Sarajevo is a thought provoking city to visit. After overcoming communism and a brutal war, the city and country still has so many obstacles to overcome. For one, the three main factions and religions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which include the Serbians (Serbian Orthodox) ,Croats (Catholic) and Bosniaks (Muslims), seem to have difficulty working together.
Bosniaks (Muslim Bosnians)
Serbian Orthodox
Croats (Catholic Croatians)
This clashing between groups is evident in the modern day government of the country. Three presidents oversee the government, with one president representing each ethnic group. This confusing bureaucracy coupled with distrust among the three groups makes the political process extremely inefficient. In fact, no formal census has ever been taken in Bosnia and Herzegovina due to the difficulty with the three different ethnic groups and inability to communicate with each other. This stalemate in government proceedings has slowed economic and infrastructure development. The mountainous terrain, at least in the south, makes transportation difficult. Nothing seemed easily accessible and no main tollways have been established unlike in Croatia and Slovenia where roads were generally excellent and well marked. In addition, air travel to and from Sarejevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina is stagnating. The airport seemed empty and deserted. For a city with a population of several hundred thousand, choices for air travel were somewhat limited.
Empty airport terminal mid-day in Sarajevo
Also, the entrance of multinational corporations into Bosnia and Herzegovina has been slow. Even a simple task such as opening the first McDonald’s, which opened in 2011, took over four years because it was met with such resistance from the local restaurant owners. I am not advocating placing a Starbucks or McDonald’s on every corner, but the entrance of corporations will be vital to pump jobs and money into this struggling economy.
The first McDonald’s in Sarajevo
With a current unemployment rate that hovers around 43%, the economic situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina is dire and foreign investment is badly needed. But despite everything working against it, I am hopeful that Sarajevo and the country can prosper. As we witnessed in the 1990’s, Sarajevo is a resilient city and this will serve it well moving forward. For right now though, just having a peaceful existence is progress enough.
