Author: Đorđe Krajišnik
Tuzla Open Centre (TOC) is a non-governmental organization operating in the Tuzla Canton and whose mission is to promote the human rights of LGBTI people and gender equality in public life and space through continuous activism on feminist principles. TOC operates at the local and regional level, through connections and networking with BiH, regional and European human rights organizations, networks and movements.
Vision of the Tuzla Open Centre is a society in which citizens are equal and free, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or gender characteristics.
Solidarity with others
According to Dina Bajrektarević, the Tuzla Open Centre has done a lot in the five years of its existence, both independently and in cooperation with partner organizations, such as Revolt and Osmijeh za Osmijeh, which, when TOC just started with its work, helped in many ways.
– The basis of our work is solidarity with other groups, and our work is based on emphasizing multi-identities because no one has only one identity, says Bajrektarević at the beginning of the conversation for the Snaga lokalnog.
When asked how the community has reacted to their presence since they started working, she explains that TOC is registered in the Tuzla Canton, so it operates in the canton and with the local community. She notes that they have achieved good cooperation with the Health Center, University Clinical Center Tuzla, the Prosecutor’s Office of Tuzla Canton and RTV7.
– We have signed an agreement on cooperation with the local media, so we have our own show with them every month called “Tuzla Open Program”. Every month, on the last Wednesday of the month, a half-hour show is broadcasted where we talk about topics that are currently relevant. When we started, since most major donors require you to operate and work for at least three years, to have employees, we managed to get support through a sub-grant from the Sarajevo Open Centre, which was able to support us thanks to the USAID project that enabled re-granting of other organizations. So, in 2018 we launched the Network for the Support of LGBTIQ Persons in the Tuzla Canton, which is of an informal type. Slowly we started to organize meetings, to introduce ourselves and for others to introduce themselves to us, we offered expertise and education to institutions. We also plan to organize bilateral activities with representatives of institutions in order to slowly gain trust in each other, to eventually develop mutual support, Dina Bajrektarević told us.
As our interviewee adds, the signed agreement on cooperation, which TOC has signed with the mentioned institutions, implies that TOC is obliged to educate the public about the specific position of LGBTIQ people, organize joint bilateral activities, round tables, conferences, seminars and other activities. Bajrektarević emphasizes that they have received the support from the City of Tuzla, especially when it comes to the festival of queer art and activism Merlinka, in terms of organization and security of the festival.
– We always think about safety, whenever we organize any kind of event, even if it is a closed workshop for which rarely anyone knows where and when it is going to be held. Every time we have to pay security guards when we organize a public event or closed events, we pay great attention to creating a safe space and a personal sense of security of our participants. It’s good that donors who support us understand that we need a little more security. So far, we have not had any problems with organizing a public event or public gathering, the topic is sensitive so there is always the fear that something could happen. We always monitor the situation and comments on social networks, and if we encounter threats, we archive them and report them to the authorities. We once had an attack on the Merlinka festival, in 2019. The fourth Merlinka festival was held, it is a public event, anyone can come, the streets of Tuzla were covered with posters announcing the festival, and until then no major problem had occurred. However, three days before the Merlinka festival, a video was posted on Facebook in which it is mentioned that “the immoral gang must be stopped because it corrupts our children”, with an invitation to the citizens of Tuzla to gather and protest against it. We reported it to the police, and they helped us. It turned out that they were supporters of the Salafi movement, and the day before Merlinka, the graffiti “Pederi liječite se/Gays get help” appeared on the facade of the studio of Ismet Mujezinović. They came in front of Atelier Ismet Mujezinović and threw eggs, it was terrible. It was important to us that people who would not have come to Merlinka at that time came because they wanted to support us and to express dissatisfaction with the attack. Citizens of Tuzla did not want the image of such Tuzla to go out into the world because they are proud of being an anti-fascist city, a city of equality, so they came for because of that, although it does not necessarily mean that they personally support us. We remember this edition of the Merlinka festival in Tuzla through the expressed solidarity of our fellow citizens, and not after the attack that took place, said our interviewee from the Tuzla Open Centre.
Dina Bajrektarević adds that TOC has good cooperation with other organizations, because TOC is a member of coalitions and other networks, youth associations.
– Solidarity is extremely important, we are all workers, students. Each citizen’s problem concerns me as well. This year we organized an education for young people on LGBTIQ topics. We tried to explain to them why TOC is here. They support us, not only because we are members of the Youth Network, but it is important that they know why it is crucial to support LGBTIQ people and organizations, and for what exact reasons, says Bajrektarević.
Current issues
Referring to the current problems of the city of Tuzla, she points out that this city has a problem with air pollution and ecology. But now at the time of the pandemic, workers’ rights are at stake.
– COVID-19 positive people are fired or forced to go to work. The state cannot afford to go into a complete lockdown. Psychotherapy is not free, and there is an increase in the anxiety and panic attacks. But we are finding ways to move on. Tuzla nurtures the values of solidarity, equality, we were brought up in that way, I don’t know any other reality. We do not cultivate rivalry but support each other because we are all for human rights. We are looking for donors, it’s not great, there are problems, but there are people who are willing to work on those problems. It’s a slow process, you have the feeling that nothing is happening, there is an attack on Merlinka festival, and then 500 people come to support you and then you realize that something has changed after all. You have people who will help you, donate their own money, in order to ensure that TOC still exists. We live here and it is important to me that the services are sensitized to our problems. If someone attacks me, I need to know where I can report it/seek help in Sarajevo, Mostar, Tuzla… Tuzla is my city and I fulfill my rights here, says Dina Bajrektarević.
At the end of the conversation, we asked our interviewee from the Tuzla Open Centre is the government open to all initiatives, and whether they have a positive dialogue with the authorities.
– Every year, the Youth Council has a meeting with the mayor. Tuzla has met the youth standards to some extent, they allocate money for young people, the budget even remained the same during the pandemic, it amounts to 12,000 a year, and they also have a youth counselor. Laws are respected. There are complications and problems, all processes are slow. But that is the current situation. When we look back, we see progress, said Dina Bajrektarević.
