THE ACT OF STAYING
WHY DO WE STAY IN BLACK?
UDIK encourages the community to reflect and build the culture of non-violence. Our blackness points out the community we live in. We are aware of the fact that Bosnia and Herzegovina steeped into a culture of violence during its post-conflict period. For this reason, blackness is what makes us tick and resistant to the mass that fosters a culture of violence. Darkness is our sign for movement.
WHY ARE WE SILENT ON OUR ACTIVITIES?
UDIK believes that there is no response to the culture of violence in the community. At the same moment, we are paying tribute to the victims. Silence encourages the community to think, and also there is no other way in order to withstand the violence which we live in. Silence is our invitation to the movement against violence in the community.
WHY DO WE GO OUT ONTO THE STREETS?
Because we do not allow the community to response to something we do not agree with. We do not belong to a social collective that allows violence and does nothing to illuminate it.
INSTALATION
WHAT IS AN INSTALATION?
The installation represents an item made of a special material with a certain message, in order to send the public at the ... a message, as well as to question the public. At the same time we study the viewpoint of those who look at the item and what it represents to the person.
WHERE ARE THE ACTIVISTS?
Ones the item is put onto the ground the activists disappear.
WHAT HAPPENS WITH THE INSTALATION?
The instalation keeps on the ground until the public or somee of the officials puts it away.
PUBLIC
ACT
WHY THE SPEAKER?
The speaker represents the activist who is on high place during the action. From that place the statement is being read loudly, while other activists keep silent. After the statement the speaker keeps on the same place from where he/she read the statement.
WHY IS THE SPEAKER NECESSARY?
The speaker is necessary for introducing the public about the certain issue within the community that is being ignored from the public. He sends a message from the public space in the public sphere. After reading the statement he keeps staying at the high place as a symbol of the person who is in the possession of the information being ignored from the public.
WHY IS THE REST OF THE ACTIVISTS SILENT?
Because they represent a dual function in time fo the public action. They speak through their silence and remind the public of their way of reaction towards the culture of violence.
ALTER
NATIVE
CULTURE
Peace action with which we honor the victims are the symbol of each activity that UDIK carries out in public. UDIK believes that streets of the cities are the law of the work in community and problem solve on the streets - the streets and squares of every city. We make visible nonviolent resistance to all forms of discrimination, like religious, cultural, sexual and ideological ones.
In black clothes and silence, UDIK expressed the deepest respect for the civil victims of the war and the pain of whole community because of it. With this act, UDIK provides strength to the victims, showing them that that they are not alone, that there is someone to fight for their rights and someone to stand for them on the street or square. Through the conscientious objection, nonviolence, peace education, campaigns, civil disobedience, UDIK requests demilitarization of community.
Activists of UDIK are sending a strong message that they fight for peace, but also will address and listen to any person who needs that.
UDIK wants to encourage community not to tolerate any kind of violence in society. He (UDIK) is the one who "disturb" the community and calls it to react as quickly it is possible. We demand responsibility, cooperation with the ICTY, the Court of B&H, responsibility for the war crimes, peace building and solidarity and through all that we require a permanent confrontation with the past events of our society.
PERSONAL
POLITICS
Through activities UDIK reacts on the problems in the community, and points on importance of their resolving for better future. We believe that the problem of one person is a problem of whole community, and because of that activists repeatedly responded, supported and visited the places where we felt support was needed.
2013th year
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UDIK dealt with the issue of the problems of school children from Konjević-Polje encouraging Serbian entity, Republic of Srpska, to find better solution for Bosniak children from that place. On several occasions, activists UDIK visited parents and children from Konević-Polje in their tents in front of the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina (OHR) in Sarajevo. On the occasion of Human Rights Day (10th December 2013th year) UDIK visited parents and children from Konjević-Polje in the tents near OHR in Sarajevo.
2014th year
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UDIK publicly condemned the violent attack on “Merlinka Queer Festival” in Sarajevo, requiring prosecution of those responsible for act of vandalism. Activists of UDIK attended festival to give their support.
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Activists of UDIK were involved in psychological support to victims of floods and landslides in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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UDIK was one of the 28 organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina that demanded resignation of the representatives of the Croatian Democratic Union B&H (HDZ BiH) that supported the return from prison sentencing of the war criminal Dario Kordić to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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UDIK activists supported with their presence the International Day of Pride IDAHO in Banja Luka
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UDIK supported International Day of Pride IDAHO “Zone Free of Hate” in Belgrade
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UDIK publicly condemned violent attack on the Women in Black, that happened on 9th July in Valjevo (Serbia), demanding urgent arrest and prosecution of those responsible for violent act. Before that, in April UDIK demanded from Republic Serbia to protect Woman in Black because of call for lynch from Radomir Pučača, former spokesman of the Ministry of International Affairs of Republic of Serbia. On 10th July UDIK held peace action in Sarajevo in remembrance on Srebrenica Genocide and attack on Woman in Black, with support of Foundation CURE and Sarajevo Open Center. On 22nd July UDIK demanded from Republic Serbia urgent measures of protection for coordinator of Woman in Black, Staša Zajović, because of verbal attack on her.
FACING
THE
PAST
Facing the past encompasses broad spctrum of activities related to past violations of human rights , and in some cases reconstruction of some roots of the war. Wars that took place in our and neighbouring countries have left a lot of wounds and damages. This fact tells us how important truth, inspecting facts and reaching of justice are for the establishment of the future.
