The newly appointed British Ambassador expressed UK's constant and friendly support to Bosnia's European integration Process and stressed UK's crucial role in the British-German initiative to initiate reform processes in the country, and speed-up Bosnia's European path.
“On Sunday 7th October, citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina will get the chance to decide the course of their country for the next four years. The United Kingdom, as a guarantor of the Dayton Peace Agreement and a firm supporter of Bosnia, has both an obligation and a strong desire to see Bosnia make further progress. As a diplomat and a resident of another country, however strong my interest in the results may be, I will not get to vote,” Ambassador Matthew Field said.
He recalls that he's been asked a number of times whom he thinks people should vote for, what the election should be about, and what the result should be. He always refused to comment. Bosnia is a sovereign democratic country, he said, and it is only the voters of this country who should get to decide.
“But I often ask myself what I would do if I could vote. I like to put myself in the shoes of someone in similar circumstances, in the middle stages of their professional life, with one eye on their ageing parents and the other on their young children’s future,” he noted.
“Firstly, get out and vote. Why? Because failing to vote, through apathy, frustration or carelessness, as nearly half the voters in Bosnia generally do, is a choice, a vote in itself. It means choosing to accept the way things are today. Not voting is a gift to the status quo,” Ambassador Field stressed. “Secondly, who of us can be motivated to vote if we do not trust the result? So I would ask myself to do everything in my power to support those who want free and fair elections. Thirdly, I would ask myself what it is I want for my children, my parents, and my country, and who has the best plan for making that happen. I would be unusual if I did not start with decent jobs, quality education and health care, and better public services.”
In the end, he stresses he would ask himself whether he was voting out of fear or hope. If he was voting because of what he was afraid of, the ‘other’ that could be some enemy within, a foreigner, or a faceless institution. Voting out of fear of what might be lost – position, identity, privilege – can put those same things further out of reach. Voting from hope and plans for the future helps to bring that reality closer.
“October 7 is your election day, not mine. I hope to see many of you on the day, taking Bosnia’s future into your own hands, and voting for those that can help you build a better life for yourself and for your families,” Field added.
