Description
Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina is famous in the international media and scholarship as a divided city. This is due in great part to the national political divisions which have constructed two of everything, from school curricula to cultural institutions and utilities companies. However many residents of Mostar strongly contest this characterization, simultaneously lamenting their reputation as a grad slučaj (derogatory ‘case city’). Indeed, considering postwar Bosnia and Herzegovina’s ethnically segregated population, the presence of these two communities living side by side is a rare pluralism remaining in the country. This contribution (based on original Everyday Peace Indicators data) will consider where and how residents’ perspectives about their city differ from international and local elite framing. Mostarians’ own community-level indicators of peace and ‘life together’ – and photo stories illustrating these everyday signs – are more dynamic and nuanced than the simplistic tale of division and non-interaction perpetuated at the macro level. For example, adults in Mostar (both men and women) focus on infrastructure-related issues (trash, sewage, parking) whereas young people are concerned with subjects that inhabit their and children’s daily matters (upbringing, school, socializing). While ‘this’ and ‘that’ side of the city is often present in peoples’ minds, it is just that – a construction – opposed by many ordinary Mostarians even if their perceptions never makes the news or change their national party agendas.
