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ALEKSA ŠANTİĆ: STAY HERE Title: Ostajte ovdje (Stay here) Originally published: In the journal Zora, I, 1896. Language: Serbian The excerpts used are from Spirit of Bosnia, an international interdisciplinary bilingual journal, translated by Amila Čelebić, Vol. I, No. 4, October 2006, pp.1–2. About the author Aleksa Šantić [1868, Mostar (Herzegovina) – 1924, Mostar]: poet, publicist and writer of Serb nationality from Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was born into a rich merchant family in Mostar. He spent almost his entire life in Mostar, except for short periods spent in Ljubljana (Ger. Laibach) as well as in the important Habsburg port of Trieste (Slov., Cro. Trst), where he was engaged in commerce as a member of the Serb Orthodox community. After his father’s death, his uncle took care of him and his family. One of his sisters, Radojka (Persa) married Aleksa’s close friend and peer in the field of culture, Svetozar Ćorović. After graduating from the trade schools of Ljubljana and Trieste, he returned to Mostar. In order to improve the cultural life of his hometown, Šantić became one of the founders, together with Ćorović, of the cultural magazine Zora (The Dawn). He also presided over the Serb music association Gusle (The Fiddle). Šantić was a very productive poet and writer. He wrote 715 poems , seven theatrical plays and some prose. Many of his writings were of high quality and aimed to criticize or advocate diverse social or cultural issues. He was strongly influenced by Heinrich Heine, whose works he translated. His funeral was attended by citizens of Mostar irrespective of their religion or nationality. He was later deemed by many writers to have been Yugoslavia’s greatest poet. In the 1980s a movie entitled Moj brat Aleksa (My brother Aleksa) was produced in his memory. Main works: poems: Ostajte ovdje [Stay here] (1896); Emina (1903); Ne vjeruj [Do not believe] (1905); Hljeb [The bread] (1906); Moja otadžbina [My fatherland] (1908); theatrical plays: Pod maglom [Under the mist] (1907); Hasanaginica [Hasanaga’s wife] (1910); Angelia (1911). ALEKSA ŠANTİĆ: STAY HERE 95 Context The Austro-Hungarian occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was a direct outcome of a decision made at the Congress of Berlin in 1878. Although the religious, cultural and individual rights of the Muslim population of Bosnia and Herzegovina were granted official protection, the advent of AustroHungarian suzerainty triggered feelings of unease among the Bosnian Muslims . The most significant consequence of the occupation was the migration of Bosnian Muslims to areas still held by the Ottoman Empire (the Balkans, Istanbul and Anatolia). The causes of this migration were manifold: religious , cultural, psychological, political and economic. Among the major causes, for instance, was the massive introduction of cheap European industrial products, which damaged the livelihood of many craftsmen who could not compete with the imported wares. Additionally, the most vocal opponents of the Austro-Hungarian regime among the Bosnian Muslims had to flee to the Ottoman Empire. This migration was constant throughout the period of Habsburg rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1878–1918). However, the biggest waves were always closely connected in time and cause to significant events in the history of occupation. The first large wave was in 1878, and the second followed in 1882, after the suppression of the Herzegovinian rebellion against conscription into the Austro-Hungarian army. The third wave was the result of the persecution of the leaders of a Muslim autonomist movement which demanded community control over their religious and educational institutions and respect for the agrarian interests of the Muslim elites . The next large migration movement followed the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Habsburg Empire in 1908, and the last significant phase of migration occurred in 1912, after the Ottoman Empire lost the First Balkan War. Migration always involved hardships and disasters for the people involved . The migrants frequently sold their properties for much less than their actual value. Their integration in other Ottoman areas was slow and often unsuccessful. Many people’s lives declined in both social and economical terms. The migrants to Macedonia and Salonica as well as Anatolia (particularly Iznik, Bursa, Ankara and Antalya) were decimated by malaria. All these hardships made many Bosnians question the viability of migration. The leader of the Muslim community, Reis-ul ulema Azabagić, wrote a treatise against migration which evoked the Shari’a. On the other hand, other religious authorities (ulema) claimed that migration was mandatory, grounding their opinion on the fact that being administered by Christians, Bosnia was [18...

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