What is it?

God Bless Bosnia, or as I prefer to think of it, Bože Blagoslovi Bosnu is a song that challenges the diverse peoples of present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina - Serb Orthodox, Croat Catholic and Bosniac Muslim alike - to examine their very understandable enmities in the light of the character of God. It doesn't take sides, simply questions whether the way we think of other people is genuinely how God would want us to think of them. It's scored for a solo female singer and two backing vocalists, plus a small band.

It's not particularly difficult to sing, though I guess native English speakers might have trouble getting their mouths around the very Slavonic sounds of the Bosnian language!

Bože Blagoslovi Bosnu

Od Trebinja pa do Save, / Od Lukomira do mora,
Duše, dođi, daj nam život, / Nek mir poteče do dvora.
Naši ideali tek su privid, / U srcu rane nosimo;
Bože, spasi nas od prošlosti, / Izliječi Bosnu sada.

Da, vrijeme je: biti Bosanac, / I Boga časno slaviti.
Nikad ne zaboravimo: svi smo Njegovi, / Sve ljude želi sjediniti.
Tužni Mu padamo pred noge, / Jednim srcem molimo:
Bože, smiluj se ovoj zemlji, / Bože blagoslovi Bosnu.

O slobodi zborimo stalno, / K'o da nam pravo pripada;
Drugima je uskraćujemo, / S kim se borimo bez srama.
O vjeri svojoj zborimo, / K'o da Bogu čast odaje;
A ipak mržnju u sebi čuvamo / Prema svima što ih stvara.

Da, teško je biti Bosanac, / I Boga časno slaviti.
Nikad ne zaboravimo: svi smo Njegovi, / Sve ljude želi sjediniti.
Ponizno Mu padamo pred noge, / Jednim srcem molimo:
Bože, smiluj se ovoj zemlji, / Bože blagoslovi Bosnu.

Linije sukoba i razdora, / Grobovi, duše mučenika,
Prazne ljušture naših domova, / Strah od budućih prilika.
Zar Bog uživa u našim borbama? / Gdje dokaz ljubavi je?
Zašto nam djecu razdvajamo, / Ne mareć’ za Boga na nebu?

Da, vrijeme je: biti Bosanac, / I Boga časno slaviti.
Nikad ne zaboravimo: svi smo Njegovi, / Sve ljude želi sjediniti.
Radosno Mu padamo pred noge, / Jednim srcem molimo:
Bože, smiluj se ovoj zemlji, / Bože blagoslovi Bosnu.

Radosno Mu padamo pred noge, / Jednim srcem molimo:
Bože, smiluj se ovoj zemlji, / Bože blagoslovi Bosnu.

God Bless Bosnia

From Trebinje to the Sava, / From Lukomir to the sea,
Come, Spirit, bring us new life: / May your grace and peace flow free.
Our high ideals are just pretensions, / We carry wounds in our hearts;
God, free us from our history, / Heal Bosnia now.

Yes, it’s time to be a Bosnian, / And truly to honour God.
Let us never forget we’re all of him, / He longs to make all people one.
So we sadly bow down at his feet, / And with one heart we pray:
God, have mercy on this land, / God bless Bosnia.

We always speak of freedom, / As if it were our right;
Denying it to others, / With whom we shamelessly fight.
We talk of our religion / As if it honours God;
Yet still we harbour hatred / Of others he has made.

Yes, it’s hard to be a Bosnian, / And truly to honour God.
Let us never forget we’re all of him, / He longs to make all people one.
So we humbly bow down at his feet, / And with one heart we pray:
God, have mercy on this land, / God bless Bosnia.

The fault lines of the conflicts, / The graves and martyred souls,
The shells of homes now empty, / Things that we fear as life unfolds.
Does God take pleasure in our fighting? / Where is the evidence of love?
Why do we segregate our children, / Ignoring God above?

Yes, it’s time to be a Bosnian, / And truly to honour God.
Let us never forget we’re all of him, / He longs to make all people one.
So we gladly bow down at his feet, / And with one heart we pray:
God, have mercy on this land, / God bless Bosnia.

So we gladly bow down at his feet, / And with one heart we pray:
God, have mercy on this land, / God bless Bosnia.

It was in 1999 that I first went to work in Bosnia. I was based in Sarajevo - and on my very first day there somebody was car-bombed outside the US Embassy. My assignment was to come up with an environmental programme that had the support of Republika Srpska, the Croats and Bosniacs in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Office of the High Representative and the European Commission. It would be an understatement to say that getting that agreement was difficult: but get it I did; and I gained friends on all sides as a result. In subsequent years I worked also in such places as Banja Luka, Travnik and Tuzla, growing to love the country in the process despite the frequent difficulties and the November fogs that often caused Sarajevo airport to be closed.

It didn't take a genius to realise that there existed a deeply rooted mistrust between the Serbs, Croats and Bosniacs. Given the history of the region, I'd almost certainly feel the same myself had I been born there. It now seems to me that very little has changed in twenty-seven years, which is why I decided to write this song.

Whether one calls oneself a Muslim, an Orthodox Christian or a Roman Catholic Christian, the reality is that always blaming somebody else for instability is a certain recipe for getting nowhere. If you want peace, you have to make a proactive effort to bring about peace: and that begins with extending the hand of friendship even to people who may have wronged you in the past. I'm not preaching sanctimonious drivel, I've actually done it in the case of somebody who made life very difficult for me in 2002.

So may there be true peace in Bosnia and, as the late Dave Allen might have said, may your God go with you.