We are not the problem, the problem is that we refused to be one!

There is a dangerous phenomenon that has crept in among the patriots of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and it is talked about too little. It is not about Milorad Dodik, nor Dragan Čović, nor the international community, nor all those policies that have been trying for years to prove that Bosnia and Herzegovina is an impossible state.

It is about the fact that we have started to doubt ourselves.

That is probably the greatest victory of our political opponents in the last thirty years. Not that they achieved their goals, because they did not. Not that they divided Bosnia and Herzegovina, because they did not. Not even that they managed to block institutions or produce political crises.

Their greatest victory would be if they convinced us that we are weak, helpless, and doomed to wait for someone else to solve our problems. And that is exactly what is happening.

Just look at the reactions to almost every political crisis. As soon as someone threatens state institutions, collective panic immediately sets in. And in that panic, we cry, we beg the drudge to help us, then those who created the problem trade solutions that are not final and achieve their goal in segments. As soon as someone calls Bosnia and Herzegovina into question, a race begins to see who will call on foreigners to save us first. As soon as someone raises the political temperature, the belief sets in that everything is lost.

But it is not. It never was.

We have just forgotten one important lesson from our own history.

Bosnia and Herzegovina was not preserved because someone else wanted it to be preserved. It was preserved because there were people who refused to disappear. That is the difference that many do not understand today.

Our ancestors did not have the luxury of believing that someone from the world would come and solve their problems. They did not have the luxury of waiting for embassy statements. They did not have the luxury of shifting responsibility to someone else.

They only had themselves. And that is precisely why they were strong.

https://nap.ba/post/budi-lav-kao-tvoji-preci-a-ne-kmecavac-kao-tvoji-politicari

Budi lav kao tvoji preci, a ne kmečavac kao tvoji političari

Budi spreman, bit ćeš etiketiran radikalnim, ali ko god digne glavu i uspravi kičmu nosi etiketu, jer moraš biti spreman da prihvatiš činjenicu da je mir koji živiš zapravo rat koji gubiš.

Today we have a state, institutions, international recognition, allies, membership in numerous organizations, and incomparably better circumstances than those who defended the right of Bosnia and Herzegovina to exist. Yet, we often seem more frightened than they were.

How is it possible that people under shelling had more faith in the future than many do today?

The answer is not difficult. They believed in themselves. We too often believe in others. We believe politicians when they tell us they will solve all problems.

We believe foreigners when they promise us stability. We believe various mediators, experts, and analysts. Only rarely do we believe in our own strength. That is why today the most important question is not what our political opponents will do. The much more important question is what will we do?

Will we finally stop talking about Bosnia and Herzegovina as something that needs to be justified? Will we stop whispering that this is our homeland? Will we stop feeling uncomfortable when we say we have no intention of leaving here? Because there is something that must be said clearly and without any hesitation.

This is our homeland. We were here. We are here. And we intend to stay here. That is not a threat to anyone. That is not a message against any people. It is the simplest fact.

Just as other nations have the right to love their countries and fight for their political interests, so we have the right to protect Bosnia and Herzegovina and oppose any policy that would divide it, carve it up, or turn it into a space from which someone should leave so that others can be satisfied.

No reasonable person wants conflicts. No normal person wishes for instability. But it would be even less normal to agree to one's own political or biological disappearance. That is why it is time to free ourselves from one delusion. 

Bosnia and Herzegovina will not be preserved by embassies, high representatives, statements, or tweets. It will be preserved by people who believe in it. People who work. People who stay. People who organize. People who refuse to accept that it is normal to be a guest in one's own home.

When that happens, many of today's political loudmouths will become much quieter. Because throughout history, they never respected those who beg. They always respected those who know who they are, what they are, and what they will not give up. 

And a people who survived everything that we have survived has no reason to doubt their right to remain on their own land. 

They did not defeat us. They just convinced us for too long that they had. It is time to stop believing that lie!