The giver

On Monday, the Mostar DOSTA! movement organized a humanitarian action for the city council members of Mostar. Because they have refused to pass the city budget, they also are without salaries for the last 3 months (as are all city employees, including fire fighters and teachers in the school for special needs). The motto of the action was: "what's important is not what you give, but that it's from the heart!"

Activists stood in three locations in the city and collected messages and gifts from citizens. Below are some of the messages people wrote. All the messages were presented to the city council members at the assembly meeting on Tuesday. (Gifts included: a broken watch, a textbook on "What is a market economy?", and 5 pfennigs for "kave/kahve/kafe" [the Croatian/Bosnian/Serbian versions of the word coffee])






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Dear Sirs:
I take this opportunity to send you a tea bag of UVIN-H tea, that you wouldn't need to interrupt the assembly three times in one hour to take bathroom breaks. In order that this wouldn't happen again, I recommend to you UVIN-H tea which can help your urinary tract and enable you to "hold it" during the course of the assembly. Everything for your health.
--Your (dis)obedient bum


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This is a land of hatred! We need to cleanse BH of all the Bosniaks, Croats, Serbs and similar hypocritical "actors" and move in normal people with healthy minds who want good things for this country, not the eternal "who is who and what is what"! Above all we are human beings and we need to stop this nonsense and roll up our sleeves to help other people. Above all, we are human beings. As Shakespeare said, "What's in a name? a rose by any other name would smell as sweet". Love, not hated! Because it's ENOUGH!

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My name is J**** D**** and I want to show you the 200 KM receipt for my child's monthly medicine. (receipt enclosed)

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To our dear members of City Council. I want to support you in this time of recession because I am aware that the recession hits hardest those who have the most. I, like most people, have nothing, so this hellish recession doesn't affect me. When you have nothing, you can't have less! I want to thank you for the excellent anti-recession measure which you secured for us against this threat which from the West. You put your back into it and took all concern for our finances on yourselves. I hope that you will prevail over this recession, continuing to drive good cars, eat in good restaurants, sleep in expensive hotels, take your mistresses to the sea, and keep all the secrets which a good city councilor must keep to himself. All the best to you, and whatever else to the people. The people don't know any better, and it's best for you this way. Excuse my bad handwriting and writing mistakes, but I am not highly educated, I can't do any better.. maybe someday, if I end up in Vienna, like your children.

Dosta! stikes again...

The press statement for this latest action (my translation):

Dosta! Mostar: I dreamed last night that you weren't there...

Pokret Dosta! Mostar once again warns the city council members that they are responsible for this months-long crisis in the government, that they have come to their position by the will of the voters, who can remove them from these positions in the same manner!

The city council members and candidates for mayor are comfortably "playing politics" from their armchairs, smug and content, while our children sit hungry in unheated schools and citizens for months now have not received their salaries because of their mistreatment.

Members of City Council, we are fed up with your nationalist demogogery, which you use to cover up your own irresponsibility! This city needs concrete plans and a program for economic, social and cultural progress, and not calculations based on nationalism. We are fed up with your false democracy, whose sole goal is your own material security, while Mostarians have lived for years surrounded by ruins in an aggressive, divided society.

True democracy requires accountability and transparency before the public in the work of elected representatives and institutions, and not inter-party bickering and underhanded games.

Therefore, we are demanding:

That you stop these "endless mayoral games" which are destroying this city and immediately start the procedures for adopting the city budget for 2009!

That the proposed candidates for mayor state concrete programs and outlines which they aim to carry out in the next four years and that they take responsibility for realizing these plans!

That you implement a public discussion about the current situation in the city, a discussion in which to stand before the citizens of Mostar and take responsibility for your (non) accomplishments to date.

That local and national media bring to their programs those who are responsible for this situation and confront them with the direct questions and commentary of citizens who are harmed by these scandalous "politics"!

The DOSTA! Movement invites citizens of Mostar to join in demanding that Mostar finally become a normally functioning city! If the City Council is not presently able to fulfill these demands, we invite citizens to change the current government!

The DOSTA! Movement - Mostar

I'M FED UP, WHAT ABOUT YOU? MENI DODIJALO, A VAMA?


Abrasmedia photos and press statement in local language