The principles of facing the past that the Association for Social Research and Communication uses are the following:
Culture of Remembering – memorization and visit of places of mass executions.
Education and facing the past – through films, conferences, and debates that UDIK organizes in order to get a better insight into the past, as well as to prevent such events in the future.
Oral collection of personal feelings, partially, it is based on methodological principles of verbal interpretation of the past which has been used since its establishment as a new, scientifically accepted method of historical documentation.
Recording oral memories is based on interviews (depending on the age of the interpreter) including the life story of the interpreter: pre-war, war and post-war experience, experience of post war extra judicial executions, years of socialism, political turmoil before the war of the 90s, events during the war...
Storage and processing of the material include:
1. Transfer of the video from the camera (or memory card) to an external drive.
2. Encoding the video records into the desired format
3. Transcript into English Language
4. Translation of the transcript into English Language
5. Creating Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian and English subtitles
6. Mounting video records on ground of the transcript
7. Posting the mounted videos on the web page
8. Entering the metadata (data about the interpreters) into the internet database
ANTI
FACSISM
Antifascism is a a constant of the activities of the Association for Social Research and Communication (UDIK). Countering all forms of fascism what we share with all democratic forces in the country and the world, while anti-fascism after World War II has become an unquestioned democratic values. It is being shared by all freedom-loving people, so that, for example, May 9, which is marked as the anniversary of the capitulation of Hitler's Germany, has also been declared as the Day of Europe.
Historically, Fascism was prevalent in various forms: the Italian Fascism, German national socialism (and local imitations), as well as in Bosnia and Herzegovina in form of the Ustasha movement, the Spanish Francism, etc. In x-Yugoslavian countries all puppet movements were more or less fascistic movements, what was especially evident through their genocide practices (Ustasha camp Jasenovac was the biggest concentration camp in Europe if we do not count German camps, while Sarajevo became thanks to national collaborations almost completely cleansed from Jews in 1941). The wars in the 90s was actually a continuation of the local forms of fascism which were thought to be defeated in 1945.
However, we shall not disregard the role of Slobodan Milosevic who called for antifascist traditions, but used to be in all forms national socialist.
Today Fascism is present in various forms: attempts of revisions of history (e.g., Holocaust denying attempts), to various forms of totalitarian ideologies, neo-fascist, neo-nazistic, racist and similar movements.
In smaller areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina fascistic tendations are being detected in organised denials, or relativisations of the criminal past form the 90s of in the last century, while on the other side there are also activities of neo-nazistic and cleric-fascistic groups, who bring the worst forms of hatred into public speeches and seek to establish organic (i.e. totalitarian and fascist) regimes.
The Dayton Agreement in Bosnia and Herzegovina has led to a discontinuation of radical violence – the war, but it did not lead to changes in the ideological system, cultural patterns that actually produced the war: the hatred of others and of a variety of ethnic, religious, sexual forms, because of what UDIK continued very intensively to advocate against all forms of fascism in the society.
By opposing the denial of a criminal past and hate speeches, UDIK constantly denounces any local aspects of fascism.
FEMINISM
Association for Social Research and Communications (UDIK) acts through feminist theory. Feminism is a movement that strives for equality of the sexes and genders. It is not predominance of women in the community, as it is often interpreted.
Feminist engagement of Association for Social Research and Communications (UDIK) is:
RADICAL ANTI-PATRIARCHY
Because patriarchy is not only a system of domination (one sex over the other, one class, race, nation over another), but patriarchy is the main cause of the war. Patriarchy is what made community violent and its values are accepted in community without knowing that that values guarantee violence.
ANTI-NATIONALIST:
Because nationalism is one of the most visible and most destructive manifestation of patriarchy – woman is seen only as mother and wife, the machine for procreation, depriving women from her right to choose and self-determination. Nationalism is ideology of a nation that it is "the best", in everything. It usually occurs when the nation is experiencing a kind of weakness of their collective identity and seeks to strengthen the community. Unfortunately, it often does that in the detriment of other people who are "the best" as they are. Nationalism, as a part of the patriarchy system, is what prevails in the value system of societies in our region.
ANTI-MILITARIST:
Because the militarism armed patriarchy, because the costs of war, army and weapons affect the weakest in community, because militarism relies on the power of violence when it comes to problems solving. Militarism constantly encourages society’s readiness to fight against the enemy. Militaristic people sometimes do not understand that there are many ways to resolve the conflict except through the violence.
ANTI-CLERICAL / ANTI FUNDAMENTALIST:
For strict separation of church and state - opposition to church which attempts to impose social policies that radically reduces the achieved level of democracy and human rights. Freedom of religious practices should also be understood as freedom from religious practices. Consequently, the influence of religion in the country should be strong.
ANTI-HOMOPHOBIC:
We advocate for equality of sexual minorities and the right to choose as a basic human right.
ANTI-DISCRIMINATION:
Discrimination is the exclusion of anything seen as other and different, which is actually based on the fear and ignorance. We are radically against discrimination and we want to build a different system of values that advocates for a Just Peace in the community.
AGAINST IDEOLOGY AND MONARCHY
Advocate against slavery, exploitation and abuse in community that fosters violence. Educating society about freedom and liberation from current ruling system, to achieve a democratic and ethical lifestyle.