Protests… they came out of the blue. Tuzla has always been a multiethnic city, where Bosniaks, Croatians and Serbs live, hang out, work and contribute to society together in both good and bad times.

The war has ravaged everything behind, sowing hunger, misery and war profiteers nationwide. And the war profiteers could have hardly waited to exploit the suffering people. Knowing that those people would do everything for a crust of bread to feed their families, they would’ve paid them minimum wage of salary. At the end, despair has reached its peak and workers haven’t received their salaries at all. Thousands of families have been left without their basic income, with an empty stomach, and without a coin in their pockets. Also, the children of those workers have been left without books and basic school supplies, without money to pay their college. Even the education has become a privilege of „the rich“. Those people have been living from dawn until dusk, for twenty years, barely making ends meet, while telling their children: „Dad would buy it son, but we don’t have enough money“. You can find those people at every corner of Bosnia and Herzegovina, not just in Tuzla. Rage, anger, despair, dissatisfaction and envy have been emerging in those children.

The situation culminated on that fatal date of February 6th 2014. The crowd occupied the building of Tuzla Canton government shouting „Thieves, thieves!“. Even before that people gathered in front of that building, being hungry, thirsty and frozen, holding banners in their hands. But, it looked like the building was deaf to those people, while the prime minister and many other ministers were sneering, watching them through the window, reclining in a comfortable chair in their warm offices.

If you ask us, the real protests began a day before, on February 5th 2014. We still remember the panic in the streets, which then gripped all. People were talking about fire on the street, boys in blood, blocked traffic and police being everywhere. That morning we had a chance to see the same group of people protesting in front of that „deaf building“ as every Wednesday. We couldn’t even imagine that on the same afternoon everything would turn into a general chaos, streets filled with people and youth, who joined the dissatisfied workers, ready to rumble the police, who appeared out of nowhere. From far away you could also see an old granny sitting on a pedestrian crossing. She died a day after, when cops took her away from that place by force. She sacrificed the last day of her life for a better tomorrow, for a hope that even the youth in this country can expect better days. No man could look at these events indifferently. So the next day, Tuzla became a warfare between cops and soldiers armed with batons and tear gas and dissatisfied crowds of workers, pensioner, thousands of unemployed people and students.

The crowd started throwing stones at the building, setting  car tires on fire and throwing Molotov cocktails shouting „Thieves, get out!“. The army cruelly bated and dispersed those people with tear gas – those same people, thanks to whom they have salaries. That day the prime minister Čaušević ordered to police and army not to slacken – „to hit the scum from all sides“. And they listened to him. On the same day, they started chasing students, searching student’s dorms, invading colleges and the nearby shopping mall „Omega“, not hesitating to detain them, using batons and tear gases. The main roads at the entrance of the city, northern and southern highway, were completely blocked. Some citizens were asking themselves if all that chaos was actually necessary, if people exaggerated a little bit, why is there so much violence and why this couldn’t be just a peaceful protest. The answer is simple:  because there was no effect. The warfare occurred on the streets, conflicts between police and many students became aggressive and windows at a few colleges were broken, while the youth was trying to escape from the soulless police. In the evening, the situation calmed down a little bit, but street wars between police and youth continued.

News about events in Tuzla circulated the country, as well as the whole region, and it was said on journal that classes in schools won’t be held the next day, neither the activities on colleges, for the student’s security, as many of them were hurt, while getting back home that day. And then fake news appeared on the Internet, saying that protesters were just plain thieves, who robbed a few shops, apartments and a shopping mall that night. They wanted to make the public think that only that kind of people take part in protests. And who wanted to create such an opinion, we’ll let you to think about that. Besides that they couldn’t prevent the next day’s event which was agreed on by thousands people from all over the B&H on social networks and in secret calls.

And so the revolution has begun. Many people are calling it the „Bosnian spring“. It started in Tuzla, a city of pride we would rather say, than a city of shame, but of course not everybody thinks the same. Some people think that this is just an act of vandalism of voracious youth, hooligans and idlers, who wanted others to feel their misery and poverty; while some are completely supporting them, considering that nothing would be done with civilized protests, nobody from our government would agree to negotiate and the silence would be kept, as well as passivity of citizens. However, it was a matter of time until the day would come when the youth will wake up from their tucked reality, when the thousands of unemployed people with a degree in their hands will go on the streets, about thousands of pensioners with a retirement so low that it is a shame for a country in Europe, and about thousands of unpaid workers. Revolution from Tuzla is now spreading in other cities, now that they have realized that everything is possible and all it takes is just joined forces.

