COUNTER-REVOLUTION MADE ME A FILMMAKER

Still photo from Slovenia My Homeland (2012)


COUNTER-REVOLUTION MADE ME A FILMMAKER

Fiorella Rabuffetti* conversation with Dimitar Anakiev
 

Fiorella Rabuffetti (FR): How did your life change when you were erased and how did it change when you got your status back?

Dimitar Anakiev (DA): In my case the transition was gradual because I had valid Yugoslav passport until 1994. So the state Yugoslavia ceased to exist but its documents were valid and recognized internationally. So I was able to travel to Serbia (via Hungary because in Croatia was war) and back until 1994. The Slovenian police “solved the problem” of valid Yugoslav documents by strong control on the Hungarian border, creating checking points and pushing back all passengers with valid Yugoslav documents. They were interested only in passengers coming from Ex-YU republics so only Hungarian border was guarded like that. Only there they openly violated international law. So I then traveled to Italy (Hungary, Austria, Italy) and crossed the border from Italian side without any problem.

The problem started when my passport expired. Then I was forced to stay in Slovenia, where I had apartment on my name and my wife (Slovenian by ethnic origin) and daughter lived there. So, no valid documents in a hostile social circumstances (nationalistic state propaganda in all media), no job, not even car driving possible, but all bills came on my name (apartment rental, electricity, TV, telephone, water...). So I was erased only for my rights, not for obligations. That speaks enough that it was not “blind process” of chaos but very well thoughtful political tool of collective ostracism.

(FR): Did the hardships you faced as an erased person started when you were erased, or were they already part of your life and they worsened? Are there relatives and friends who were supporting you through those hardships? If yes, how did they help you? How did erasure impact in particular your family and social life?

(DA): In the beginning it looked like a chaos, like a childhood illness of the new state and we needed years, more than a decade, to understand that it is clear state politics hostile to a group of people. You know, socialist Yugoslavia was multicultural society ruled by the ideology of “brotherhood and unity” and we was not able to understand permanent change of ideology: from “brotherhood and unity” to racism and ethnocentric nationalism. We thought it is temporary until they take power. So we were waiting positive changes in the manner: “everything will be fine soon”. But no. Erased people never met better time. Ethnic nationalism and racism become official ideology of “democratic” Slovenian state until today. For example, today I cannot officially screen any of my films about Erased, particularly last one Slovenia My Homeland.

A digression: It is interesting that defenders of “free speech” (it was cult topic during the Cold War) are not interested at all for such contemporary problem in “democratic” countries like Slovenia.

But let us continue the explanation: similar as we, Erased, were confused with ideological change the same were with Slovenian people in general, even for many members of ruling apparatus.

You must know that rulers remained the same after the political changes of the fall of Yugoslavia. For example: the General Secretary of Slovenian Communist Party, Milan Kučan, become the President of democratic Slovenia for long time. Members of communist party just by the night changed from “communists” to nationalistic rulers and racists or liberals. So, if the top of the communist party apparatus - which implemented the ideological change - knew what they do, many common people, including members of the communist party on the lower level, were not able to change so fast. The ruling apparatus too needed more than decade to became monolithic again, in the very Stalinist manner (our communists were of Stalinist type, of course). In between many of Erased were individually supported not only by common people, neighbors, family members, colleagues or friends but also by some members of ruling apparatus... More one example from my experience of political filmmaker:

When I started my filmmaker career (I was not allowed to work as a medical doctor in Slovenian democracy) I started making films to face the destructive force of counter-revolution and discrimination in Slovenia and Ex-Yugoslavia. The counter-revolution made me filmmaker. Let me recall here the words of famous film director, engineer by formal vocation, Sergei Eisenstein, who once said that October revolution made him create films...

So, in the beginning, my basically political, critical, filmmaking was supported strongly even from the parts of ruling apparatus. Because there was an urgent need to rethink social situation. Example for the support: I got money from the Ministry of Culture of Slovenia to film Slovenia My Homeland. But when I finished the film it was not possible to screen it anywhere officially in Slovenia. So, there were many paradoxes and I think explained why.

This all is about individual experience. Let us call it “The First phase”. But after more than decade, twelve years latter, Erased started to organize political struggle for own liberation. That is second, organized, phase.

I must stress here that we never got support for our political struggle – not from political parties, domestic or foreign, not from civil organizations, not from “activists” or “independent intellectuals”, even not from Noam Chomsky with whom I changed mails in 90' describing the situation, nor Slavoj Žižek, Slovenian popular Marxist – he never said a single word about Erased but he was agitating for the NATO...

Even more, ones who apparently supported Erased, did this in an exclusive manner to change the character of our fight, from political fight into cultural fight (cultural fight is a surrogate to political fight), that means we, the Erased, were abused for cultural fight between false liberal and false conservative groups of Slovenian converted communists: in such a way our political rights were replaced with our human rights. We were not allowed a political fight, our political rights were stripped, this is the essence of erasure. Instead of political rights they offered us struggle for human rights. That is why no one of people responsible for erasure were sued for erasing people, even the names are very well known and all the act of erasure is documented very well.

