Sarajevo, Bosnia i Hercegovina

To get from Zadar to Sarajevo I took a night bus. Border crossing was smooth, probably too smooth. We didn't get off the bus, but rather one man came on, took our ID or passport glanced at it without checking the picture and handed it back. Impressive. I slept most of the ride.
Arriving in the morning in Sarajevo, my first thought was: “wow, I can see why the Croats want a separate country.” I was disappointed with myself for having that thought, but it was honesty. The stark contrast between every Croat city that I visited (Zagreb, Rijeka, Zadar) and Sarajevo was astonishing. Everything from the architecture, to the cleanliness (though some of that may have been the fault of Serbs and Croats), to the physical appearance and dress of the people, there were evident differences. It is difficult to put to words why this could be a problem. In the United States are generally tolerant of minorities, but take a city like Chicago as an example. African Americans live in the south side and interact mostly with other African Americans. If a white person were to find themselves in the south side of Chicago he or she would feel out of place and uncomfortable. It is this type of minority that exists in the Balkans. It is not a majority of maybe 55% as is the case in much of America. Rather it is a 98% majority with 2% minority mixed through several different ethnic groups. Because of this, the minority presence is strangely magnified. I’m not sure that does the situation justice, but I tried.
About my trip to Sarajevo itself. I don't think I did so well in Sarajevo. I saw all the museums, but no one was willing to talk. I would have liked to hear more from Bosnian Muslims than I did, but I suppose I may be back in the future. The two history museums didn't stand out particularly, but the Izetbegovic (Bosnia's first president) museum was facinating. It had tons of photos depicting the war and probably around 50 of Izetbegovic's best quotes. All about how Bosnia must be a place where all ethnicities and religions can live together in peace. In the end, the most striking thing I will remember about Sarajevo is how visibly it clashes with western culture and how much culture shock there was coming from Croatia. In the Balkans in general, and especially in Bosnia, the economy seems to be the major focus for the vast majority of the population. As odd as it sounds, I am beginning to think that the poor economy is something of a blessing in disguise. It sounds terrible and directly contradicts part of Paul Collier's thesis on conflict, but it appears to me as though the poor economy has distracted people from their hatreds. It is certainly a theory I will further pursue.