DRINJAK: I CONTINUE MY STUDIES IN BANJALUKA DUE TO PRESSURE AND ETHNIC-BASED INSULTS WHILE STUDYING IN SARAJEVO

PALE, SEPTEMBER 16 /SRNA/ - Third-year student of Geodesy and Geoinformatics at the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the University of Sarajevo, Teodora Drinjak from Pale, has decided to continue her studies at the University of Banjaluka after disciplinary proceedings were initiated against her following a complaint by the Student Association and a person named “Benjamin” over a post on her social media account.

Drinjak told SRNA that she had posted on social media a line from the song "Đenerale, nek' je tvojoj majci hvala"/"General, bless your mother" - written in Cyrillic, which upset her former faculty colleagues, who interpreted it as glorifying General Ratko Mladić and, as they put it, a "war criminal".

She stressed that the song "Đenerale" was not written following General Mladić's death, as alleged in the complaint, but much earlier, and was dedicated to Serbian police Lieutenant Colonel Veljko Radenović, a hero from Kosovo and Metohija. She said she regards the song as part of the tradition of the Serbian people, to whom she belongs.

"I did not know that I was supposed to `be ashamed` of my people or hide my feelings in a country called BiH, where three constituent and equal peoples live, just as I did not know that it was `forbidden` to preserve the traditions of one’s people," Drinjak said.

She said that her fellow students first blocked her from the student Viber group following the post, thereby denying her access to much of the information relevant to every student.

Drinjak stressed that she did not know how the post had damaged the reputation of the higher education institution, nor did she understand what her private social media accounts had to do with her studies and fellow students.

She said that throughout her studies, as the only Serb in her year, she had experienced various forms of unpleasant treatment and insults on ethnic and religious grounds, and that the initiation of disciplinary proceedings had been the final straw.

"Since the beginning of my studies, I have experienced a form of harassment, insults and verbal attacks because of my ethnic and religious background. In my first year, I even considered dropping out because I was under constant pressure, but over time I realised that I had come to Sarajevo to study, not to engage in politics. I focused on my studies and successfully completed my third year. What I am particularly proud of is that I am one of only three students out of around 40 in my year to have completed the third year on schedule," Drinjak said.

She added that she must point out that the professors treated her fairly and appreciated her work, effort and knowledge, and that she was even the only student invited by one of the professors to take part in implementing a University of Sarajevo project in her field and assist with the work if the project was selected in a UNESCO call.

In her written response to the decision to initiate disciplinary proceedings, Drinjak said that her primary goal had been to study, work on herself, gain knowledge, complete the studies she had chosen, have friendly relations with her fellow students and help one another, which she said she had done. In return, however, she said disciplinary proceedings were initiated against her over a post on her personal profile that had caused no harm to the faculty, professors, or fellow students.

"My main interest is studying, not how someone interprets a particular song or whether they will use it for political purposes. I felt the need to write that line, and I do not regret it," she stressed, adding that it was her view that none of her fellow students should interfere with students' private social media posts.

She said that she herself could have approached professors, the police and other relevant institutions at the beginning of her studies over the insults she had been subjected to since her first year, but did not want to because she knew why she was there - to study.

Along with her response to the disciplinary commission, Drinjak also asked the higher education institution to send her complete documentation, including her recorded grades, by post to her home address because, as she stressed, she no longer wanted to enter the faculty building for fear of her safety.

Although she completed the third year of the Geodesy and Geoinformatics study program on schedule, Drinjak decided to continue her education and professional development in Banja Luka after everything she had experienced while studying in Sarajevo.

She said she had wanted to continue her master's studies in Sarajevo, but that, for her, was now a closed chapter.

"After everything, I do not see myself among fellow students who scrutinise my ethnic background and engage in politics. Clearly, I do not belong there, and despite the additional costs of continuing my studies in Banjaluka, which will put a strain on our household budget, my parents and I decided that I should continue my education in Republika Srpska, in Banjaluka, where I will not be subjected to this kind of humiliation and insults," Drinjak concluded.