This change of perspective of political fight to cultural fight is very important. From the short perspective of cultural fight it seems that the main evil in the case of Erased are people around Janez Janša, leader of right wing, also ex-communist. But from the political perspective it is clear that behind the case of Erased is in fact Milan Kučan and his team of converted communists... My late friend, Aca Todorović, wrote 4 (four) letters to president Milan Kučan, never got an answer. Janša is politically weak to make erasure functional nearly 30 years even he tried to misuse the topic in cultural fight for the power.

It is very important what kind of glasses you have on your nose when you talk about politics. Because you see very different things.

(FR): As an erased person, what were your experiences with other erased people, with Slovenian citizens and with immigrants? Do you feel your experience as an erased person changed your perception of Slovenian citizens and immigrants? If yes, how so?

(DA): No one knows real number of Erased people because no independent commission did counting. We only have government statement about. Only this fact is enough to understand that Slovenian government had free hands to do what they want in the case of Erased. No monitoring of “international community”. Helsinki Monitor reported about 80.000 erased people but was soon victim of political pressure and media lynch. Of all this Erased only 10-15 were permanent activists in political struggle against the government and perhaps plus 20-30 took part in struggle occasionally. So very small number. I know many Erased who never announced of being erased. People are afraid, it is not easy to openly confront politics of the government. There should be no illusions about erased people. We are not better nor worst than other people. I think formal status does not characterize people. Many citizens tried to help us in different ways and also many other citizens accepted nationalistic rhetoric of the government. Very similar is with immigrants.

As an Erased I can only say that I better understand problems of immigrants but we are not the same. Immigrant is a temporary situation until one got documents – Erased is for ever erased. Erased is like Negro, it is an exclusive problem of racism. Of course you can politicize immigration in racist way but it is separate story with own context. Basically Erased are not immigrants, even politics like to present them in that way. All Erased had permanent residence before being erased, many of them were born in Slovenia (6000 children among Erased) and act of erasing had exclusive political goals, with roots in WW2.

(FR): What identification and travel documents have you had in the course of your life? Could you please describe what these documents allowed and didn’t allow you to do, both in principle and in practice [in case there is a difference]? (i.e., travel abroad, access health care and education, open a bank account, get a job, pay taxes, insure your house or car or any other property, register a birth, get married, rent or buy a place to live, inherit…) What were the consequences for you and your family of being able or unable to do these things?

(DA): I will answer your question in that way: now I have all documents but I am still Erased. In some aspects even worst than when I had no one document. That means: I can not get medical job, my political films cannot be officially screened, as a filmmaker I am not mentioned in any book about Slovenian film... – so the exclusion is totalitarian, it does not depend only on documents. Being Erased - it is a political status. We are forcibly promoted into state enemies.

(FR): What were the consequences of you being erased in the context of a transition to a market-based economy, with the dissolution of socialist Yugoslavia? How did the erasure affect your access to rights and services in this context?

(DA): The role of Erased in market-based economy is very interesting and important. Creating “cultural struggle” around Erased converted Slovenian communists ensured a thick fog, a curtain, for the mafia privatization. The public attention was focused on the question of Erased while in the second and third plan rulers of the country and their favorites did what they want in economic sector.

In that way Erased share the destiny of all Yugoslav people in transition: we are robed, tricked, discriminated.

Just one detail: during the socialistic times great number of Yugoslavs had state housing. These apartments in transitional time were offered in private ownership for symbolic prices to all people living in them for decades. But not the Erased. How many apartments they took from us in that way - is not known but surely many thousands. Who took this money?

(FR): Is there a place in the world you can call home? If yes, where is that place and why do you think you feel at home there? What does your current identity/travel document(s) say next to the “nationality” line, and what would you like it to say [if it is different from what it says now]? What role do you think being able to settle where you feel you belong plays in your wellbeing?

(DA): Basically, Erased are multicultural people. When you come from Serbia, Bosnia or, say, Macedonia to Slovenia, then you feel there at home. You can have many homes. Exactly this they wanted to prevent when converted communists turned to ethnical nationalism. One home, one people, one leader, that is the philosophy of erasure.

The erasure didn't change this multicultural sense in my case. I still feel at home in Slovenia, in Serbia, in Bosnia... I think many of Erased are like that. We cannot blame Slovenian people for the crime of their converted & corrupted Stalinists.

(FR): What is your perception about the term “erased:” do you feel it is more a stigmatizing category or an empowering one? Why?

(DA): No doubts, it is both: stigmatizing and empowering. It is a permanent political status but also it forced me to explore many directions that I probably will never go without such stimulation. The filmmaking is the most important aspect. Then, as a victim of Stalinism, I needed to study the phenomena of Stalinism very deep.

It is widely known that Stalin killed nearly all Bolsheviks and created giant army of apparatchiks. So I needed to understand ideological differences between Bolshevism (Leninism) and Stalinism. These are important. I learned among other things that mimicry is one of the basic Stalinists methods. Very useful in Slovenian situation. Then I learned that ostracism is also typical element of Stalinist method (“slander, ostracism and gangsterism” is the way James Canon described Stalinist method and these three things are exactly what Erased faced).

