"It's Springtime in Serbia"
A while back, Belgrade Blog was asking for suggestions for slogans that Serbia could use to promote itself to the world, similar to the ads on CNN for "Croatia: the Mediterranean as it once was." I have thought about this for a while, trying to come up with a short phrase that would capture many different themes in one, and I have come up with:"It's Springtime in Serbia"
I was thinking that spring is a time when everything is starting to grow and bloom after the winter when things were dead and dreary. If you extend the analogy to Serbia, it could show that, after the problems of the 1990's, a rejuvenated Serbia has started to blossom in so many ways - in business, in tourism, in democratic government. It could also be used to give the impression that, just as in spring, the process has not yet finished but it is well on its way and people should invest here at the very beginning. Of course, it goes without saying that spring is such a great season in Serbia, it could definitely be used to promote tourism at that time of year.
You could do a TV commercial, showing photos of Microsoft and other international companies that have invested here. You could show students at universities to symbolize the highly educated work force. You could show a Mayor at a town hall meeting listening to small business owners talk about how businesses are growing in their town. And you could definitely show beautiful photos of the mountains in the springtime.
What do you think?
posted by Brooke @ 9:54 AM
36 Comments:
Funny you thought of that... It used to be 'It's springtime and I live in Serbia' as a sort of lament, the paraphrase of the famous 'it's springtime and I'm blind' (supposedly one of the first adverts Saatchi brothers created to help a local beggar), a way of saying how horrible everything was. I remember seeing it on posters during the late 90's protests or hearing it from my friends as a final conclusion to the never-ending miseries of the same era. To this day someone will say it meaning it's still bad.
Serbia is these days an offshoot of the flower that was Yugoslavia. That flower was crushed into the ground by gigantic feet in combat boots that came into the garden from abroad. Maybe it's springtime and Serbia is struggling to sprout, but whether it is coming up like a flower in spring or more like a bedraggled weed in a ravaged bombsite depends on who's looking at it and what they want from it and for it. Serbia's garden needs a lot more pruning because the new quislings who have been planted there and have now taken root are poisonous to the garden, and the EU umbrella they are willing to turn themselves inside out for will keep off both the gentle rain and the sun and Serbia's soul will whither even more as more weeds take hold. More's the pity and shame.
Is it all just about material growth? Do we evaluate new life emerging just by looking at the surface or do integrity and truth come into it somewhere...anywhere, at all?
I suggest a different slogan:
Come to Serbia -- you broke it, you pay for it.
Not to mention that in view of the demonization which has turned the bravest, most self-sacrificing Nazi slayers in Europe into so-called fascists, somebody, somewhere would turn any slogan with "springtime" in it into "Springtime for Hitler." You can bet on it. It's still more than OK to slag the Serbs all over America, Britain and much of Europe. In fact, it's PC.
My God! Are all Serbs really this negative? Does every single comment have to be turned into some complaint?
I have a question. Do the "gigantic feet in combat boots" belong to the Slovenians and Croatians and Macedonians who wanted to leave Milosevic's Yugoslavia or do they belong to the Serbs who wanted them to stay?
They were German, American and British, in that order. You display your ignorance and/or naivete by merely asking the question. Yugoslavia was ripped apart by outside forces.
One can call my viewpoint negative, I call it CONSTRUCTIVE and realistic. What is being pushed on Serbia is not good for Serbia, full stop. And that's by a deliberate policy. Looking at the current situation through rose-tinted glasses doesn't actually mean that things are rosy.
I'm not interested in making you feel good, but in what will actually put Serbia back on its feet with dignity. Those who put the lions share of the blame on the Serbs are either ignorant of the facts or are participating with the destructive forces still at play and still meddling in the Balkans.
I'm sorry, Open Eyes. Please don't think I meant to place any blame for the condition of Serbia on the Serbs. I would never, ever, blame them for anything that happens in their own country. I know that nothing is ever their fault and they have never done any wrong.
