Serbian comedy The Parade is currently making the rounds on the international film festival scene. Its plot is at once simple and complicated, sweet and ridiculous: gay veterinarian Radmilo enlists the help of homophobic Serb war veteran Limun to organise and protect a gay pride parade in Belgrade, in order to stop Radmilo’s wedding planner/theatre director/activist boyfriend from emigrating to Canada. Hilarious, uncompromising and totally politically incorrect, it was one of the most popular Balkan films of 2011. However, it was a highly unlikely hit.
It is based on Belgrade’s first ever pride parade in 2001, which was attacked by a large number of anti-gay protesters, seriously injuring several activists and halting the march in the process. Also featuring real footage from the bigger 2010 parade, where 6000 anti-gay protesters clashed with the police, wounding 147 officers and 20 civilians, it is very much a satirical take on the homophobia prevalent in Serbia and the region as a whole.
“It was written in 2008, before there was even a hint of the magnitude of aggression directed at the growing LGBT community that would follow the 2010 parade,” says director Srdjan Dragojevic. Indeed, the script almost eerily foreshadowed the challenges that would face a growing gay rights movement in the Balkans.
According to the European branch of ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association), discrimination, hate-motivated violence and negative stereotyping of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community is rampant in the Balkans. The Rainbow Europe Index yearly tracks the overall human rights situation of LGBT people on the continent along a number of benchmarks, including freedom of association, non-discrimination and prevalence of hate crimes. In 2011, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Albania, and Macedonia all received between -1 and -2 on a scale where -7 constitutes gross violations of human rights. Macedonia is the worst offender, scoring -2.
Lilit Poghosyan, Senior Programmes & Policy Officer at ILGA-Europe, explains this situation can in largely be traced back to widespread ignorance on LGBT issues. Worryingly, the misinformation often comes from the higher levels of society: “Homophobic hate speeches made by opinion makers are not uncommon in the region,” she says.
Recently, when a Tirana-based LGBT organization revealed plans to hold a “Festival of Diversity”, Deputy Defense Minister Ekrem Spahiu, publicly encouraged the people to physically attack the activists: “What remains to be done is to beat them up with a stick. If you don’t understand this, I can explain it: to beat them with a rubber stick,” he told daily newspaper Gazeta Shqiptare. The issue wasn’t helped by sensationalist media, who presented the event as a pride parade, rather than the much less provocative celebration of diversity it was intended as. In Montenegro, in a televised debate, the Minister for Human and Minority Rights claimed there were no gay people in the country. The irony, I’m sure, is not lost on anyone.
In fact, most events with the slightest whiff of an LGBT-related theme have found it incredibly difficult to amass support, and have faced a near-constant threat. Following the violence that marred Belgrade’s 2010 pride parade in which far right anti-gay protesters threw stones and petrol bombs at the police, while chanting “The hunt has begun! Death to homosexuals!”, authorities shut down the 2011 effort, claiming they would not be able to provide adequate protection. The 2012 parade is tentatively set for October, but if last year is anything to go by, might too be subject to cancellation.
Likewise, in the first and so far only, Queer Sarajevo Festival in 2008, six people were hospitalised after being attacked in the streets. In the weeks leading up to the event, it garnered scores of negative press. The country’s Muslim media were especially vocal in their disdain, as the event took place during the holy month of Ramadan. The victim’s names were also published in three of the biggest national newspapers, which meant they continued to receive death threats even after the event. “Local authorities kept silent, they did not react against the violations of human rights that took place,” says Emina Bosnjak from the equality NGO Sarajevo Open Centre, adding that politicians were also heavily involved in what she labels “the homophobic campaign” prior to the festival.
While discrimination based on sexual orientation is illegal in most of the region’s countries, only Croatia’s laws on hate crimes refer to sexual orientation, and recognize it as a potential aggravating factor. The problem then becomes not only the lack of appropriate legislation to protect the LGBT community, but also that the few, weak legal protections in place are not adequately enforced. Bosnjak further explains: “Little progress has been made in harmonising other laws with the anti-discrimination law. Until today, very few complaints about discrimination have been officially registered [with the police]; only one case so far is related to LGBT persons.”
Indeed, there have actually been a number of reports of harassment and violence against LGBT people by the police – the very institution meant to protect them. Few countries keep official records of homophobic hate crime, and even if they did, in many cases the police are not properly trained to deal with it. “Most incidents of homophobic and transphobic violence remain unreported because of the lack of trust in law enforcement institutions,” explains Poghosyan. This lack of trust again forces large parts of the community to remain practically invisible, in the process hindering further efforts to organize. In other words, the very activism needed to stop the flow of negative stereotyping and misinformation in the future is thwarted by the precarious situation of today. It is a vicious cycle, continuously perpetuated.
With the living situation being as difficult as it is in the Balkans, there is some evidence to suggest the best and brightest of LGBT population are leaving the region in order to pursue a life relatively free from prejudice elsewhere. Dragojevic, who made this problem a major theme in The Parade, is convinced this is the case: “Young people haven’t got the time to wait forever for things to improve here, both in terms of the economic situation and with regards to human rights. I know many examples of LGBT people emigrating, many whom I met in Germany, when the film was screened at the Berlin Film Festival.”
