Borders: Which in Between Most of Our Lives Has Gone

Abstract

I became interested in boundaries and borders that divide states both professionally and as a citizen quite naturally. First, I was born and raised in a country from the so-called ‘socialist camp’ where state borders were ‘firmly locked’ following the Soviet pattern. My life experience was that of a Homo balkanicus having some relatives across the border, members of the family whose existence was well-known, but who were usually not known more closely. Thus, border changes and border crossing occupied a special place in family memories and lulling tales of my early childhood. My father’s birth place was beyond the border and thus inaccessible for me although it was located only 50 km (slightly more than 30 miles) from Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. The times of fierce confrontation between Bulgaria and Yugoslavia were already gone, but, still, these 50 km were far too far when my 104-year-old grandfather died. Indeed, it took my father about 60 years to dare to return to his home town and to show his place of birth to all our family. By doing so, the historical family memory was at least partially restored; otherwise, our family roots would have remained virtual, imaginary.