But, in turn, please don't blame the Americans for the problems in their country - remember, everything there is the fault of the Brits. I don't know why the Americans can't just get over the fact that the Brits attacked them.
Of course, everything that's wrong in Britain is the fault of the Romans. Again, I don't know why the Brits can't get past the fact that Romans conquered them a couple of years ago.
Open eyes, get over it. Yugoslavia was not a flower, it was a country. Had peoples of Yugoslavia wanted to stay together, no outsider would have ripped them appart. You are the one with the pink glasses.
Well, you can't discuss anything with people who lack comprehension in the first place. The flowering metaphor wasn't my idea.
new-ex pat: your sarcasm only further displays your ignorance. Sarcasm is not an argument, nor does what I said logically lead to your ridiculous remarks. If you choose not to look at the enormous amount of clear evidence that Yugoslavia was deliberately destroyed from outside...well, stay ignorant. I'm sure it serves you well.
This isn't my blog, it's Brooke's, so I don't won't usurp the space to educate you. But, then, if you had any interest in the truth you could have found it long ago for yourself. Ignorance is bliss, no doubt, in your case.
@ serb with open eyes
www.whywefight.com
Also, I think that you shouldn't use this blog to take out your frustrations on.
Muzicka preporuka
Krivi smo mi
To nisu krivci primitivci
sto su pokupili mast
korov nikne digod stigne,
ma svaka njima cast
Krivi smo mi
Otkud svi ti paraziti
sto su nam zagustili
nemoj stari moj,
krivi smo mi
sto smo ih pustili
Ma sta su znali djenerali
i brkati majori
jedino da vicu:
pali ali nisu najgori
Krivi smo mi
Ni svi ti silni infantilni
sto su puske sanjali
ne, ne derane,
krivi smo mi
sto smo se sklanjali
Putuj Evropo,
nemoj vise cekati na nas
ne pitaj mnogo,
dospeces i ti na rdjav glas
Putuj planeto,
super smo se druzili
nama je lepo,
taman kako smo zasluzili
Nisu krivci depresivci,
lude i psihopate
sto su rusili pa sada
nama nude lopate
Krivi smo mi
Nisu krivi sedativi
sto ih nisu sputali
sori, matori,
krivi smo mi
koji smo cutali
Putuj Evropo
i pos'lji nam malo peciva
nama je dobro,
sreca jedna neizreciva
Putuj planeto,
ovde se vrag priziva
nama je lepo,
slika jedna neopisiva
Hey Brooke, please translate
the poem above. M
"I know that nothing is ever their fault and they have never done any wrong."
Haha! I think Serbia's self-victimization can be very annoying at times, although they are hardly the exception.
I feel like most Balkan countries wait for someone else to solve their problems. The garbage doesn't get collected? It's never "We should arrange a community drop-off spot and pick-up," but "My, when is somebody gonna collect all the trash around here?!"
It's always somebody else's fault:
Serbia: "America and the Albanians did it!"
Kosovo: "Serbia did it!"
Albania: "Communism did it!"
Montenegro: "The Turks did it!"
Oj kuku! When will it be over? *pounds head on desk*
You know what Serb WOE, the flower metaphore is simply embarassing. The boot thing - embarassing. The garden stuff... you get the point. All this from the language point of view. The rest I don't really care about.
Krivi smo i mi ALI...
it's not like nothing was done to get Milosevic's ass out of there...but I guess, at that moment in time, it just wasn't a priority...
http://e.a.cnn.net/WORLD/9611/30/belgrade.protest/index.html
http://archives.cnn.com/2000/WORLD/europe/05/26/yugo.opposition.02/
http://www.peacebrigades.org/bpt/bpt97-01.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosovo_War#The_slide_to_war_.281996.E2.80.931998.29
Anyway, he's dead - so are others - time to move on. We're not going to change the past, but there's still hope for the summer.