When we heard that Tuzla is our new addition to the network there was a short debate in the AEGEEan team about where it is located – one of the suburbs of Istanbul is also called Tuzla. Even though the place we talk about is not located at the Bosphorus, it’s still hiding lots of interesting secrets and beauties. Welcome one of the founders of the new contact in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina – Aldin Joldic

 How did you hear about AEGEE?

I was invited to a Network Meeting (NWM) organized by AEGEE-Sarajevo. I was invited through some personal contacts – people who believed I was able to establish an AEGEE antenna at the University of Tuzla. I really had no idea what to expect, but when the event took place, I visited the workshops and met different and interesting people. I realised AEGEE is a great organisation and it has so much to offer to young Europeans.

Was it hard to form a team?

When the general idea of forming an AEGEE antenna in Tuzla became reality, a motivated team was already formed – freshmen willing to do wonders to promote AEGEE and themselves. Unfortunately, it took a very long time to found AEGEE after we contacted the university. Many team members were demotivated and some graduated, got jobs, so the size of the team was reduced significantly.
What was the biggest challenge on the way joining the network?

The support letter from my university. The procedure was very long and complicated. Some responsible university officials changed their workplace so I had to go through the same procedure over and over again. There were also strange circumstances when they lost the papers or simply forgot about me and AEGEE. Luckily, I was persistant and had an iron will. I must admit I got a bit demotivated, but somehow managed to overcome the difficulties, and got the (in)famous support letter.

Did you visit an AEGEE event already? How was it? What motivated you?

The NWM Sarajevo was the first event I participated in and I was simply amazed. It really helped me broadening my “European horizon” , mostly because I got to meet interesting people and learnt so many things about the association and Europe. That was definitely very motivating for me. I wanted my fellow students from Tuzla to have the same chance of living the spirit of a new and young Europe, which has a brilliant and sparkling future ahead.

What will be your first event organised as a local?

We will try to start from scratch, but to ensure a high quality. I assume it will be some local events for the AEGEE-Tuzla team and the students of the University of Tuzla. We will hold motivational and educational trainings as well as team building. I believe we need to have a strong team and good internal communication to be able to achieve something and tp participate in bigger projects. The goal is of course to organise a SU eventually and who knows, maybe one day an Agora.

Which of the projects/fields of action of AEGEE do you like the most?

I like projects that concern the young people from Tuzla and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Unemployment is a big problem in Bosnia. Many young people are affected by the lack of jobs and the lack of quality jobs in their field of expertise. The Youth UnEmployment project therefore is very interesting to me and we will definitely see how we can contribute to it. The Summer University (SU) project is also tempting. The former AEGEE-Tuzla (’95-’02) organised a SU at the University of Tuzla. The tradition is continued by the University itself and now the new AEGEE-Tuzla will try to establish itself as the rightful organiser of the Tuzla SU.

Did you try to contact people from the former AEGEE-Tuzla? Why did your antenna die out?  

Do you percieve AEGEE as an opportunity to open Bosnia and Herzegovina for more Europeans, to make them aware what’s happening in your country? And also for students of Tuzla to travel all around Europe?

Do you have experience in non-governmetal organisations (NGOs)?

Actually I have a lot of NGO experience. I started off young at the age of 10 with the Red Cross and got interested in the NGO sector because it had much to offer. I got to be a peer educator for Youth Informational Agency in Bosnia where I held workshops on youth activism. There were other NGOs over the course of time. I got the chance to develop my leadership skills and almost in every organisation I volunteered, I was elected and appointed to some managing structures. At the moment, I am the President of the Association of Economy Students at the University of Tuzla.

Who is the driving force behind this process? 

It was mainly me. Ever since I vas very young I was active and tried to learn new things, meet people, and just wanted the opportunity to be included. I strongly believe one has to be able to motivate and activate himself/herself to be able to do the same with others and to complete his/her goals. My motivation is the continuous effort to make myself a better man and while doing this to contribute to the development of the society I live in.

We wish you good luck and a great future in the AEGEE network!

Written by Liliya Buyukliyska, AEGEE-Sofia

Feature photo by Flickr user The Advocacy Project

Photo in the article by Flickr user Little Green Dragon