Bono
Bono has been an honorary citizen of Bosnia & Herzegovina, (“BiH”), and was awarded a Bosnian passport in 1995 in recognition. (Ali, Bono’s wife also was similarly recognized). Several years later U2 as a band, The Edge, Larry Murray, Adam Clayton and Manager Paul McGuiness, committed to play in Sarajevo, and at no profit. The concert was both memorable for its unique vision and the inspiration that it has been for peace and pluralism. Now though Bosnia & Herzegovina’s Minister of Civil Affairs, (who happens to be from Serb dominated Republika Srpska), has threatened to take away Bono’s Bosnian, (BiH) passport. This agenda to take way his Bosnian passport can in no way be a negative statement upon the Bono. Unfortunately it is a rather sad reflection upon Bosnia & Herzegovina’s current situation. While almost any country would be enthusiastic to be adopted by such an international artist, humanitarian and luminary, some within BiH seem to be inclined to deprive the country of a slice of its heritage as well as international standing. In response to the threat of Bono having his Bosnian passport taken away, groups of ordinary Bosnian/Herzegovinian citizens have offered to return their own passports to the BiH Ministry of Civil Affairs.
The Gift of Solidarity, Empathy and Peace
Well before Bono and U2 played their concert in Sarajevo in 1997, before Ali and Bono made their first trip to BiH in the fall of 1995, U2 was reminding the world of the deprivation being suffered by the citizens under siege in Sarajevo and BiH as a whole. While on stage the band would establish a live communications link to Sarajevo to remind the world that despite the coming down of the Berlin Wall, all was not well in the world nor in the heart of Europe.
Undoubtedly Bono and the “boys” were moved by the new optimism after the tearing down of the Iron Curtain that they had witnessed only a few years earlier. It may have appeared to some that things could only get better once the globe’s great divide was overcome. Sarajevo’s siege, the war and ethnic cleansing tearing through BiH, though, were an ugly reminder that there was not a manifest destiny mandating only progressive evolution. On a couple of occasions, we spoke about their witness to the throngs of young and old tearing down the Berlin Wall and the hope that such had imprinted. However, opportunity was not just for the positive trend. It was more a challenge that if left to chance of personal and political ambition could as readily be converted into peril.
U2’s message perhaps could have been interpreted by some as political, or even taking a side. However, it was much more fundamental: a statement of solidarity with the victims, empathy for all and a commitment to further peace as well as open, tolerant societies. After all, their own personal backgrounds had left them sensitive to the opportunities of diversity, the rewards of pluralism and the risks of differences being exploited to victimize the other.
Shared Background, Sarajevo & U2
U2, Bono, The Edge, Larry, Adam and Paul, also come from diverse backgrounds. They represent the religious, ethnic twists of all of Ireland, including Northern Ireland. Some come from “mixed marriages.” Individual views may have at times differed, but it did not preclude a shared commitment to pluralism and tolerance on their own home island and beyond. The diversity within the band was perhaps at times a challenge but overwhelmingly a plus.
As individuals, U2 promoted a vision of coexistence in all of Ireland. Their own personal proximity to the long-standing conflict in Northern Ireland at times could have made it difficult for them to be perceived as absolutely dispassionate. In BiH though their agenda could not be questioned on ethnic or religious ties. Within BiH, U2’s motivations could be more readily understood as driven by broader personal and ideological principles. (The relationship between Sarajevo and U2 was not just in one direction. In 1998, Sarajevo welcomed and helped organize a collaboration with the then just fledgling Northern Irish Government reunified under Protestant and Catholic leadership. It was a chance to exchange views, experiences and a statement of mutual solidarity toward reintegration and diversity within each of our societies).
The peace and pluralism driven motives of U2’s concert in Sarajevo were symbolic but also tangible. We arranged for audiences to be assisted in coming to Sarajevo from throughout the region: Slovenia and Montenegro, Croatia and Serbia. Free busses were made available from Banja Luka and other areas of Republika Srpska. Perhaps when we first started planning for the concert, already in the fall of 1995 during our visit with Bono and friends in Dublin, the hope and vision was for more: to commemorate and further a substantive peace rather than a new cold divide within BiH. The concert would be to assist all of BiH to grasp the opportunity, and also to herald a message for what Bosnia & Herzegovina had and has to contribute on a global scale. The U2 Sarajevo concert featured Bosnian/Herzegovinian bands reflecting in their music and members, much like U2, the diversity of their homeland. For the first time on stage, a rock band also shared the platform with an Islamic choir. Apparent contradictions became complementary contributions. Born out of the Sarajevo experience and our initiative, a few years later in South Africa Bono would perform together with Yusuf Islam, (Cat Stevens), even as he shared friendship and solidarity with Salman Rushdie.
Rebuilding the Image & Brand
Sarajevo was a stage bigger than the city. A war fought over borders was overcome by art and symbolism that had no artificial bounds. For a while Sarajevo and Bosnia & Herzegovina could perhaps exert influence in promoting global peace as only a couple of years earlier the city and country had symbolized warfare targeting civilians that has come to characterize the beginning of this Millennium.
So, it is not clear why a Minister of BiH, even if from Republika Srpska would want to take Bono’s Bosnian passport, regardless of any bureaucratic pretext. Perhaps it is to deny BiH part of its new legacy. Maybe to deprive all of the citizens of BiH their unique contribution made together with U2 to a more advanced vision of coexistence and peace. It could even be that some are intent on spoiling that very peace, along with diversity.
Or, it could be something revealing even smaller thinking: some want to take Bono’s Bosnian passport just because they can. They will defend that which is not under attack and attack that which is also theirs.
Continuing the Journey Forward, Bonds in Tact
I know that Bono and his mates have also been beneficiaries of their Bosnian experience. It is evident though that when we honored Bono and U2, we also reflected the same upon Bosnia & Herzegovina. Bono has no practical benefit from a Bosnian passport. He has already possesses a more functional passport and several other places that he calls home. Regardless though of how the personal, political or professional relationship evolves, I will continue to see Bono, The Edge, Larry, Adam, Paul and Ali as deserving our thanks for their contribution to Sarajevo’s and BiH’s unique culture, music and history. Undoubtedly most BiH citizens share my sentiment, as many have offered to surrender their Bosnian passport if his is taken away.
And Bono will still have, as a reminder of shared higher principles and vision, the original passport of the Republic of Bosnia & Herzegovina bestowed upon him in the fall of 1995, when the wounds of war were still fresh but the hope of peace was even brighter. It would be good for BiH and all of its citizens if Bono’s honorary passport and the symbolic link that it represents continued to be extended rather than taken away. Regardless, though, Bono and U2’s bond with the Sarajevo and BiH cannot be diminished but only enhanced by time.
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