A 'genocide' through paperwork
Imagine waking up one morning to discover that you no longer exist. No, you're still alive, but there is simply no record of you- no birth certificate, no driver's license, no bank account, no Social Security number, nothing that would indicate that you are a real, live person with possessions and rights. There are so many things that all of us take for granted that require some sort of documentation. What would happen if that documentation simply ceased to exist? It's a difficult thing to imagine, isn't it? Well, for some people in Slovenia, it's not an academic exercise- it's reality.
LJUBLJANA, Slovenia -- On a bright morning in 1992, Zoran Vojinovic awoke to the realization that he no longer existed.
Not on paper -- when his identity card expired, officials refused to renew it.
Not at the hospital -- when he got sick and sought treatment, he was told he had lost his health benefits.
Not in government computers -- when he asked an agency for help in finding a job, he was turned away as an illegal alien.
Vojinovic, 29, is among 18,000 people in Slovenia known ominously as "the erased ones" -- non-Slovene residents whose names were deleted from the population registry a year after the country declared independence from Yugoslavia.
Under pressure from the European Union, which Slovenia joins in May, voters will decide in a referendum, likely next month, whether to restore permanent residency and rights to those who suffered what critics call "administrative genocide."
"In Bosnia, fascists walked around doing horrible things with weapons. Slovenia did the same thing with paperwork," said Aleksandar Todorovic, an archaeologist born in Serbia who heads the Association of Erased Persons.
You won't hear any of this in American mainstream media, but the countries of the former Yugoslavia are still a work in progress. Slovenia, though it's war for secession was short, successful, and relatively painless, has had to deal with it's own set of ethnic difficulties
Most of the erased were Bosnians and Serbs stripped of their rights in February 1992 after declining offers of citizenship. Many say they were hesitant because of unrest in Bosnia and Croatia, and thought Slobodan Milosevic might retake Slovenia.
Nearly all 18,000 lost their jobs, and at least seven people committed suicide in despair. Some were arrested for simple offenses such as jaywalking and were deported for lack of documents.
Vojinovic, 29, was erased even though he was born in Slovenia to Serbian parents and has never left.
Most of the erased were Bosnians and Serbs stripped of their rights in February 1992 after declining offers of citizenship. Many say they were hesitant because of unrest in Bosnia and Croatia, and thought Slobodan Milosevic might retake Slovenia.
Nearly all 18,000 lost their jobs, and at least seven people committed suicide in despair. Some were arrested for simple offenses such as jaywalking and were deported for lack of documents.
Vojinovic, 29, was erased even though he was born in Slovenia to Serbian parents and has never left.
It would easy to be critical of the Slovenian government, and indeed they do have much to answer for. Remember, though, the we as Americans haven't exactly had a stellar history when it comes to ethnic and racial harmony. Nonetheless, if the Civil Rights struggles of the '60s demonstrated anything, it's that it's difficult for a country to move forward when everyone is pulling against against one another.
Slovenia, like othe former Yugoslavian countries, will eventually have to learn how to deal with their internal ethnic conflicts if they ever hope to have something resembling a working and productive economy. If they learn that everyone is in this thing together, there might be hope. If not, Slovenia will be trapped between the Second and Third World indefinitely. For their sake, I hope they will do the right thing and recognize that 18,000 Slovenians have been dealt with in a horribly unfair manner. It's time to do the right thing.
