In February 2014, Bosnian workers, beaten down by 20 years of savage capitalism in the post-war divided country, rose up together demanding changes to their conditions and the conditions of their compatriots. We are inspired by their struggle, but the government is now going after them for protesting.
Grandmas and grandpas, students, and workers are being charged criminally, after the fact, for blocking traffic, facing steep fines and jail time. The police did not arrest them or ticket them during the protests, because they knew there would be outrage and resistance. And they could not ticket thousands of people.
Now, they’re selectively going after regular people, not the leaders, thinking the movement is dead and won’t stand up for their brothers and sisters. Some of them got notices in the mail that they were being charged, and some were not even notified. They’re trying to sneak this through, hoping we won’t notice, and scare not the organizers and leaders, but regular people who dared walk out in February.
What We Need
- We are starting with a modest goal of $2000 to help pay for legal services to fight these ludicrous charges.
- There are 16 hearings this week alone and some of these people found out they had hearings only because our activists got the full court schedule! They’re trying folks without every letting them know there are charges pending!
The Impact
- Your donations will prevent fines and jail time for Bosnians who dared oppose their corrupt government.
- The new movement in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a game changer for both the rise of industrial unions in the post-socialist region and citizen activism uniting working people across the country
Risks & Challenges
- There is a chance we might not have the legal means to fight back all of the charges and people might not get the help in time. We might end up needing a much larger fund to help pay the fines.
- We hope that this campaign will help spread the word and put pressure on the government to back down from these attempts to shut down free speech.
- We will attempt to find other ways of supporting the people fighting back.
Other Ways You Can Help
We know some of you might not be able to donate at this time. That’s OK, you can still help in other ways:
- Please spread the word about these attacks against free speech in Bosnia – a country the United States has a great deal of influence in.
- Please share our campaign on Facebook and Twitter!
To donate, click here.