Montenegro.com interview: Dr. Nenad Popović, one of the founders of the Presidency of the Union of Montenegrin Associations of Europe Dear visitors, Montenegro.com continues the series of interviews with personalities from the diaspora. At the same time, we use the opportunity to invite all those with whom we are not in contact, and who in any way have a desire for the general public to learn about their work, intentions and wishes. This week we spoke with Dr. Nenad Popović, one of the founders and member of the Presidency of the Union of Montenegrin Associations of Europe (SCAE); one of the people to whom the greatest credit belongs for the final unification and organization of our emigration in the countries of Western Europe, in a modern and efficient way.

SCAE session Montenegro.com: Mr. Popović, I know that you have been following our work for many years and that you are certainly familiar with one of the fundamental points of our editorial policy. Therefore, monitoring, working and developing relations with our diaspora wherever they are and however these people feel. During the earlier years, our site had much more intensive cooperation with organizations and individuals from other continents (mostly South and North America). Somehow it seems to us that the diaspora in Western Europe started organizing at the latest. However, today the organizations that are part of SCAE represent the most organized part of our emigration in general. dr. Nenad Popović: You are right when you say that the diaspora in Western Europe started organizing at the latest. This was conditioned by the structure of people from Montenegro who have been living in these suburbs for a long time. You are intensively studying the diaspora, so you know that despite the geographical proximity, it is relatively young and very unstable until the 1950s. Better said, those countries were just a way station on the way to North and South America and Australia. Paris, Vienna, Bologna, Frankfurt, Leipzig and Amsterdam were places of education for a certain number of Montenegrins in the 18th and 19th centuries, but they were not the places where they lived. It could almost be said symbolically that our first real expatriate in Germany was Princess Anna, who, by marrying and joining the important Central German princely house of von Battenberg, came to live with her husband in Darmstadt, a city 40 km from Frankfurt. The wave of political emigration during and after World War I bypassed the countries of Western Europe. During the war and a few years after it, we could talk about our emigration in Italy (I mean the army in Gaeta and Bari) and France (about the royal family and the Government in exile), but already in the 30s of the 20th century, some of these people returned to Montenegro or continued on to overseas countries. A negligible number of our emigrants remained without serious activities in those countries. After the Second World War, a wave of political emigration came from Montenegro, which, due to its nationalist and mostly Greater Serbian ideological provenance, had no interest in creating Montenegrin associations. She even did the opposite. She stifled any thought of Montenegrin uniqueness, reducing it only to a Serbian folklore pendant. In the 1950s, the so-called economic emigration began to arrive in Western Europe, or as they were called, "temporary workers abroad". They were incorporated in the so-called Yugoslav clubs that were under the absolute control of the communist party and UDBE. This economic emigration originated, for the most part, from underdeveloped and peripheral areas of Montenegro, mainly its northeastern parts. At the beginning of the 1990s, that former economic emigration, exposed to strong propaganda and pressure, became emigration for the most part opposed to the re-establishment of Montenegrin statehood and the emphasis of Montenegrin uniqueness. According to the principle: "To prove himself, a convert must be a greater Catholic than the Pope". Many of these people excel in denigrating everything that "smells" of the Montenegrin nation, language, church and tradition. Some of these people do not even hesitate to publicly and solemnly announce stupid things like that in the newspapers, that they will sue Montenegro in the Court in Strasbourg if the current government dares to call a referendum. It was in those 90s that another wave of emigrants arrived in Western Europe, mostly young and highly educated people, who brought a new impulse and quality to the Montenegrin diaspora. At the beginning, mostly through the Internet, they try to connect more closely, exchange information and maintain a connection with the homeland and the nationally conscious forces in it. Here is a somewhat lengthy introduction that, I hope, will give your readers a more complete picture of the history of organizing the Montenegrin diaspora in Europe.