Bosnjak agrees, explaining the Open Centre is aware of many young, educated gays and lesbians leaving Bosnia to start, or rather continue, their lives in Western Europe, the US or Canada, “where homophobia is not a widespread virus and when it happens, it is being sanctioned by the state.” Though research in this specific field does not yet exist, ILGA’s Joel Le Deroff, who leads policy work on asylum, says there is “a lot of anecdotal evidence that people leave the Balkans for this reason,” adding that their member organizations in the EU regularly deal with asylum seekers from the EU.
Niko*, fled from Bosnia to the UK with his parents at the outbreak of the Yugoslav wars. He still lives and studies here, but has visited his home country a number of times and has a first-hand account of the level of prejudice faced by the LGBT community in the region: “I have heard relatives refer to homosexuality as a disease.” He is keen to point out that he is very proud to be able to call Bosnia his place of birth, but due to the current situation has chosen not to come out to family in the region. As for where he feels most secure in living his life, the answer is clear: “When I came out to my father, he could not stress enough how thankful he was that I got to be who I am in a country like England and that I did not have to experience what its like to be gay in the Balkans.”
But not everyone is as lucky as Niko. The mere fact that the Balkans have legislation in place against discrimination – even if it is not enforced – means asylum applications are often rejected. For the majority, the hope of a better future must be fulfilled in their own country.
Poghosyan and Bosnjak both argue that this change must come from all levels of society, but remain realistically pessimistic about the current crop of political leaders and their will for progress. For examples, during this month’s Serbian General Elections, most parties completely shied away from the topic of gay rights, with only the Socialists expressing any kind of support when prompted.
When I put it to Bosnjak that the politicians don’t prioritise LGBT issues very highly because Balkan countries, and especially her native Bosnia, have so many challenges to focus on, she argues that is no excuse: “We don’t believe there should be a hierarchy of “issues to be solved in Bosnia and Herzegovina”. There is always something more important, but even these “important” issues are not being tackled. This represents a simple, yet powerful rhetoric tactic in keeping the status quo. This is the reason why we opt to demand the “impossible”; the process of developing a better society for all human beings should be parallel and multiple.”
This process is taking place, albeit slowly. Croatia recently took its first, small steps towards legalising gay marriage, with Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic publicly stating that he believes “stronger civil rights foundations” should be given to same sex couples. Furthermore, leading LGBT advocacy group Contra, recently called for the removal of textbooks that containing material describing homosexuality “in the context of abnormality and social delinquency.” While Croatia too has its challenges, it does boast the region’s oldest and strongest gay rights movement, as well as by far the best gay rights record. It serves as an inspiration and achievable target for its neighbouring states.
Furthermore, the fact that the EU has set improved LGBT human rights as a condition for accession may work as an incentive, as many of the countries are desperate to join the Union to improve their growth rates. However, Poghosyan stresses that for real change to occur, the political actors must fully commit to principles of human rights and non-discrimination: “There should be a strong political will and understanding that the required reforms are for the benefit of the society and not only a ticket to the EU coach.”
Moving forward, ILGA-Europe call for further legal reforms and a serious commitment to enforcing the legislation already in place in the Balkans. Leaders have a responsibility to foster constructive public debate, and engage actively with the LGBTI organizations by inviting them to consultations with civil society on legal and policy reforms in the countries. The organizations themselves are encouraged to continue to build alliances with other regional groups, and plan more strategic advocacy for public education on LGBT issues.
Bosnjak and the Sarajevo Open Centre are cautiously optimistic about the future. Through their self-styled “step-by-step” approach, focusing on capacity building through workshops, social and cultural events, they hope to “sensitize an otherwise heteronormative society,” to LGBT issues. As the Bosnian movement is still relatively young, these activists are pleased to detect a small, but steady and positive change: “This is visible in the way the LGBT community members have become stronger, more outspoken and interested in their rights, and the ways in which they can contribute to LGBT activism. If there weren’t any change, we would stop working immediately!”
In line with the much-used cliché that young people are the motors of a better, more tolerant future, Bosnjak seems confident that the generational shift is working to their advantage: “Part of our optimism and our activist effort is fuelled by the fact that our organization is completely formed and run by young people,” she says. “With these people on our side, the future seems definitely brighter.”
And the enormous popularity of The Parade is nothing if not a positive sign. Dragojevic explained he didn’t want to make a film about what it is like to be gay in Serbia, which would have a very narrow target audience, and alienate large parts of the potential audience. No, he wanted to turn the concept on its head, and make a film which was about “your average homophobe,” who hates gay people, but in fact doesn’t know anything about them and is operating on negative stereotype alone. Does he think his movie has changed anything? “I don’t know if a film can drastically change the perception and behaviour of people. But it might affect people and help initiate processes that can give gay rights a bigger place in the social discourse. Will the film help provide safe conditions for Belgrade Pride 2012? Only time will tell. If that happens, I can confirm that art really can change the world.”
*Name changed for confidentiality