Then I learned that cultural struggle is fake political struggle. I learn a lot about conformism among intellectuals and “activists” etc.

I got enormous knowledge in politics and sociology along with artistic and technical skills in filmmaking

(FR): How did the decision by the European Human Rights Court Commission mandating the Slovenian state to issue monetary compensation to the erased affect you? Did you receive compensation from the Slovenian state or are you in the process of receiving it? If not, what are the reasons that decision has not materialized for you? What do you know about other people who were victims of the erasure: are they receiving / did they receive compensation at all?

(DA): Money compensation is very symbolic: 50 EUR for each month of living without documents. Even so I am among small part of Erased (about 7.000 people, for my knowledge) that received that compensation.

I witnessed that Slovenian government(s) do all they can to prevent as much as possible their victims to receive any compensation.

(FR): How did your experience as an erased person impact your career and everyday work as a doctor?

(DA): I practiced medicine out of the system, as a humanitarian doctor.

(FR): Your work as a filmmaker reflects partly on the experience of erasure –yours and others’. What role did the erasure play in you becoming a filmmaker, or devoting more time to filmmaking than before?

(DA): The counter-revolution made me a filmmaker, the erasure from official records, the discrimination. It is my fighting tool, a way of understanding things, and a way of living. The opposite image in the mirror from that described by Sergei Eisenstein.

(FR): Is filmmaking a form of activism for you? If yes, what would you say you are fighting for through your activist engagement? Were you engaged in some form of activism before the erasure? Did you get engaged in any other causes since you became active in the cause of the erasure?

(DA): There are film-makers who take part in cultural fight. That means they treat topics from the conventional left side or right side – in that way they keep system alive, they do not want to change system, they serve the system, sometimes they directly serve a political party, like Michael Moore, for example. Such filmmaker are part of mainstream, they have access to the market, stable sources of financing and distribution, they also have possibilities for conventional life. Even some of them like to call own work “independent” (formally they perhaps are independent) or “alternative”, they are not.

My case is different. I wanted to uncover the character of the system supported by “international community” that made my life impossible along with thousands of other Erased and I wanted to change it. I do not know any other filmmaker with such purpose in Post-Yugoslavia and the Balkans.

My film is really political tool for fighting. Some experts call such filmmaking “Cinema of Resistance”. I consider myself a successor of the tradition of creating films like Slatan Dudow, Bulgarian/German film director from relatively early phase of filmmaking (1930') or Shinsuke Ogawa (active in 1970-90') who did films for the purpose of political fighting and were really independent, facing production and distribution problems, censorship and direct political pressure on their life.

Through my films I also treat the topic of historic revisionism in the case of collaboration with Nazism, such is film Last of the Žilniks (2007), the film that also cannot be officially screened anywhere in ex-Yugoslavia and also destinies of marginal people like in Serbian Nails (2007), Amigo (2004), then gentrification of Ljubljana in My Dear Ghetto (2008), domestic violence in You Are the Only Boss in This House (2006) but also problem of rights of migrants in the film Not Allowed (2018)...

Very early I started writing engaged poetry and I continued until today – some of the poems are translated into English and published in Politics/letters and the Typescript..The first book of poetry of mine, Praise of Sin (1995), with poems from my student age, was more like youthful rebellion but later I faced historic experience and turned to the topic of erasure and similar contemporary topics.

(FR): You have taken a public stance on the erasure through your work as a filmmaker. Did you engage through this work with the organizations created by erased people to advocate for the cause, with the NGO local and international sector, with international organizations, and with academia? If you did, in what ways?

(DA): My film Rubbed Out (2004) had a great impact on the movement of erased people. It had very broad alternative distribution in Slovenia and was screened in numerous festival in Europe (including IDFA), Africa, Japan and in New York's Resistance Cinema. It was actually the first information about the Erased in Slovenia and abroad. I got several threatening anonymous letters during the distribution...

Rubbed Out was crucial for engagement of reformed Italian Communist Party (RCI) on the side of Erased which lead to the engagement of famous Italian lawyers Lana & Saccuci and creating the European Human Rights Court case...

In Austria, for example, in Vienna, it was screened by Yugoslav emigration clubs but in Graz it was distributed by Kulturforum, local NGO. In Slovenia many NGOs took part in distribution of the film, it was screened in a few domestic festivals including National Film festival official program...

(FR): Do you feel that the struggle on the erasure has lost strength in the past years? If yes, why do you think that is, and what do you think would need to happen to rekindle it? What are the changes you would like, or would have liked, to see happen with regards to the erasure? In what fronts of advocacy do you see progress and what have been the major setbacks?

(DA): We achieved some wins in the field of human rights, at the cost of losing political perspective. But erasure of people in Slovenia is exclusively political topic. I have no doubts that the time will come when political dimension of the topic will be recreated. Because the topic is immanent to all people of Post-Yugoslavia. That is the topic of integration of our nations and ethnic groups, multiculturalism, Yugoslav nation and being again the only master of our common destiny.

*
Fiorella Rabuffetti is a Canadian researcher