The founders of SCAE are Dr. Nenad Popović and Prince Nikola Petrović Njegoš Montenegro.com: First of all, tell us something about the history and structure of SCAE. In which countries do you operate, what activities do you engage in and what are your goals? dr. Nenad Popović: The Union of Montenegrin Associations of Europe was founded on July 15, 2000 in the German city of Bergheim, and it was founded by already existing Montenegrin associations from Germany, France, Croatia and the Czech Republic. This was preceded by more than a year and a half, which I spent in searches on the Internet, newspapers and other media, telephone directories, correspondence with existing Montenegrin associations in North America and Australia, all with the aim of gathering as much information as possible about Montenegrin associations in Western Europe and to animate as many prominent individuals who acted independently for this idea. In April 2000, the founding assembly was preceded by a meeting of the initiative group in Paris, hosted by Montenegrin heir to the throne Nikola Petrović Njegoš and the association "Solidarite-Montenegro". Despite my opposition, my dear friends from the association rewarded this effort in establishing the Association by electing me the first president of SCAE. Knowing what professional obligations lie ahead of me, having obtained the position of assistant at the dental faculty in Kiel and specialization, I tried to dissuade them from it. Two years later, seeing that even with the greatest effort, due to lack of time, I could not perform that function well at my own request, I transferred it to one of the vice presidents. SCAE is organized on a territorial basis. The members are associations or their alliances at the state level and SCAE represents their umbrella organization, which respects the independence of the members and has the role of coordinating their activities, enabling a better exchange of information and providing a unique and efficient performance at institutions in the homeland and Europe. Each country is equal in decision-making and is represented in the SCAE Presidency with one vice-president. The goals and activities are aimed at fostering the culture and language of Montenegro, its customs and traditions, presenting the cultural heritage of Montenegro and developing friendship with the citizens of the countries we live in, organizing humanitarian aid, helping the education of young people and strengthening all forms of ties with the homeland. Among the activities so far, I would like to highlight the organization of the collection of financial aid to independent media in Montenegro, under the auspices of our former foundation MONTEMEDIA. As far as education is concerned, there is the organization of the French language summer school in Rožaje, and from the cultural side, the promotion of the books of Prof. Nikčević's "Montenegrin grammar" and "Montenegrin orthography" in Zagreb, logistics for the exhibition of contemporary Montenegrin painting in the Deutsche Welle gallery in Cologne. The presence of KUD "Njegoš" at the folklore fair of Europe in Ravensburg, organized by Mr. Saša Babić. We follow every appearance of Montenegrin institutions and companies at international fairs and presentations, and if necessary, which is always the case, we will be of help. Several times in the organization of our general secretary, Mr. Ljub Dabović, delegations of German businessmen went to Montenegro. As for our members, we are guided by the principle that each of us is an ambassador of Montenegro in our own street, company, circle of friends and neighbors in the countries where we live. We spare no time to explain to those people the difficult-to-understand Balkan tangles and show Montenegro in the right light. We have such a relationship with the media in those countries. We react to imprecise and general texts and information about Montenegro and lobby in favor of its state independence. SCAE is a mirror image of Montenegro in Europe. Members are citizens of Montenegro, regardless of their national or religious affiliation. When you look at the list of the leadership of our organization, you will recognize people of all nations and religions living in Montenegro.Member countries or rather branches of SCAE exist today in Germany, France, Croatia, Slovenia, Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands. Montenegro.com: Apart from the countries where there are already established organizations, do you have contacts with individuals from other parts of Europe or are there announcements that new organizations will soon be founded? dr. Nenad Popović: Establishing subsidiaries in other European countries has been a priority for us from the beginning. Immediately after the founding Assembly, in July 2000, we started activities to establish Montenegrin associations in Switzerland, Austria and the Benelux countries. At the end of 2000, Montenegrin associations were founded in Switzerland and the Netherlands, and a little later in Austria. We have our commissioners in Luxembourg and Great Britain who are working on it. In Britain, we have significant support in Mr. Milan Nikolić and his internet station www.montenet.org. Association Montenegro from Sockholm Mr. Djokić and Mr. Sekulić was accepted in principle by the membership, but due to the great distance, we have not yet realized this in written form. In Denmark, we will support the efforts of Mr. Voj Trifunović to expand the already respectable electronic library of Montenegrin culture MONTENEGRINA. In Germany, where there is the largest number of active associations, there is a trend of forming associations that gather not only Montenegrin citizens, but also friends of Montenegro from the German environment, influential people from business, culture and politics who can be of use to Montenegro. An extremely successful model of such a progressive association was achieved by Mr. Ljubo Dabović in Nuremberg