A lesson on patriotism in Montenegro

For more than forty years, I have been waging a battle for the preservation of the natural resources of Montenegro, and especially Herceg Novi, through various Montenegrin and regional media, which I recently documented in my book. As far as I can see, my battles have not reached the majority of Montenegrin citizens, because all that time they have been preoccupied with the "great patriotic" conflicts between the Bjelas and the Zelenas, the Chetniks and the Partisans, the tricolor and the ala-barjak, Milo and Momir...

While these great battles were being fought, Montenegro almost imperceptibly and irreversibly lost many smaller - but perhaps much more important - battles, from Ulcinj to the end of Boka Bay.

These days, as Montenegro celebrates twenty years of independence with festivities, patriotic speeches, and national fervor, our Albanian neighbors are teaching many Montenegrin patriots a lesson in patriotism.

Namely, a fierce social struggle is underway in Albania after the government's decision to allow large-scale tourism projects, including hotels, villas and marinas, in the Vjosa-Narta protected area. This decision has provoked strong resistance from the public, environmental organizations and local residents. It is important to note to the Montenegrin public that these are investments measured in billions of dollars - many times larger than all of our strategic "porto" projects combined.

Even more interesting is that Albanians are not opposing some Russian, Arab and politically insignificant investors, but rather the interests coming from the circles of the president of the most powerful world power. Despite traditionally close relations with the United States of America, their answer is clear: "Albania is not for sale."

Albania is not an isolated example. In neighboring Croatia, the local population of Cavtat has long been resisting the Marina Cavtat Resort project, which would significantly alter the area of ​​Prahivac and the natural beach symbolically named Čista Luka, for which the investor intended the fate of ours in Baošići.

People there are fighting to preserve what they consider their most valuable resource.

And here? Albanians are ready to stand up to powerful international interests, while my people from Novi Sad didn't even dare to raise their voices when the Meljine Hospital was destroyed and when decisions were made that permanently changed the face of the city.

Gentlemen, that is patriotism. Not waving flags with one hand or the other, not decades of counting ancestors, not the show-off patriotism that awakens before elections and holidays. Patriotism begins when you are ready to say "no" to those who take your coast, forest, hospital, or public space, regardless of whether they come from the East, the West, or from your own party.

I am aware that the transition in Montenegro has been both painful and rapid. It is difficult to explain to someone who grew up modestly in the beautiful rural parts of Montenegro that there is nothing progressive or modern about the concreting of the coast and the uncontrolled urbanization. We received our identity as a gift from history and nature, and we act as if it were a surplus.Dubai was created in the desert and is investing hundreds of billions to create an identity.

We live in the third decade of the 21st century, in a time when robotization and artificial intelligence are increasingly rendering traditional forms of work meaningless. What is becoming most valuable is precisely what Montenegro once had in abundance - authenticity, tradition, cultural landscape and preserved nature.Unfortunately, we have less and less of that today.

The new political forces that came to power have criticized the previous government for years for its development model based on the sale of limited natural resources, primarily the Adriatic coast. That is why I expected a different vision for Montenegro. However, there seems to be no vision, while the mission remains the same: “In everything, on everything and under everything”.

There seems to be no room for UNESCO in this vision, as some experts claim that protecting the Bay of Kotor is supposedly hindering development. And this development is best seen when looking from Perast towards Kostanjica and the apartment complexes that are reflected in the blue sea as a kind of antithesis to Perast and its heritage.

Patriotism, however, has remained the same. With the accompanying iconography, slogans and the inevitable “bread and games” for the people. Non-working days are used to go down to “our” sea, have a drink in one of the strategic projects and take photos for social networks. There is still some way to get coffee, but it is getting harder to get lunch.

Not to mention that for a day on the beach in some luxury complexes, it is necessary to allocate almost the average monthly salary of an honest citizen of Montenegro.

But it doesn't matter. What matters is that it is eternal. And whose it will be - we'll see.

My words often do not reach our patriots. Whether it is because of the lack of courage to stand up or because of the belief that all is lost in advance, I do not know. I remember a comment under one of my columns in which someone wrote that Šavnik, if people lived off greenery, would be like Monaco. God forbid that Šavnik be like Monaco. It would be enough for me if it were like Kranjska Gora.

You don't have to be particularly smart to see how others do things and learn from their mistakes. Our coastline is small, and what remains preserved is even smaller. That is why every decision should be made with a sense of responsibility towards future generations, not towards investors who will be on the other side of the world tomorrow.

Or, maybe, we'll still put a Jumeirah palm tree in Buljarica - just so there's somewhere to drink.

The author is a senior research associate at the "Dr. Simo Milošević" Institute, Igalo