in the world.
The Magyar people and language are
unrelated to any others in Europe, excepting the Finns and Estonians, and yet
it would be difficult to imagine Europe without them. Budapest struck me as a quintessentially
European city, from the cafes we sampled delicious food and wine in, to the
beautiful cathedral I attended a mass in, to the spectacular views on the shore
and bridges across the Danube river.
Even the elements that were not technically native, such as the
Turkish-derived baths, were still based on rooted things in the land, in this
case, the thermal mineral springs under the city.
Unlike East Germany, no one had been
paying to recover Hungary. In fact, at
first, Hungary was well on its way to paying for itself, at least in terms of
economic recovery. Lately, fiscal
irresponsibility, the 2008 recession, and political upheavals were taking their
toll, revealing just how much work Hungary was still in need of. Like Berlin, however, it would be worth it.
South and east of Budapest, further
along the Danube, lies the Serbian capital of Belgrade. While Budapest’s reputation had to a certain
extend preceded it, I don’t think any of us knew what to expect coming
here. It was like getting a city in a
Blind Bag, you weren’t sure what you were going to get until afterward. At first, it wasn’t exactly pleasant. We were alone, without a native guide, trying
to find our way around a city that had not extended much effort into
cultivating a tourist friendly environment.
That is, our hotel map was a travesty of cartography, and we couldn’t
find any street signs in an alphabet we could decipher. Later on, as we acquired a native guide and
saw the city in the daylight, we were quite impressed with the city, and the
hospitality shown to us.
The change of impression has
something of a historical parallel, I suppose.
Immediately after the fall of Communism, Serbia was under the control of
Slobodan Milosevic, who set about doing pretty much everything in his power to
alienate outsiders: initiating wars of territorial aggression, supporting
ethnic cleansing, being a brutal dictator, rejecting all attempts at European
integration, etc. It was only after he
was overthrown in the October Revolution of 2000 that Serbia has made its first
halting steps towards making itself open to Western integration.
Like before, however, there are
things Serbia has to offer that make such efforts worth it. The countryside is a fertile one, with
agricultural products that could make a niche for themselves in any
market. Belgrade itself is full of a
cultural heritage that dates back to pre-Roman times. And the people, once you get to know them,
are more than willing to show off their country to you. Perhaps it was a sales pitch, but like
Budapest, Belgrade is worth every cent.
Our last stop was Bosnia, which can
break your heart if you let it, and I did.
We were to stay in Sarajevo, but we made a stop in Srebrenica
first. That was the site of a massacre
during the ethnic warfare that plagued the country between 1992 and 1995. We were hosted and guided by a man who had
lived there, and seen it happen with his own eyes. The women who had survived the massacre of
the Bosnian town had founded the memorial, and one of them later hosted us for
a home-cooked dinner. It was the only
time anyone on the trip had actually hosted us in their own home, and for that
reason I shall probably remember it when I have forgotten everything else.
Of all the countries we visited,
Bosnia-Herzegovina may have arguably been in the worst shape, politically and
economically. The peace settlement had
institutionalized an ethnic deadlock, doing most kinds of business was a
challenge, and all the challenges of post-communist and post-conflict recovery
had been heaped upon the little country.
But, if we could have only visited one city on the entire trip, I think
we all would have chosen Sarajevo.
Sarajevo is what you get when you
take the architectural beauty of Budapest with the hospitality of Belgrade, and
mix in influences from all over the Mediterranean region. It may well be the only city in the world
where you can stand on one square, and see a mosque to the east, an Orthodox
church to the south, a Catholic Church to the north, and a Synagogue to the
west, and all of them beautiful. Even
though it was the city we spent the least time in, I think we made more
personal connections to the people there than any of the others, including some
college students from the local University who were just plain fun to hang out
with.
Sarajevo may be the costliest piece
for Europe to bring back, but arguably the most worthwhile, for a very special
reason. This city has a long history of
being multi-ethnic and multi-cultural, which most agree is going to be the
future of Europe. If Bosnia, and by
extension Europe, can recover that tradition, it will be an essential part of
the future of Europe as a whole.
Even to those of us who are not
European, as none of us on this trip were, the recovery of post-communist
Europe to the West and the world in general is an important thing. In today’s globalized world, the term “World
Heritage” has more meaning than ever; to a certain extant we can all lay some
claim to all parts of human culture, to all the beautiful things we have made
on earth. A historical anomaly had once
cut us off from them, but now we can go to these cities again, and see what we
have missed. Our next challenge is to re-integrate
their people into the world, and it will not be easy or cheap. But as Herr Klose has said, it will be
completely worth it.
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