Bosnia and Herzegovina: The Quest for Change

The final rally for Mirsad and his presidential campaign took place on Thursday, October 4, in the small city of Zenica, some 40 miles to the north of Sarajevo. The venue was the Bosnian National Theatre located in the heart of Zenica, the fourth largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  A crowd of over 200 who either already knew about MIrsad and wanted to show their support or others still looking for additional answers, listened intently to his message of change and his vision of hope for those in his native home.  Afterwards he and I had an opportunity to sit down at a neighborhood restaurant to talk about the last couple of days and the final two rallies of the campaign, as well as a look ahead to a very important appearance today, October 5, on national TV.

I arrived at the Bosnian Cultural Center, located in the heart of Sarajevo’s Old Town, about 30 minutes before MIrsad’s first and only rally of the campaign in Sarajevo.  What a lovely setting in this old historic structure located in the site of what was originally the Great Sephardic Temple, Sarajevo’s largest synagogue.  The grand auditorium opens it’s arms to you as you walk through the doors.  A sparse crowd dotted the some 800 seats.  However that would all change.  While chatting with members of the campaign team up front, one tapped me on the shoulder and pointed behind me.  What had been a sparse crowd was now a see of faces, filling the auditorium to its capacity.  Elders, middle aged and young alike had come to hear MIrsad’s message of change and his wish to instill a vision of hope that together that change will be possible.  As he has at other rallies throughout the campaign, MIrsad didn’t hesitate to stray away from the norm.  A young student from Tuzla, a renowned classical guitarist who has won numerous international awards, played with passion.  Then Josip Pejakovic, one of Bosnia’s best known actors, and a Serbian, took the stage and introduced Mirsad.  For the next 40 minutes or so MIrsad spoke to a captivated audience.  No, I didn’t understand a word he was saying, but I didn’t need to.  There was a universal language being spoken on the faces of those who were riveted to his every word.  One of pain, suffering, anguish and hope for a brighter future.  That told me all I needed to know.  Then, keeping with his “unconventional approach”, he took questions from the audience and then brought his campaign team to the front of the auditorium and had them introduce themselves and share their stories of why they had joined “the movement.”  MIrsad then closed the rally and a sea of people flooded to the front of the auditorium to greet him, hug him, have their pictures taken with him and thank him.  As I stood watching and trying to soak up the moment, a young man by my side asked if I was part of the campaign.  I said no as I explained he was my former boss, a dear friend and I had been documenting his story and was afforded the opportunity to come to Bosnia to experience it all in person.  He asked me to describe Mirsad in one word.  I told him I didn’t know if there was one word that could encapsulate all that he is.  So I used the one I use most often, remarkable.  I then asked if he was a volunteer with the campaign.  He answered no.  He said he had just learned of MIrsad and his message of change only two short weeks ago and came out to show his support.  I also was taken aback by being revered by someone I had never met just because I knew the man who might change the course of his life and others.  So, I asked young Emil Pasic, 26, if I could speak with him.  I share part of that conversation.....

Winding down is not a phrase familiar to or accepted by Mirsad’s campaign as the election on October 7 is now under a week away.  The remaining days are filled with media interviews both in Bosnia and via Skype in the US, face-offs or debates and rallies.  Tonight, October 3, he will  hold a rally here in Sarajevo, the capital and largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  The rest of the week is then consumed with another rally in Zenica, and yet another nationally televised debate on Friday, October 5.  Mirsad took a moment with me to look at the next few days before the election.

As my plane slowly made it’s decent into Sarajevo I was awestruck by the beauty of the surrounding mountains.  The haze and late day rays of sun embraced the sprawling peaks and their vast meadows, casting a mesmerizing image of a set of mighty waves in the ocean making their way to shore as the mountain tops peaked in and out of the blanket of haze that had settled in for the day.  Sarajevo and those off us on the plane, were the lucky benefactors of natures paintbrush on this day.

Throughout the campaign MIrsad and I have spoken via Skype as thousands of miles has kept us separated.  Today that all changed as I was fortunate enough to travel to Bosnia, thanks to the generosity of the Echo Foundaiton, and sit down face-to-face with him on the patio of a local restaurant in Sarajevo.  Mirsad had time for a quick bite of food, the occasional puff on a cigar and some conversation between debates and hitting the road for yet another rally on this final week of the presidential campaign.  I of course had to ask him about this so-called “eighty seconds heard around Bosnia” following a recent televised presidential debate.

The presidential election in Bosnia and Herzegovina is now just days away, not weeks.  A campaign in which Mirsad Hadzikadic has reached out to an electorate with his vision of change for his native land, one he hopes they will embrace and understand that together it can happen.  We spoke about his recent stops at rallies across the country to the brief encounters at street side cafes.  And it is becoming more obvious that his message is striking a chord especially among the young.

The long and grueling days of canvassing cities, towns, villages, and neighborhood cafés across Bosnia and Herzegovina has subsided a bit.  With the October 7 presidential election less than two weeks away the focus now is on the remaining face-offs and campaign rallies, as Mirsad continues his efforts to energize the electorate and instill in them the hope and vision that together, change and a new beginning are possible.  We spoke about the messaging as the campaign period draws to a close and what the polling numbers are currently saying.

Mostar is the sixth largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and located some 45 miles southwest of Sarajevo.  As Mirsad points out it is a heavily divided city, home to large populations of both Croats and Bosniaks.  A very challenging environment as he and his presidential campaign team held their first rally there on September 19th.  And despite initial concerns and some anxious moments as they were about to embark into uncharted waters, Mirsad and his team came away very pleased with how the event transpired.  We spoke about his overall impressions and a new element his campaign added, live streaming on Facebook.

Mirsad has openly admitted his campaign does not have the financial resources to put together a media campaign that could compete head-to-head with the established political parties in his quest to become the next president of Bosnia and Herzegovina.  To do so they would need somewhere in the neighborhood $300,000-$400,000 US.  In lieu of the realities of the situation he and his staff have come up with a unique and innovative approach to allocating what funds they do have.

Be it a town hall meeting, rally or debate, Mirsad is well aware of the challenges of crafting a message that can be welcomed by an incredibly diverse electorate.  An electorate made up of different nationalities, religious affiliations, and members of different political organizations, never knowing exactly what that mix might be at the next rally or debate.  We talked about his campaign's approach to delivering this message and how his team goes about gauging how receptive any given audience has been be it at a town hall meeting, rally or a televised debate.

On September 7th, Mirsad embarked upon the official start of the presidential campaign with a rally in Tuzla, the third largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  The week also marked his first face-off of the campaign, commonly known as a debate in the United States, on national television.  We talked about these two significant events, lessons learned and strategies moving forward towards the October 7th presidential election.