A Critical Review of Serbia
Finally an article about Belgrade not examining it’s “vibrant nightlife”, “posh cafes” and “beautiful women”.
Irish Tribune brings a review of Belgrade that tries to examine the political and social situation – which is admittedly filled with negative trends and nationalistic tensions.
Unfortunately it seems as if the journalist was a bit too young, naive or just underpaid, because there are a lot of factual errors in the article and a prevailing tendency for sensationalism that overshadow some valid and important points.
Factual errors, as already pointed out by many readers in the comments both at the original site and at B92 blog: Wiemar Republic was after the first World War, Sava runs into Dunav, not the other way around, Slobodan Milosevic did not built New Belgrade for his cronies, nor did he build New Belgrade at all.
Sensationalism: a random young woman walking by on the street is not much of a credible source of Ratko Mladic whereabouts. Fifty of Karadzic supporters protesting could hardly represent a prevailing Serbian sentiment towards Karadzic (although I agree that they are a pain in the ass). Taxi drivers are not that dangerous, the worst thing that can happen is getting ripped off, even without mentioning Srebrenica.
On the other hand, it is true that a lot of things are good only at the surface and that many Serbian institutions – governmental, educational, sports, public – are rotten from inside. Some true facts from the article about Serbia (that actually don’t need all that much research):
A recent survey found that 70% of Serbians believe homosexuality is a disease. The country’s isolation exacerbates its social problems; most other countries require visas for Serbians to visit. Nearly 75% of younger people do not possess a passport. The average Serbian wage after tax is about €400-a-month and about 200,000 people are regarded as impoverished. Roma children die from malnutrition.
Human rights are indeed not doing well in Serbia. When it comes to corruption, organized crime, freedom of the press, freedom to express different points of views, and discrimination towards minority groups such as Roma and gay population, those are definitely things very much troubling Serbia today. But the problem is when you write about it in such a tabloid way and try to construct a reality by pointing out facts that don’t really add up, it does not help any of us.