with his Franco-Montenegrin association. The association "Princess Anna von Battenberg" will be of the same type, which will gather Montenegrin citizens and their friends from the German province of Hessen, and whose organization I will begin as soon as my professional obligations allow. Montenegro.com: You are a recognized doctor and live in the financial heart of Germany. Today, a significant number of the second generation of our emigrants already lives in that country. Can you tell us something more about their attitude towards their country of origin, what is the level of interest and how do they react to events in Montenegro? dr. Nenad Popović: In that, as you say to the financial heart of Germany, there is a significant group of our citizens of the first generation and they show a strong level of interest in events in Montenegro and react as I have already described to you. The second generation of these emigrants shows much less interest in events, they look at Montenegro as a destination where they go for a relatively cheap summer vacation compared to other Mediterranean countries. Most often, they are not fully integrated into German society and lead a kind of parallel life. Their lack of interest and lack of information is fertile ground for assimilators in mantles, which Germany is full of. However, it is encouraging that a number of Montenegrins of the second generation resisted it, and this is best demonstrated by their membership in our organizations and their active participation in them. They are mostly young people who received higher education in Germany. Montenegro.com: What is the current level of interest and, of course, motivation for returning to Montenegro and possible investments. Of course, first of all, I am thinking of the younger generation and our business people. How do they experience the rules and conditions for investment in the country of origin? dr. Nenad Popović: A return in the true sense of the word exists only in the plans of our first-generation citizens, in the form of spending peaceful retirement days in Montenegro. The second generation and emigrants who came in the 90s do not think about returning, and they look at ideas about capital investment in Montenegro with great reserve precisely because they do not know the rules and conditions of investment. Since most of the time they run their own small businesses or work in large companies, they cannot start opening plants or companies in Montenegro, because that would require their constant or very frequent presence in their homeland.Currently, buying real estate is the only type of investment that is widespread among our expats in Europe. They say that's where they have the least headache! SCAE Presidency Montenegro.com: What is your cooperation with emigrant organizations in other parts of the world? dr. Nenad Popović: If we exclude the abuse of the II World Congress of Montenegrins in Cetinje in 2000 by a few individuals, it can be said to be very cordial and correct. I would especially emphasize the help of the Ethnic Association of Montenegrins in Australia, headed by Mr. Mihail Mandić, who helped me in collecting data, addresses and in organizing the European association itself. With the associations of Canada and North America Mr. Karadžić and Mr. Petranović have a cordial relationship. Their representative was a guest at our sessions, and ours were also in America. Montenegro.com: How satisfied are you with the institutions in Montenegro and their cooperation with SCAE? dr. Nenad Popović: In that context, I would like to highlight and praise the work of the MFA of Montenegro during the time of Minister Mr. Lukovca. Diaspora contact was later taken over by the Diaspora Center and it was a seven-mile step in cooperation between the homeland and the emigration. We have a very good cultural and educational cooperation with Matica Montenegrin. Although they are not an institution, on this occasion I would like to point out the exceptional responsiveness of our national airline, MONTENEGROAIRLINES, who have always met our requirements and thus significantly helped our activities on the organizational and humanitarian level. As a Montenegrin, I am especially happy when I learn from an independent source from Frankfurt airport (second in traffic in Europe) that the employees and crews of that company, which is the identity card of our country, have in this short time gained a high professional rating among giants like Lufthansa and others. With the religious organizations in Montenegro (the Montenegrin Orthodox Church, the Islamic Community of Montenegro and the Catholic Church in Montenegro) the members themselves, with the support of the association, have relations with them. Thus, this year, the Bajram celebration was organized in the premises of the Montenegrin Association in Vienna, and a little earlier, here you get exclusive information that no media in Montenegro received, in Frankfurt, for the first time in the diaspora, Montenegrin Christmas-goers gathered. Montenegro.com: As you have noticed, we work daily to modernize and improve our website. How satisfied are you with its content and services that we started offering recently? dr. Nenad Popović: Like many expats, I often visit your extraordinary website. The offer of real estate, as I said, is very interesting to us in the diaspora and I hope that you have already found a good resonance. My favorite column is your travel reports. Here, 2-3 weeks ago, I reviewed everything with my children once again and we chose three routes that we will definitely do during our next visit to Montenegro. Also, I am happy to read your articles about Montenegrin settlements in Argentina. Finally, one suggestion. The only thing I miss on your new site is the banner from the old site that said: WE LOVE YOU MONTENEGRO. Montenegro.com: Thank you for the conversation, I hope we will have the opportunity to meet soon. Gordan STOJOVIĆ Montenegro.com