In 1993, during the war in Bosnia, Zlatan Fazlić Fazla went to Dublin to represent Bosnia and Herzegovina, a country which had just gained its independence then with a song “All the world’s pain” / “Sva bol svijeta”. The only political part of the song was in the chorus:
“All the world’s pain is in Bosnia tonight
I stay [here] to defy the agony
And I’m not afraid to stand in front of the wall
I know [how] to sing, I know [how] to win”
Fazla and his band attempted to escape the besieged Sarajevo two times, going over the mountain Igman to make it to Dublin. Six people were killed in the process by the Serb occupators.
It was the first time the world had heard my country, first time it saw our flag, heard our language and what we were going through.
And I remember the critics and people saying how “Eurovision isn’t supposed to be political” and how “We should have sent something happier for our debut on Eurovision.”
And by all means, this isn’t the first time this comment has been made. Remember Iceland’s 2019 entry? Hatari and their support for Palestine? Although their song doesn’t mention Palestine they went out of their way to hold up the Palestinian flag IN Israel to show their support! And people couldn’t stop yapping about how “Eurovision is not supposed to be political.”
What I’m saying is:
The Europe is highly hypocritical and sadly, racist. The Europe was silent back then when my country was suffering, the Europe is silent when the Palestinians are suffering right now but I’m so glad we’re not silent when Ukraine needs us. If this win, deserved or not, will help people restore hope that perhaps the next year the artists will be able to come to Kyiv and see how people are rebuilding their country then heck yes! Damn right they deserve it!
