Things may be a little dicey over in Eastern Europe lately, but at least some people in the former Yugoslavia have the right idea. On Saturday, Croats and Serbs gathered together to erect a statue of Bob Marley as a symbol of peace, tolerance, and–presumably–the healing power of a bong passed back and forth between two hostile nations.
The event took place on Saturday in the village of Banatski Sokolac, in south-east Serbia. In a symbolic gesture, both Croatian and Serbian musicians were on hand for the event; Croatian rock star Dado Topiç and Serbian musician Jovan Matic together unveiled the statue. “Bob Marley promoted peace and tolerance in his music,” explained Mirko Miljus, an organiser of the event.
It is claimed that this statue is the first European monument to Jamaica’s most famous son. Created by Croatian sculptor Davor Dukic, the statue depicts Marley with a guitar, raising his fist. It is, we are sure, a peaceful and tolerant fist.
The statue is part of a trend in the former Yugoslavia, as war-scarred communities honour foreign celebrities instead of local figures. In Mostar, Bosnia a bronze statue of Bruce Lee was erected in 2005, and last year the Serbian village of Îiti‰te honoured Rocky Balboa – the film character played by Sylvester Stallone – in an effort to shake off bad luck.
It may be kind of cheesy and bizarre, but above all this event is downright touching. Bob Marley’s music is sincerely infused with hope and love, and more power to the Serbs and Croats for recognizing that. If I were in charge of publicity for the Balkan region I’d advertise their refreshing lack of self-awareness about liking reggae: “Come to the Balkans! Where nobody will judge you for loving Bob Marley!” Must be nice.
Bob Marley statue unites Serbs and Croats [The Guardian]
Glad you guys picked this story up, I found it strangely touching, too… after years of covering the antics of Marley’s kids, I still find it almost impossible to get cyncial about the man himself.
Also, why does one need to be self-aware about liking reggae? Guess I missed that particular hipster memo…
The quest to fill empty Balkan plinths without offending anyone is one of the most fascinating cultural phenomena of the past decade.
Marley’s gotta be one of the best choices so far, even if the statue does look a bit like a life-size collector’s figurine. It’s got a certain gravitas that was lacking in, say, the proposed Samantha Fox statue project that mercifully hit the skids last year.
@NervousBreakdance: You know, the more I look at the pic, the more I wonder just what the medium was – looks like some kind of plastic or resin… I guess they melted down all their bronze statues of Tito to make bullets or something during the war…
Also, they should put up a statue to Magnifico – my favorite Balkan artist of all time:
@NervousBreakdance: “Touch Me… for peace”?
At first I misread the headline as “Seals and Crofts Get Together…” We don’t need that.
[blog.newsok.com]
@GeorgeLang: Sid and Marty Kroft, on the other hand, are long overdue for both a reuion AND a statue or two…
Can’t believe I went all day yesterday without commenting here, since I just got back from the Dalmatian and Istrian coasts…
“Come to the Balkans! Where nobody will judge you for loving Bob Marley!”
MAN, is that true - I heard Marley’s music all over Croatia, particularly (no shock here) in the harbor-based and beach-heavy island of Hvar.