Mario Crnković is a long-time activist and president of the "Green Team" Association from Novi Grad. Although he has been involved in activism for over a decade, he is best known to the public in Bosnia and Herzegovina for his proactive and persistent fight against the disposal of radioactive and other hazardous waste just over a kilometer from the Una River. Specifically, this concerns the intention to locate a nuclear waste disposal site in Trgovska Gora, at the micro-location Čerkezovac, which was decided by the Croatian Parliament back in 1999. Čerkezovac is located right on the border of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, meaning that the opening of such a facility would endanger not only the population of Krajina but also that of the entire Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. Mario Crnković is one of the key figures in our country who, through activism with like-minded individuals and colleagues, has initiated a chain reaction that led institutions at all levels of government to recognize the importance of the work of the non-governmental sector and to adopt important declarations and resolutions.
For many years, you have been involved in activism and volunteering and have participated in numerous initiatives. You also work in your profession in the IT sector. Has your love for nature been the catalyst for your involvement in environmental activism, and what are the most important lessons you have learned from volunteering?
I entered volunteering with a sort of “childlike naivety". None of my friends or colleagues were thinking about making big changes, nor was I. We simply decided to volunteer out of a desire to help. From playgrounds and parks to setting up benches and organizing clean-up events - these are all the things that can make your city a better and more beautiful place. It wasn’t always easy or straightforward, but when you finish an event and see that you’ve left something beautiful and concrete behind, that feeling of pride and satisfaction has driven us all forward. I’m especially glad that we were able to change young people's perspectives. Over time, we also began to engage in peace activism, which essentially focused on breaking down the prejudices we have in Bosnia and Herzegovina based on names, religion, nationality, and so on. It’s a truly rewarding experience because being part of something that helps others not to view you differently holds a special value. It shapes you as a person, preparing you for life and for this "crazy" reality of living in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Your biggest activist endeavor can be said to be the fight against the disposal of nuclear waste in Trgovska Gora. You are also part of the Expert Team of Bosnia and Herzegovina on this issue. Are the public in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, as well as political actors, sufficiently aware of the long-term consequences that this facility near the Una River would have for the broader area?
If someone had told me that I would become one of the "most prominent activists" in environmental protection, I wouldn't have believed them. I never planned it. When we learned that some irresponsible interest groups from neighboring Croatia wanted to place radioactive and other hazardous waste on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, right next to the Una River, I was one of those who had no problem saying "no" to such an idea from the start. It later turned out that this issue demanded everything I had learned up to that point. The volunteering I had done and my connections with young people from all parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina helped spread the word about the threat looming over the entire northwestern region. Experiences from peace activism were also crucial because environmental protection and pollution do not recognize administrative or any other boundaries. Since my colleagues and I from "Green Team", the organization we founded to elevate our efforts, attended various trainings, it helped us understand how to fight for our right to live. We consistently applied affirmative pressure on decision-makers to defend our right to life as well. We managed to secure resolutions and declarations from the local to the national level related to our joint struggle to protect Krajina from radioactive waste. Expert and legal teams were formed, and institutions were mobilized to defend the interests of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Has enough been done? No, but I believe that together we will do enough to protect both the Una River and Krajina, as well as the lives of over 250,000 of us.
In addition to positive experiences, you have likely faced negative moments in your activist career. Have such moments made you consider giving up, or did they make you even more determined in your struggles?
One of the most important lessons I learned is that time is an ally, not an enemy. If you are doing something good, all you need is continuity and ambition; results will come sooner or later. Impatience regarding results is a significant issue. Additionally, the lesson that took me the longest to grasp is that not everyone will recognize when you’re doing something good. Even if no one acknowledges it, you should do what is right because you believe in it! A common trap we fall into is expecting everyone to view good actions with approval. It doesn’t work that way. It was particularly hard for me when we would complete a volunteering project and someone would belittle our efforts or what we had accomplished. Let’s be clear: the volunteering efforts we undertook over 10 years ago are mostly invisible now, but by improving playgrounds, we were also improving ourselves as young individuals. We are still evolving today. Ultimately, it’s about having a sense of good and bad, and being happy that you were part of something positive. Perhaps that very sense of doing good is the main driving force. In the end, it really doesn’t matter whether someone praises or criticizes what you’ve done, whether it gets published somewhere, or how many likes it receives. The essence lies in the inner satisfaction you feel.
The "Green Team," which you lead, focused on issues related to Novi Grad until 2022, but has since expanded its activities. In addition to ecology, you are now also focused on education and social activism. What does this specifically entail?
The "Green Team" was founded in response to the desire to elevate activism in Novi Grad, but over time, it has evolved into something that transcends both activism and the local area. Essentially, we have three main areas of focus. The first and most visible is addressing the catastrophic plan to dispose of radioactive waste near the Una River. In this regard, we have demonstrated that an "ordinary person" can achieve a lot, even within such a challenging system. We have reached a rare situation where our work has been recognized by the state, and I represent the "Green Team" as part of the Expert Team of Bosnia and Herzegovina on this issue. Additionally, it is worth mentioning that we recently organized a professional scientific conference on this topic, and we are currently preparing for the next one. The second area focuses on fostering collaboration among youth. We are particularly proud of the pilot program "River," which connected young people from various local communities and encouraged them to engage collectively in environmental issues. The third area pertains to education. We enjoy working with ecological sections, but perhaps more importantly, we have introduced ecology into kindergarten in Novi Grad. We hope to have a complete educational program for young children by mid-next year that can be universally applied, regardless of the local community. In short, we strive for a systemic approach, creating meaningful activities.
How developed, important, and effective is activism in our country today? Can activists fight against what you once called the fact that "official policies often have different priorities than those of the citizens"? And finally, what message would you give to those who want to participate in making society better but don’t know how?
It’s easiest to sit back and criticize. Official policies do indeed often diverge from the interests of citizens, but the essence of the problem is whether citizens will proactively respond or if their reaction will stop at leaving a "sad reaction" on Facebook. I feel that activism or volunteering is often mystified. It is our moral duty to do something good for those around us, whether on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. We all wish the world were a better and fairer place, but instead of just hoping for that, let’s change the things around us as far as we can. Circumstances have made my activism, driven by my love for the Una River and my town, slightly more visible compared to some other issues, but the point is to do what you believe in. There are countless examples of activists who have changed things for the better. These are not isolated cases; this is a new practice. It is not shameful to clean up a riverbank. It is not shameful to love your city in a healthy way. The significantly distorted value system of the time we live in often creates a skewed perception of reality, where doing good is interpreted as a weakness. On the contrary, it is a strength; a strength we need if we want to make this place a better place to live. We can do a lot; the question is whether we want to fight for it or if we choose the classic "be quiet, don’t make waves." Make waves, my friend, as long as it takes to make things right!
This last statement from our speaker could serve as a call and encouragement for all of us to be louder and more determined in our fight for a better and brighter tomorrow.
