Branimir Ritonja: Ujeti v lastno mejo

Predstavljajte si, da je vaš dom dostopen samo z ene ceste, vendar ta cesta ni v vaši državi, temveč v sosednji. To je le ena izmed mnogih zgodb, ki so postale del življenja mnogih ljudi po razpadu Jugoslavije – ko so postavili meje, ki prej niso obstajale. Pred razpadom Jugoslavije je veljalo – ena država, en narod in dobri odnosi. Po razpadu pa je nova meja razdvojila številna, prej enotna, posestva. Meja pa ni razdvojila zgolj mnogih domov, temveč je veliko prej slovenskih domov padlo pod hrvaško mejo in obratno. Nekoč je bilo to enotno mesto, sedaj je ločeno in ljudje, ki tam živijo, se soočajo s številnimi težavami s pripadnostjo in tudi z infrastrukturo.

Čeprav smo bili del ene države, je po razpadu med novonastalimi državami veliko skritega sovraštva in zanemarjanja manjšin. Obstaja veliko ljudi, ki so bili zaradi nove meje v bistvu prisiljeni v drugo državljanstvo.

Fotografije Branimirja Ritonje nam prikažejo nenavadne in težke zgodbe ljudi, ki jim je na novo postavljena meja obrnila življenje na glavo. S serijo fotografij Ujeti v lastno ne odpira zgolj mnogih, družbeno pomembnih vprašanj – o doživljanju mej, ki prej niso obstajale, in nacionalizmu – temveč javnost osvešča o življenju, velikokrat spregledanih, ljudi ob meji, ki so zatirani in se vsakodnevno spopadajo s sovraštvom in nacionalizmom.

Branimir Ritonja: Caught in One’s Own Border

Imagine that your home is accessible from one road only and this road is not in your but the neighbouring country. This is only one of the many stories that happened to people after the disintegration of Yugoslavia – when borders were erected that had not been there before. Before the disintegration of Yugoslavia, there was the slogan: one state, one nation and good relationships. After the disintegration, the border divided many previously uniform estates. The border had not only divided many homes; a large number of former Slovenian homes fell behind the Croatian border and vice versa. A once unified town is divided and the people living there face numerous problems with belonging and also with the infrastructure.

Although we were part of one state, there is plenty of hidden hatred between the new states, along with neglection of minorities. Due to the new border, plenty of people were basically forced into another citizenship. The photos of Branimir Ritonja show unusual and challenging stories of people whose life was turned upside down by these new borders. With the series of photographs Caught in one’s own border, he not only opens many socially important questions – on the perception of borders that had not been there before, and nationalism – he also informs the public about the life of the often overlooked people along the border, who are oppressed and fighting hate and nationalism every day.