Event Organizer at Skenderija in Tears: A Great Friend of This City

(Patria) - Citizens in front of Sarajevo's Skenderija are paying tribute to the late artist Đorđe Balašević. They lit candles and his songs are being played over the loudspeakers. Aida Feraget organized this event on Facebook and told N1 why Skenderija was chosen to pay homage to the great Đole.

“His pre-war and post-war concerts were held here at Skenderija. The hall bears the name of Mirza Delibašić, his friend. This is a memorial and farewell to Balašević. There is no definition for it,” said Feraget.

Feraget called on the citizens of Sarajevo last night to pay tribute to Balašević, after which they gathered in his honor. Feraget noted that she liked the idea of Radio Stari Grad to play his songs all day, and they also decided to do the same tonight – to let those gathered enjoy Balašević’s music from the balcony.

“He deserved it,” Feraget commented briefly.

“He was a great friend of mine, a friend of this city and of every normal person. I loved him very much,” she said through tears.

Feraget helped organize Đorđe Balašević’s concerts after the war in the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“When I worked at UNHCR, I was asked to come up with an event that would attract everyone. The only suggestion I had was a Balašević concert, and when my then-boss, a Canadian, asked who he was, I said a singer from Serbia. He told me not to do that, and then we translated his songs for him, explaining what the writer wanted to say. It was wonderful, and this city needed it,” Feraget emphasized.

“Those were two nights with an energy I had never felt before or since. Skenderija adopted his song ‘Just So There Is No War,’ and he couldn’t understand it: that Sarajevo would sing that song with such fervor after four years of siege. He was overjoyed,” she recalled.

In 1998, Balašević held two concerts in Sarajevo and was the first musician from Serbia to come after the war. He left behind 12 albums, numerous books, and roles in series for which he also wrote songs.