What I meant was:
belgrade youth in quest for another Serbia 1992
student protests May 1996
protests December 1996
student protests May 2000
Balkan Peace team Special Report December 1996
Balkan Peace team Special Report January 1997
Kososvo War
Hey Brooke,
I think that precisely because nearly 15 years ago B92 distributed a badge stating "It is Spring, and I live in Serbia" it might have a POSITIVE twist to use
It's Springtime in Serbia" - i.e it might not be so bad to live in Serbia now. (for those who were there I mean). I like the idea of Spring as a new beginning - and you can't really miss the meaning no matter how thick you are!
I'm not so sure about the Mayor and the small businesses though - reminds me a bit of the way all politicians pick up kids in crowds, a bit too dogmatic for my taste...
A part from the above, I like it - it's simple, positive, and you can play with it; interpret it economically, politically, biologically, metaphorically any which way, no matter - it's a new season and great things can happen.
Mërgimtari said:
>>>I feel like most Balkan countries wait for someone else to solve their problems<<<
I think it's logical, considering that "someone else" made our future in '90's and nowadays are remaking our past, also...
It's a shame what international community did here in Serbia and to Serbian people, and, instead to be (at least!) quiet now they are shouting their version of happenings, trying to justify themselves...
To Neutral observer:
Your kind of view is very selfish.
I suppose you are also wondering why Lebanon people are complaining these days....
To all:
I adore my country. It is beautifull in spring, winter, autumn, summer... in the daylight, at night... It has some special spirit I haven't met (felt) anywhere else. Yes, these are difficult times in Serbia, but they will pass, as everything else in our history - which nobody can alter. In one word - I am proud to be Serbian, I am proud of Serbian history and I am proud to live in Serbia.
And it's a metter of time when all
honest people will come to my point of view, but it will happen eventually. :)
"It's a shame what international community did here in Serbia and to Serbian people"
I guess the point can be argued about who really did what to Serbia and Serbians; that is, the international community or it's own leadership? I think it's naive to place the blame for Serbia's problem outside of Serbia's borders.
As for changing Serbian history, what do you mean by that?
"I think it's naive to place the blame for Serbia's problem outside of Serbia's borders."
No, it's truthful, because nations outside Serbia's borders destroyed at least $50 billion worth of infrastructure and other damages and were complicit in over a half million Serb and Roma refugees from Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo. Serbia did not attack any member of NATO nor the U.S., but it was severely damaged by them.
In addition, outside powers supported separatists from the outset and ran propaganda campaigns against Serbs and Serbia, going so far as to show a Serbian funeral for Bosnian Serb children and present it as a Muslim funeral by clipping out the officiating priest. That was consistently done by western media - ignoring Serb deaths while exaggerating and even fabricating those of the others.
UN officers have additionally testified at the Hague that Muslim snipers, for instance, did use buildings along the infamous sniper's alley. Indeed, French UN traced sniper fire, they inital believed was Serbian, as coming from Bosnian Muslim government forces.
Many (non-Serbs, of course) who served there during the war Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo came to believe many of the incidents were staged and set-ups, some with western backing.
JM - Are you saying that the Serbs deserve NO blame for their present situation? That everything that happened in this region throughout the 1990s was someone else's fault?
JM - It's the same old story: "The West is always conspiring against Serbia." Why the surprise?
It takes two for tango.
I like it!
just wanted to say something... i visited serbia in july/july this year... and what a beautiful country. and i agree, serbia can be a great tourism attraction, it must just be marketed...
i lost my heart in serbia... i lost my soul in serbia...
