In fear we shut our doors at dusk

Academic Esad Durakovic is often accused of having no empathy and exaggerating the migrant crisis of which he warned when others did not even know what migrants looked like.

With his permission we are republishing his text 'Invasion of Migrants' in which our academic addressed his concerns about this problem.

‘I have written on several occasions about the invasion of migrants from all over the world to our vulnerable BiH. I have never neglected the humanitarian aspect of the crisis, but have rather advocated for legal, legitimate and decisive protection of BH space in every sense - territorial, social, political, etc., because I know very well that such an influx of migrants from Asia and Africa into a country which staggers and is not allowed to get on its feet - I know very well that such an invasion in such circumstances presents extremely serious threat to the security of citizens and the stability of the state, however the state it may be. Its future is thwarted. So, it relates to one broad context: in BiH there are ‘domestic’ political forces that want its dissolution; land is being sold en masse to foreigners, Bosanska Krajina is already largely occupied by migrants, but also some other places in the Federation; the so-called Bosniak political factor behaves immaturely, inadequately and is lacking vision; the opposition is so politically weak that it cannot be relied upon because it is unable to capitalize on the mistakes or passivity of the position, and so on.

Therefore, in this broad negative context that goes unnoticed by local politicians, migrants are, objectively, a particular threat to the near future, and even the present of BiH, which has no legal, economic or political capacity to absorb such an influx of young people from around the world, while the best, most productive part of local population is leaving BiH for the same Europe that has hermetically closed its borders to migrants from Asia and Africa: Europe needs Balkans labor while this part of the Balkans can be inhabited by migrants unacceptable to Europe?!

When such a development is criticized, those who criticize it are resented for alleged absence of humanity. It is an arrogant logical manipulation: by pointing to the migrant threat, we express, in fact, concern for humanity towards our own population and concern for a country ravaged by multiple aggression, in which the consequences of genocide are still strongly felt, in which there are still displaced persons, in which the Dayton annex on the return of refugees has not been implemented up until this day. 

What kind of humanity are Bosnians lacking for speaking critically speak about large influx of migrants as a threat to the security and prosperity of their country?! Isn't this another logical manipulation as part of the ‘Migrants in BiH Project’?!

All those in BiH who in any way encourage the arrival of migrants, or who are passive in that regard while their position obliges them to take action, are in fact, in the given context, accomplices in that process which is against the fundamental interests of BiH.

Some European institutions impose a complex on us for alleged inhumanity towards migrants, although we have not been violent towards them anywhere, on the contrary. It is a hypocritical policy that common sense and a politically aware subject cannot agree to. Those institutions, i.e. European countries, closed the borders in front of the same migrants, letting them instead accumulate in BiH. At the same time - which is ethically and politically really shocking - they are sending EU representatives to BiH to teach us lessons about humanity and - for God's sake! - they determine where and how we will distribute those migrants across our impoverished country, in front of whom they have so inhumanely slammed the door, since their home countries have already impoverished the migrant countries by wars or various types of sanctions that are ideologically and politically motivated.

These ‘missionaries’ in BiH simply need to be denied hospitality.

Over the past decades, the EU has been persistently proving its political decadence, especially in recent years: by supporting destruction of prosperous Libya, much of the Middle East, counterproductive and anti-sovereign policies towards Ukraine and now Belarus, and so on.

But the problem is largely up to us as well. Namely, it is incomprehensible that BH politics, especially the so-called Bosniak political factor does not get to see all these years, even today, the kind of threat that the invasion of migrants presents. The passivity of state bodies and institutions is incomprehensible and almost suicidal. Closing state borders is an absolute priority, but also a strong, carefully articulated diplomatic action towards the institutions in Brussels (which creates a hypocritical policy towards the migrant crisis in BiH) and towards the countries from which migrants mostly arrive.

Diplomatic action at the state or federal level is invisible and inaudible – action that should be constant, consistent and resolute.

If everything remains as it has remained all these years during which we have become ‘surrounded’ by migrants, we will end up with too difficult a problem since those responsible now turn their heads away so irresponsibly. 

These young people, migrants, full of strength and dreams of a better life, will eventually become violent in BiH – once they become overwhelmed by hopelessness in terms of reaching Europe.

The time is not far off when we will in fear shut ourselves at home at dusk.

And we will be happy if we emerge unscathed.'