"Our goal is the promotion of intellectual ideas and the exchange of knowledge between the diaspora, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the region. We are erasing unnatural borders because we are normal people; therefore, with our work and efforts, we repay the debt to humanity and the homeland. We help the homeland; we help the universe of which Bosnia and Herzegovina is a part." From April 22 to 26 of this year, the "Seventh Days of BHAAAS" took place in Brčko. That was the reason for the conversation with Dr. Esad Boskail, the current president of BHAAAS. In a pleasant environment, we talked about the life of Bosnians and Herzegovinians in America, about their vision of Bosnia, which they never left, about man's need for the beautiful and pleasant, but also about the activities of the Academy, its goals and independence, about the education system in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the necessity of introducing the PISA test. NV: You have lived in America for 21 years. The perception has certainly changed over time, how do you perceive America now? How do Bosnians and Herzegovinans live there now? Life is a process. To answer that question, I must mention our previous situation. Coming to America, we also brought the burden of war traumas, which were of different intensity for each of us. The biggest trauma was certainly due to the loss; we were all at a loss because we lost our homeland. We lost the country—we were expelled from it; we lost our place there. We lost our language—most of us didn't speak English; we lost our jobs—we couldn't do our jobs. We lost our role in family and society, paradise, bazaars, cafes where we used to meet, and our socializing. We lost everything we had built our whole life, so our arrival in America was marked by that loss. However, we had our own lives, and most of us had an unusually strong motivation to succeed in America, which was caused not only by those great and numerous losses but also by Bosnian stubbornness. I'm not going to talk about the war and the camps. I was in the camps for a long time treating civilians and soldiers, separated from my family. I finally met my wife and two children in Chicago. I immediately started learning the language, and those first days were similar for everyone. Most of our people and families in America today have an economically stable life. I don't just mean salaries here; we live in a system where everything works. I jokingly said, "I come from a country that consists of fifty states and has one president. I landed in a country that has three presidents." You see the difference right away. The average Bosnian and Herzegovinian in America lives solidly and lives well. NV: How does Bosnia and Herzegovina look to you now, after two decades? I need to say something about my observation. When I come here, my friends often tell me, "You don't know the situation here; you can't judge." I tell them, “I don't agree. I lived in Bosnia for 35 years and in America for 21 years. I have a right to say.” When I came, I saw a classic scientific phenomenon, a fact called "learned helplessness." The whole society suffers from it, and everyone says, "You can't change anything!" Unfortunately, learned helplessness is the cause of depression; if you have developed it, you must also have depression because you cannot avoid it. Once we have reached the diagnosis, we should also provide a solution. The solution is to write positive stories and talk about good examples. I would not mention politicians, but journalists are also an important link in communication with people. Using pat-scan, scientists monitored metabolic processes in the brain after exposure to positive and negative examples. After exposure to negative stories, the function of a part of the brain decreases, while after exposure to positive life examples, new connections are formed in the brain that improve a person's mood, which ultimately affects the quality of life. Mental patients in America, regardless of chronic diseases, for example, diabetes, cancer, and the like, die much earlier than other patients precisely because of their condition. In our society, we must talk about beautiful events and not only about the negative aspects of our lives and environment. These are topics that must be talked about, but not in this proportion. You have to start somewhere; someone has to be a pioneer and write about positive and useful phenomena. Perhaps New Time can be that driving force. NV: How did you join and establish the Academy in America? We founded the Bosnian and Herzegovinian American Academy of Arts and Science (BHAAAS) in 2007. Before its establishment, most of the currently active people in the Academy worked individually with institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I worked with colleagues in psychiatry and with university professors throughout BiH and the region. Other colleagues collaborated with colleagues from the branch: they operated for free, brought medical equipment, organized the education of doctors from Bosnia and Herzegovina in America, and connected universities in the USA with those in Bosnia and Herzegovina. So, we have already done something similar, except that in 2007 we managed to organize ourselves into something called the Academy. After solving existential problems, a person realizes that it is time to give something back to society, to repay the debt for success in some way. We choose to return our debt to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the country from which we came. That's how the idea of connecting scientists, artists, and professionals in America and Canada with their colleagues in the homeland, to improve the lives of our citizens, was born. The main principle on which the Academy rests is humanism, the transfer of ideas and the exchange of experiences, and the building of bridges to