i wanna go back again
No Serb that I know has EVER said that Serbia deserves NO BLAME at all. The thing that those of you who always jump down the throat of anyone who expresses resentment for what was done TO Yugoslavia (and believe it or not, it was DONE TO Yugoslavia) don't get is that it wasn't the picture as painted by Amanpour and the rest of CNN and it wasn't what you have so readily and lazily swallowed as some absurd truth about the situation. If you want Serbs to stop griping about it, at the very least the Western countries have to ACKNOWLEDGE that, yes, they incited the dismemberment of Yugoslavia, and, yes, they participated in or at the very least covered up staged atrocities so the Serbs could be blamed, and, yes, it served their purposes to demonize the Serbs. Those are facts. It has nothing to do with a victim mentality. Demanding acknowledgment -- at the very least! -- is nothing more than demanding the truth be finally told. Anyone who has followed the Hague trials KNOWS how bogus the reporting on the wars in the former Yugoslavia was and still is, because what comes out in the trials is not reported if it favors Serbia -- and that is precisely why so little reporting is done on the ICTY. But you would like Serbia to just doff its cap and say, "yes, suh", and shuffle forward with all those false accusations hanging like so much baggage around Serbia's neck to drag with it through the future. I'd like to see how you would react if the shoe were on the other foot.
>>>I feel like most Balkan countries wait for someone else to solve their problems<<<
I disagree. It seems to me that other countries never leave Balkan countries alone. The Balkans have a long history of outsiders meddling there, invading, and pushing their own agendas. That's where the problems come from.
I think it's a great slogan!
Short weekend trips are becoming increasingly popular in Europe and Serbia/Belgrade could definately tap into this. I remember reading an article somewhere recently about Belgrade being promoted as a party/clubbing destination.
Mërgimtari said:
>>I guess the point can be argued about who really did what to Serbia and Serbians; that is, the international community or it's own leadership? I think it's naive to place the blame for Serbia's problem outside of Serbia's borders.<<
What do you mean by this? Do you mean that Serbian leadership called for NATO bombing??? Were in those bombers Serbian pilots? Or was it, yet, international community???
As for this:
>>As for changing Serbian history, what do you mean by that?<<
- JM and Serb explained it excellent, much better than me (with my English)
Thank you guys! :))
"What do you mean by this? Do you mean that Serbian leadership called for NATO bombing???"
Clearly not, but NATO bombing didn't come out of the blue, my friend. I mean, you can argue whether or not it was appropriate, but it was certainly a REACTION, not an offensive.
reaction to what?
The NATO bombing was most certainly offensive, not reactive. They pretended it was reactive by inventing "humanitarian" reasons that were non-existent. Where there were truly humanitarian reasons to intervene, they did nothing and tried to bury the news, like in the Krajina. The NATO bombing was a self-serving anti-humarian exercise of the Clinton administration.
I like it- but it kind of reminds me of Reagan's "It's morning in America" commercials
Mërgimtari said...
>>>"What do you mean by this? Do you mean that Serbian leadership called for NATO bombing???"
Clearly not, but NATO bombing didn't come out of the blue, my friend. I mean, you can argue whether or not it was appropriate, but it was certainly a REACTION, not an offensive.<<<
Really, Mërgimtari, reaction to what??? I really would like to hear your explanation...
Nice idea...
I do miss Serbian springs. Here we do not really have seasons. We got colder grey weather and warmer grey weather. And then a couple of days of wet heat, followed by rain and guess what? More grey skies
"Serb with Open Eyes" - who are you kidding? Perhaps your eyes are open, but you certainly are not looking at anything with them. Such a waste. Actually LOOK and THINK instead of wallowing in hatred. Perhaps you would then be "Serb with Seeing Eyes." The breakup of Yugoslavia was perpetrated from within, by several powerhungry leaders - Tudjman and Milosevic are the big offenders. If they had really had the citizens of Yugoslavia in mind, they wouldnt have carved up the country and instigated wars that killed hundreds of thousands of people and left the Balkans smeared with blood that will take decades to wash off. Now what is needed, especially in Serbia, is young vibrant leadership and that can bring to Serbs and other ethnic groups, a prosperity and peace that comes from looking at the future and not the past. I, at least, hope that will happen soon. Serbia deserves it.
Then perhaps a great slogan would be:
"Serbia - building a future."
Post a Comment
<< Home