THE BALKAN SISYPHUSES

Non-governmental organizations

AIM, BELGRADE, April 14, 1997

• Everyone who heard of our society was bewildered by its name. Joking, some asked: "How did you come up with such a good idea?" It just came to us - told a journalist a member of the association of jinxes, wags and short-tempered persons "Good Disposition" from Krusevac at the celebration of the bad-luck Tuesday (they celebrate it each year on the "ninth unlucky Tuesday", i.e. the ninth Tuesday after Christmas in the Krusevac hotel "Rubin"). Are there many jinxes, wags and short-tempered people in Serbia is hard to say, but judging by this year's response to the invitation (once there were two hotel halls packed with guests on that day, now only one, half-empty), the times are unlucky.

Behind this witty association and the name "Good Disposition", there is an organization which rallies people of good will who organize humanitarian actions and help poor children. They claim that they have been registered as a non-governmental organization, i.e. that they do not work for the Government.

The story about jinxes, wags and short-tempered people from the society "Good Disposition" illustrates to some extent the serious-unserious understanding of non-governmental organizations here, and not only by the broader public, but also by members of some non-governmental organizations. The reason why the notion of non-governmental organizations is not more present in the public, and even in our political and theoretical discourse, Zarko Paunovic, Director of the recently established Center for the Development of Non-Profit Sector, sees in the "fact that we lived in a society which was under the full control of the state and party, so that the existing organizations of citizens operated and were only able to operate within the existing state and party organizations. That was a period of government's non-governmental organizations, organizations of citizens which were initiated, organized and financed by the existing state-party power structure".

The state media have contributed much to the terminological confusion already existing in the peoples' heads, by taking using every opportunity to label the most active non-governmental organizations of being the "extended arm of the West", "traitors", "collaborationists" and similar things from their Bolshevist repertoire. Their special target were peace organizations, committees for the protection of human rights, centers for anti-war action, even when the peacemaking was no longer a treason, but a political obsession of the until-yesterday lords of war.

All those who were at the Republic Square in Belgrade on April 6 could see for themselves how deep are the traces of the activity of the regime media. Namely, on that day, activists of the non-governmental organizations marked the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the war in B&H by one hour standing protest. Same as in the previous years, the protest, organized under a slogan "To forget a crime is a crime", rallied the Belgrade Circle, Women in Black, Centre for Cultural Decontamination, The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, Multinational Association of Bosnians and Herzegovinians, the Fund for Humanitarian Law, the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights, the paper "Republika", etc. The protest brought together some two hundred activists and did not meet with the support of citizens. Somewhat comforting is the fact that this year they were spared insults and harassment of the passers-by. Earlier, while the war in Bosnia was in full swing, during protests they not only had to listen to insults, but were even physically attacked.

In FR Yugoslavia old terms are still used to denote voluntary and non-profit organizations: social organizations and associations of citizens. That is the term used in the national legislation and by the Federal Statistical Office. According to this Office's data 18,937 social organizations and 1,349 associations of citizens were registered in FRY until 1994, inclusive. All these organizations were established under the previous system and find it difficult to adapt to new circumstances.

In addition to these organizations, there are over five hundred new organizations which have sprung up in the last five to six years. "These are various alternative civic initiatives, associations and groups", says Zarko Paunovic who, together with his colleague Branka Petrovic made a pioneering attempt three years ago to make an inventory of these organizations. According to the data collected and presented in the the book "Non-Governmental Organizations in FR Yugoslavia", there were 198 such organizations at that time. Now the Centre for the Development of Non-Profit Sector is preparing a new list on non-governmental organizations. "It is hard to precisely determine their number because they are not mutually linked, the public ignores them (there is not much talk about them even in the places in which they work), while their number constantly changes as some stop their work (either temporarily on account of some problems, or are terminated for good), while many others spring up and start their activities", states Paunovic. Among the existing non-governmental organizations the most numerous are ecological, humanitarian, as well as those for the protection of human rights and freedoms, and various civic initiatives.

According to Paunovic, who is best informed about the work of non-governmental organizations, it is hard to evaluate their results as they are not engaged in specific projects or programmes. Some are efficient, others are not, although it is impossible to measure them with the same yardstick as they do not have either the same membership or resources. "For example, with its activities the Sombor Peace Group managed to support some two hundred refugees in a village for two years. It was very important that someone cared for them. Can we say that its members have done little and can we compare them with an ecumenical group which enjoys the support of four major churches of the world and which prepares 50 thousand meals a day and provides many other things. I would say that most of them do very useful things and according to their possibilities. True, there are those which exist only on paper".

The number of non-governmental organizations in FR Yugoslavia speaks of the important process of fragmentation and pluralisation of the Yugoslav society. However, it is a fact that there are still no true movements which could more significantly influence the developments in the society. The number of non-governmental organizations implies their greater influence in the society. Zarko Paunovic explains why this is not a case in these parts: "This would, perhaps apply if non-governmental organizations were observed and evaluated according to the efficiency criteria applied in the West. But, there is a question whether that would be fair considering the fact that in the West these movements emerge from the civil society and against a democratic background. In contrast, new social movements in our country grow from narrow cracks in the society which have been created during the past pluralisation, thus creating preconditions and laying foundations for the development of a civil society".

If account is taken of the fact that the Yugoslav society is still dominated by a political culture of subjugation and a high level of authoritarianism which is an expression of some Balkan specificities, it is clear why is public spirit still undeveloped. Population, which is forced to dedicate a greater part of its energy for bare survival, thus becomes indifferent to lofty democratic ideals and human rights. Practically, there is very little need for the satisfaction of loftier aims which are raised by alternative movements and groups. On the other hand, the impossibility to change things, which is a basic characteristic of all groups and associations, results in apathy and passiveness. The disregard of their work by the media, in particular, both state (for political reasons), as well as independent ones, which justify it with the marketing concept (allegedly, everything published has to be paid for), contributes to such a situation. Naturally, except when they come up with an idea, like the Krusevac denizens, to call themselves jinxes, wags and short-tempered, or anarchists ("The Black Raven" from Smederevska Palanka).

Vesna Bjekic (AIM)