Heading my sofa in the kitchen means to enter the lower level of my paper-universe. Lots of books, newspapers, magazines, notebooks. Dust and difference. Single notes. A note, I found, is about the arrogance of the European Union.

Norbert Mappes-Niediek and Nenad Popovic

At the 24th of November I met writer Nenad Popovic from Zagreb. He had come to hold a lecture bout Europe [link] and how we use to deal with all those cliches on both sides; if there are two sides. Maybe more, if we insist on the concept of borders.

Nenad came in company of journalist Norbert Mappes-Niediek. I knew his book "Die Ethno-Falle" ("The Ethno-Trap"). In the first part of this book he explains, why the problems of Jugoslavia are the problems of Europe. He means, that Jugoslavs allready went through a minefield, that lies before us. To protect ourselves from explosions, it would be smart to check, where it happened in Jugoslavia.

I never met someone before, who meant, there are lessons for us "westeners", but "The European Union is too arrogant to understand, how jugoslavian it's problems are". I think, that means, we should look at the whole thing.

I do not believe in the Balkans as "another Europe". We should find out, what we see, if we put some pieces together ...

Cut!

On monday, the 14th of december 2009, a note in "Kleine Zeitung" said, on sunday the first train after the war (1992-95), "Express-Zug 451", left Beograd, heading Sarajevo. There were 17 passangers on bord.

Cut!

As I mentioned Dzevad Karahasan [link], he was the one, who explained Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall [link] to me in a special way. Hammer established the "Österreichische Orient-Gesellschaft Hammer-Purgstall" (Austrian Orient-Society) and supported the launching of the "Austrian Academy of Sciences" [link]

He translated the "Diwan" of Hafiz [link] and a lot of other works. His most important work is the "History of the Ottoman Empire" (10 vols., 1827-1835). Dzevad said about it:

„Gute Literatur, weil wirklich gut geschrieben, mit tiefgreifender Kenntnis des alltäglichen Lebens in Bosnien. Der Mann hat islamische Literatur, Philosophie, Religion recht gut gekannt. Was ich an seiner Geschichte des Osmanenreiches sehr spannend finde, und sehr wahr, ist, daß er ideologisch selbstverständlich den Islam ablehnt. Gleichzeitig aber die Kultur, von der er schreibt, sehr gut kennt und offensichtlich liebt. [...] Für mich ist eben Literatur, Kultur ein System, vermittelt von Instrumenten, die es uns möglich machen, die bloße Identität mit sich selbst immer aufs neue in Frage zu stellen."

That means:
„Good literature, because really well written, with extensive knowledge of everyday life in Bosnia. The man has Islamic literature, philosophy, religion quite well known. What I find very exciting and very true on his history of the Ottoman Empire, is that he obviously ideologically opposed to Islam. At the same time he knew very well and obviously loved the culture of which he wrote. [...] For me literature, culture is just a system that provides tools that make it possible for us to question identity with itself again and again."

It takes half an hour by car, if I want to see the home of Hammer. Schloss Hainfeld is quite near to my home. Im am connected to that subject in a way. This is about my Austria and my Europe; bigger once than those, based on national and economical concepts.

[the cartel] [sources]

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