Brotherhood and Unity – Looking for the ghosts of Yugoslavia
It was a long strip of asphalt stretching 1,170 km through the heart of the Balkans. Under socialist Yugoslavia, the highway of Brotherhood and Unity crossed the country from north to south, passing through four of its six republics: Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, and Macedonia.
The highway, built in the aftermath of the Second World War, served both economic and political purposes: it was intended to unify the young country, newly created after the global conflict. This was a period of high tension, both externally and internally.
After the break-up of the former Yugoslavia, the paths of the former federal republics diverged, as did their destinies. Yet the Yugoslav past is still very much present in these now independent countries.
I looked for traces of this shared past along the route of the motorway, which clings to the slopes of the Slovenian Alps, runs through the agricultural and industrial plains of Croatia and Serbia, and winds through the arid hills of southern Macedonia, near the Greek border.
I walked the length of the motorway in search of remnants of Yugoslavia, traces of the previous regime. Some clearly visible, others hidden, some so discreet that they are now ghosts.