connect scientists and artists from around the world with the motherland. NV: When I came, I saw a classic scientific phenomenon, a fact called "learned helplessness". The whole society suffers from it and everyone says: "You can't change anything!" The only way is to start from the beginning, from our time and our problems. Our time is also your newspaper, perhaps you, writing these stories, will be pioneers, but we must start with the brighter side of the lively annual symposium in America and the homeland. What else do members of the Academy do? We hold an annual meeting in America. In addition, the management board of the academy is large, has 17 members, and meets monthly. Work within the academy is divided into sections: technological, medical, artistic, social, and humanities. Sections continuously work on the development of cooperation programs with partner and friendly institutions. For example, during the past "Days of BHAAAS in Brčko," most of the participants were professionally engaged in some institutions, so it can be said that we work under the auspices of the Academy, but also individually. It is important to note that we held meetings with representatives of the Sarajevo School of Science and Technology (SSST), the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine in Sarajevo, then with representatives of the Universities of Tuzla and Osijek, and many individual clinical departments. We achieved professional cooperation with colleagues from Zagreb, Novi Sad, and Belgrade. We are already hearing rumors that we are tied to some institutions. We cannot stop these stories, but I can say that we will lend a hand to every well-intentioned person. We are independent and free, and that freedom has no price. The academy gives and asks for nothing. BHAAAS knows its ways; we know where we come from and where we are going. Whoever wants to join us with positive ideas, we are here. NV: The Academy launched a section of young scientists. What is its goal and how important is it to recognize academic potential? We started the section a few years ago. Our guiding idea was to involve younger people who received their education mainly in America in the work of the Academy and connect them with their homeland. The section is led by Dr. Lejla Hadžikadić, a specialized surgeon for breast cancer operations, and Dr. Nirvana Pištoljević, who runs one of the best centers for science-based educational treatment of autism and early intervention, "EDUS-Education for All," in Sarajevo. The final goal is for young staff to take over the activities of the academy when we end our scientific careers. We try to include them as much as possible; someone must take these ideas. For example, Tea Temim is a doctor of science, researches some events on Mars, and participates in the renovation of the Sarajevo observatory under our patronage. Otherwise, there is nothing sadder in a young man's life than to finish school and have no job because he cannot be free and independent, and he wants to start a family. How to get a job if you constantly think, "I can't get a job without someone's help." That's the saddest thing. NV: Who is responsible? Institutions were defined by philosophers a long time ago. There are people who are leaders. If they don't do it right, their followers will find themselves in a helpless situation. However, the authorities, government, and institutions are not alone in this story; we are all partially responsible. We live in an absurd value system. The relationship in the system is disturbed, and we cannot blame the government alone for that. We have to start from ourselves; we approve it ourselves by our behavior and by doing nothing to change it. We need to hear more about people who do not accept bribes, who hire workers according to qualifications and achievements, who heal and teach children because they love it and do it with love. NV: What is PISA and why did people start talking about this program? The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) has existed since 2000. The number of countries participating in it is constantly growing; all countries of the region, except Bosnia and Herzegovina, are participating in the PISA test this year. It is a standardized test in the fields of mathematics, language, and natural sciences that would be used to assess the knowledge levels of elementary and high school students. The test is the same all over the world. It is necessary to standardize schools in Sarajevo, Ljubuško, and Šehovići throughout BiH. The new testing will take place in 2018, and the deadline for submission of applications is June 2015. In this way, we will be in a situation where we can evaluate the level of education and then repair the weak links. The Academy supports this program. Ismar Volić, professor of mathematics at Wellesley College, is a member of the Academy and contacted me with this proposal. We accepted it in the Academy's program, so we sent a letter and scheduled meetings with the relevant ministries. This is one of the necessary steps to raise the education system in Bosnia and Herzegovina to the standards of developed countries in Europe and beyond. It is our initiative; we hope for good results. Esad Boskailo was born in 1959 in Počitelje. He graduated from the Faculty of Medicine in Sarajevo in 1984, after which he worked as a general practitioner. During the aggression, he treated civilians and soldiers in the camps. Not of his own free will, he goes to America, to Chicago, where he finally meets his wife and two sons. He soon managed to certify his diploma, but also to specialize in the field of psychiatry in Phoenix. He is an assistant professor at the University of Arizona and deputy director of the psychiatry residency program, and current president of BHAAAS. Novovrijeme.ba, wrtitten by: Ajla Žujo-Demirović
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