Getting my Act Together

If God has good things in store for the Serbs, why tell me, a Brit living in a completely different part of Europe and having no previous special interest in Serbia? The Serbs need to know it, not me!
Surprisingly enough, in time I found several good reasons! To mention some:

1. Because I asked
2. Because somebody has to believe in Serbia, if Serbs themselves cannot
3. Because I have some experience
   
4. Because I can intercede (=pray) for Serbia

I will now explain these points. I cannot avoid religious considerations when I do. So if, honourable reader you are not religious, please bear with me: there may be method in my madness; maybe something to profit by all the same.

• "Because I asked"
  

does not imply that nobody else has asked. I see indications that others have too, but not much information on what they have to say. e.g. Stig

• Because somebody has to believe in Serbia, if Serbs cannot do it for themselves.

I say this because Serbian sources seem dominated by a deep lack of self- confidence. It emerges as either a paralysing cynicism or a pseudo optimism; the one cannot quite believe in or be glad about positive signs ("there must be a catch somewhere"); the other assertively defends Serbian symbols, Serbian rights, and argues Serbia's potential, but it often has a hollow ring to it, as if the bloggers and commentators are not quite convinced; as if they are flying in the face of experience and avoiding the uncomfortable. In short an optimism born of defensiveness rather than security.
(These are, of course, purely subjective impressions).
However, there truly is hope for Serbia, I have seen it and I am glad I have, because after reading some of the comments. and following blog "flames" between intransigent Albanian and Serb bloggers it sometimes feels easiest to be a pessimist.

But, in the words of "Les Miserables":

Can you hear the people sing
Singing the song of angry men?
It is the music of the people who won't be slaves again
When the beating of your heart
Matches the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!

Visions apart, I detect a people who feel that they have been duped in the past, and have no intention of being duped again. I detect a people with a healthy potential for self-irony, and often bleakly aware of past failings. I read a new Constitution that may have many limitations (-that can be changed if the will is present-) but many laudable guarantees also. I see an economy with major growth potential , and a people coming out of isolation slowly in a world that has already forgotten last week's headlines. (Anti-Serb feeling there may be, but it is not as prevalent as Serbian people seem to imagine).

• Because I have experience.

Serbia is not top of the agenda for the people round me and until recently few knew of or understood my concern, which wilted for lack of response. However that is not good enough reason to drop the matter: They have their job to do. I have mine.

Just like when I was young and it raised eyebrows when I took an interest in vikings. What was there to know about vikings except that they were savage plunderers? (A great deal, in fact, and now the English have grown to understand why, and are even proud of their Scandinavian roots.) In the end this interest took me to Norway, and I have no reason to regret it or believe I was wrong.

Later I became interested in the situation of South Africa. I met white South-Africans who were nothing like their media stereotype, anything but racists, but sometimes not aware enough of the true consequences of their Government's policies.
In the following years I prayed for that country off and on and discovered that a number of others were doing it too. As we prayed, we saw some very specific answers in the midst of an apparantly doomed situation.

• Because I can pray for Serbia

I am amazed how slow I have been grasping this! Despite my experience from praying for South-Africa, the penny never truly dropped until I began to trawl the blogs and internet sources seriously. Having begun, I also see a number of similarities between Serbia and Norway, which (hopefully) helps to give my prayers more pertinance. Now that I am getting my act together at last, I try to be more consistent regular and systematic than I was last time round.