My communities

For the semester, I will cover the Bosnian and Serbian communities. Since the countries share such a deep and bloody history, as a correspondent for a newspaper, I wouldn’t be able to cover one without the other. For geographical reasons, I would be stationed in Sarajevo, Bosnia. Bosnia borders both Serbia and Croatia, and is close to other former Yugoslavian republics that I might have to cover. Bosnia is a melting pot of Serbians, Croatians and Bosnians - the only country with such mixed ethnicities.

A very small bit of history:

The two countries were republics of former Yugoslavia, run by Marshall Josip “Tito” Broz. After Tito died in 1980, the republics such as Croatia and Slovenia decided to succeed from the Union. In 1992, Bosnia wanted to do the same. By 1995, Bosnia seceded, only after three bloody years.

In Chicago, there is a Bosnian-Herzegovinian cultural center, 1016 W. Argyle St. For the Serbians, Chicago is the largest Serbian community, outside of the Balkans. The Serbian-American Chamber of Commerce is also located in Chicago.

As recent as last week, the Consulate General of the Republic of Serbia in Chicago has been in hot water, and even removed from office. My first story will focus on the removal of the Consulate General and the effects of it for American-Serbs and Serbs in Serbia.

Who I will follow:

Bloomberg News is the only site that has correspondants stationed in the Balkans. I have been following, but will follow more closely Gordana Filipovic and Misha Savic. I will also be reading the work of David Rhode, who covered the Balkans during the civil war. Along with this, I will follow Reuters journalist Aleksandar Vasovic. 

Stay tuned!