Photo: Rambo Amadeus for Balkan Rivers (Nick St. Oegger)
Forty well-known artists from around the Balkan region are seeking to shake people up and help avert the looming destruction of nature in their home countries.
On the occasion of World Music Day, which is celebrated annually on June 21, the artists take a stand in short video testimonies.
Among them are Darko Rundek from Croatia, Rambo Amadeus from Serbia/Montenegro, Jelena Milušić from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Srđan Jevđević, founder and singer of the band Kultur Shock (lives in the USA, originally from BiH).
According to the Riverwatch and EuroNatur, musicians support the campaign Save the Blue Heart of Europe and are raising their voices for the Balkan rivers and against their destruction.
Over 3,000 new HPPs are in the pipeline
Virtually every river and creek from Slovenia to Albania is at risk of being dammed or diverted; over 3,000 new hydropower plants (HPPs) are in the pipeline.
The Balkan region is still home to an intact water empire that is without par in Europe. It consists of free-flowing rivers in which species find habitats that have long disappeared elsewhere in Europe. The Blue Heart of Europe is still beating, Riverwatch and EuroNatur said in a press release.
When musicians raise their voice
The musicians want to shake people up and contribute to preventing the looming destruction of nature in their home countries. Darko Rundek from Croatia, Rambo Amadeus from Serbia/Montenegro, Jelena Milušić from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Srdjan Jevdjević, founder and singer of the band Kultur Shock (lives in the USA, originally from Bosnia-Herzegovina) are only four of a total of 40 well-known artists from the Balkan states who support the campaign “Save the Blue Heart of Europe”. They raise their voices for the Balkan rivers and against their destruction.
“I joined the Save the Blue Heart of Europe campaign because I don’t want to feel ashamed in front of my grandchildren one day: when they ask me what I did in the era of the systematic destruction of nature – did I mind my own business while watching my grandchildren’s chance of survival rapidly decrease?” Rambo Amadeus says.
“If we just stand aside in silence…we deserve to have our existence and survival put in question. Let´s stand united and say no to hydropower plants on our rivers!” Jelena Milušić says.
“Our politicians are criminals who are selling our country piece by piece,”, Srđan Jevđević (Kultur Shock) adds:
“It´s the mountain rivers and springs, which they intend to put into pipes to produce electricity…. And by doing this, they will destroy a lot of wildlife,”, Darko Rundek says.
Who has ever heard of songs about dams?
“We are very pleased that so many artists are speaking up. We need them in order to reach even more people and to stop the dam madness. Rivers are so much more than just entities of profit. They have always inspired people to make wonderful songs, paintings, and stories. Who has ever heard of songs about dams?” says Ulrich Eichelmann, coordinator of the Blue Heart campaign of Riverwatch.
Video testimonies of the following artists will follow soon: Dževad Karahasan, Selma Alispahić, Marko Tomaš, Aida Čorbadžić, Rikardo Druškić, Martina Mlinarević Sopta, Dinno Kasalo, Selma Spahić, Mona Muratović, Faruk Šehić, Marko Feher, M.o.r.t., Haris Pašović, Selvedin Avdić, Orhan Maslo, Smirna Kulenović, Sead Sašivarević, Mario Knežović, Zdravko Cvjetković, Elma Tetaragić, Marija Šestić, Mevludin Sejmenović, Dado Džihan, Aleksandra Nina Knežević, Sanel Marić Mara, Sassja, Lala Raščić, Milutin Sretenović, Muhamed Kafedžić, Enes Zlatar, Mostar Sevdah Reunion, Emina Hodžić Adilović, Soraja Ćehić, Marina Mimoza, Basheskia, Ermin Bravo.
Their videos will be uploaded at Balkanrivers.net.
Be the first one to comment on this article.