C-sections and baby blues
Men debate how women should give birth in Turkey. Plus: protest songs, Albania’s elections, an art nouveau master’s portraits of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the state of Croatia’s punk hardcore scene.
Good morning, everyone,
Welcome back! This is, once again, Balkan Brew – your go-to newsletter for all things Balkan, freshly delivered every Friday morning. Hope you had a great 1st of May break – we definitely did. Now we’re feeling (a bit?) refreshed and (kinda?) ready to dive back in.
This week, we're diving into the crackdown on C-sections in Turkey and the quiet struggle of postpartum depression in Kosovo. We’ll also look at musical protests, Albania’s upcoming elections, and Croatia - where, it seems, nobody really wants to be mayor. Plus: art nouveau masters capturing Bosnia and Herzegovina, and a taste of Croatian hardcore punk.
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C-sections and baby blues
A few weeks ago, football players in Turkey’s Süper Lig walked onto the pitch holding a banner that read: “Natural birth is normal birth.”
CHOOSE YOUR FIGHT. As Turkey Recap reported, this was part of a government campaign pushing for natural births over C-sections.
YOUR BODY … MY CHOICE. Turkey recently banned elective C-sections (without a medical justification) in private hospitals. In the past, President Erdoğan called them “a step toward sterilisation.”
OH, THE IRONY. Turkey actually has the highest C-section rate in the world, and many blame this on… Erdoğan’s AKP’s push for healthcare privatisation.
TALKIN’ THE BABY BLUES. Over in Kosovo, Donika Gashi wrote for Kosovo 2.0 about postpartum depression and how some women are trying to tackle the emotional toll of new motherhood - an issue still largely ignored in the country.
The sound of protests
Whistles, chants, noise - even sonic weapons - every protest has its own soundtrack. But what does protest sound like in the Balkans?
IS IT A REVOLUTION IF YOU DON’T DANCE? Bulgarian journalist Svetoslav Todorov explored this in a piece for the cultural mag ВИЖ!, interviewing musicians and journalists to unpack music’s role in protest movements.
PAST VS. PRESENT. In some places, protest music draws on traditional or partisan songs. Elsewhere, it’s more hip-hop and '90s rock.
WANNA FEEL IT? It’s hard to describe the vibe of a protest - but we’ve made a playlist with all the songs mentioned in the article to get you close.
STREETS AND SHEETS. Still, don’t just take our word for it. We reached out to Svetoslav to hear what he found most fascinating about the story 🎧
Rama fourever
This weekend, Albania holds parliamentary elections. The Atlantic Council has everything you need to get up to speed before Sunday.
THE BIG FAVOURITE. It’s no surprise - current Prime Minister Edi Rama, leader of the Socialist Party, is aiming for an unprecedented fourth consecutive term.
WILL THIS COUNT? Corruption scandals have put a dent in Rama’s campaign, but most observers say it won’t be enough to take him down.
BUT. For the first time, voters abroad can cast ballots. Around 127,000 people are approved to vote, which could be an important factor in deciding the winner.
You might’ve noticed that Rama’s social media has been filled with, well, weird owls lately. It’s his way of calling out Sali Berisha, who he’s dubbed an "old owl."
SPEAKING OF ELECTIONS. Croatia is holding local elections on May 18, but the number of candidates keeps dropping over the years.
EASY WIN. In 112 out of 428 municipalities, only one candidate is running for mayor, according to N1.
IN OTHER NEWS.
Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić is in Russia for “Victory Day” celebrations, marking Germany’s defeat in WWII.
Seven people were arrested for stealing precious Romanian artifacts from a Dutch museum in January.
On May 1st, Kosovo’s parliament failed again to hold its constitutive session, continuing the months-long stalemate after elections.
Hold on a sec: has he been arrested? Nope! And he’s in Russia, too.
AND FINALLY. 50% of Balkan Brew was in Prague recently and checked out the Alphonse Mucha museum. Mucha, the famous Czech painter, was also a big believer in Slavic unity. We were pumped to learn he decorated Bosnia and Herzegovina’s pavilion at the 1900 Paris World Exhibition, but sadly, the museum didn’t have any reproductions of his work on it. No worries, though! You can check them out here.
ONETWOTHREEFOUR! Novosti has a feature on Croatia’s punk hardcore scene, with bands like Ponor, Kijamet, Kriva Istina, and Mališa Bahat.
That’s a wrap for this week! As always, if you spot a mistake, want to add something, or suggest a topic, just reply to this email. Or come say hi on Bluesky! This is us: Tommaso & Rodolfo.
Until next week, Punk’s not dead,
BB