July 11th

The last few days in Belgrade have been sweltering to say the least.  Belgrade was the hottest city in Europe, even topping temperatures set in Cairo.  Coupled with the lack of air conditioning in our hotel, and you are left with a pretty uncomfortable situation.  We sure were missing 7-11's free Slurpee day back home!

After an early morning aloe run to soothe the burns from the beach the day before, our group was able to visit the Serbian Office of War Crimes, which handles the special prosecution for war crimes and organized crime, and meet with the institution’s historian.  A lot of progress has been made by the office since it was created in 2003, prosecuting almost 400 people.  The office aims to individualize war crimes and cooperate with international institutions such as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague.  Because there was no such accountability after World War II in the Balkans, ethnic hatreds from the war were not allowed closure, and that’s what the War Crimes Office is attempting to avoid.  The office has had to cooperate with neighboring nations, and has a jurisdiction larger than Serbia in order to fulfill its mission.  With the work that the office is doing, Serbia is able to move closer to joining the European Union, and attempt to rebuild their image in the international community

After the meeting at the Special Prosecutor’s office, we had a final lecture on the history of Yugoslavia, covering the establishment of communism following World War II through to the wars of the nineties.  It was all very interesting and helped to further set the context for what we are going to be experiencing on this dialogue.

While getting a snack, I had an interesting encounter with the gypsy that frequents our neighborhood.  We have been warned many times not to give them money.  As I was about to pay for some popcorn, the gypsy later came from out of nowhere and grabbed the money in my hand. A brief tug-of-war ensued, with me eventually gaining the upper hand against the tiny woman.  Take that, gypsies. To reprimand me, she pinched me in the chest (on my sunburn), and walked away.  We saw her later receiving money from another woman, and proceeded to follow that woman as she walked down a side street.