CIAO DATE: 07/05

Small arms problems in Belgrade - a survey of young people's knowledge and attitudes

Abstract

The wars in which the Republic of Serbia1 took part during the nineties left behind a multitude of easily accessible small arms that soon appeared on the streets of all Serbian cities. The ready availability of uncontrolled firearms in any society is concern enough, but in Serbia's case this diffusion of small arms into society occurred against a backdrop of economic crisis, an unprecedented growth of criminal activity, and a nationalistic discourse of 'patriotic wars' in which violence, gun-use, militarism and machismo were mythologised to serve political ends.

In 1993 the country was hit by an economic crisis that led to high unemployment, hyper-inflation and drastic wage cuts. Traditional mechanisms of social promotion, such as education and the professions, were suddenly worthless. The population adopted a variety of different coping strategies, but it was the actions of a minority of individuals that caught the attention of the media. Criminal activities, from robberies to murders and shootouts soon filled the daily papers, and within a short time gained mythical proportions. In this new, and above all, urban mythology, the enterprising 'tough guy' who found a short-cut to prosperity was lauded. The message was that the end justified the means, even if it meant breaking the law and using firearms.

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