Member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Željka Cvijanović said at the Demographic Summit “Family – the key to security” in Budapest that, unfortunately, in Europe, which is facing a serious demographic crisis, this topic is not given enough attention.
“The importance of gatherings like this one in Budapest is all the greater, as well as our obligation to try to draw the public’s attention to the challenges in the field of demography, which are common to almost all European countries. If demography is the key to our survival, and we will agree that it is an elementary biological to this fact, then the family is certainly a prerequisite for stable demographic development. A strong family, whose foundation is marriage as a union of a man and a woman and not any variations on the theme, is the foundation of a successful society,” she said.
If a country records negative natural growth and extremely unfavorable demographic trends for a long period of time, this, as Cvijanović said, can lead to numerous disturbances in its functioning in the future.
“And facing such challenges, of course, requires a comprehensive overview of their causes, not only from competent state institutions, but also from the professional public, the media, the academic community, the civil sector, i.e. society as a whole. Discussions about demography and pronatal policies are often reduced to exclusively on the financial or material aspect,” she stressed.
As she said, of course, the authorities devise certain measures, allocate money, create tax incentives, provide various benefits, give favorable loans to young married couples, help them solve the housing issue, and so on.
“That material or financial segment is important and unavoidable for any country that approaches the issue seriously. Just as certain existential and material security are important for starting and expanding a family,” she said.
Cvijanović also says that ‘however, if material security and a good standard of living were the only prerequisites for demographic development, then we probably wouldn’t even be talking about that topic in Europe, at least not in this way’.
“How to explain the fact that most countries with a high standard of living, including almost all European ones, record negative rates of natural increase, while in less developed countries in the rest of the world birth rates are much higher? This clearly indicates that the causes of the demographic crisis are much deeper and more complex than it seems at first glance. One of the main causes is the crisis of the family, which is again conditioned by contemporary cultural and value patterns. We have witnessed that in recent decades, all traditional institutions, from the family to religious communities to the sovereign state, are under strong blows. Through contemporary culture, mainstream media and various international, governmental and non-governmental organizations, value systems that are incompatible with our traditional values are constantly being imposed on our countries and peoples. Any authenticity is perceived as hostile, and all those who do not fit into the globalist and liberal narrative are exposed to criticism, pressure, and even various restrictive measures,” she added.
The aim, she said, is the cultural and political unification of states and peoples, within the framework of which we should take over others’ and renounce our own identity.
“In such a world, there is no place for the promotion of family values. But, on the other hand, there is a lot of room for aggressive propaganda and promotion of the rights of those who deviate from the concept of the traditional family, which is based on the union of a man and a woman and their male and female children.
If you ask a logical question – where does it all lead, they will immediately label you as a homophobe, an extremist and someone who does not respect human and minority rights; and all this without deep reflection, without any discussion or dialogue. They will treat you in the same way if you openly say that it is nonsense and notorious stupidity to define father and mother as first parent and second parent or to define gender as a mere matter of choice,” she stated.
According to Cvijanović, the molds of alleged “political correctness” limit our right to ask questions and delegate topics of essential importance for our future and our societies.
“Nevertheless, this does not diminish our responsibility to oppose such intentions even more decisively. And when we talk about freedom of choice, then we must also be vocal when promoting the model of the traditional family. An equally important task is to penetrate the essence of radical individualism and self-sufficiency that are widespread Europe, and even in our countries, have become a trend. I believe that this is at least part of the answer to the question why many young people do not even think about starting a family; why, year after year, there are fewer and fewer marriages, and more and more divorces. It is necessary is a lot of effort, will and commitment to answer those questions, and even more to offer adequate solutions. The fight for demographic renewal does not mean a battle on one, but on several fronts,” she said.
She says that ‘of course it is important to offer young people, who want to start families, a stimulating general environment in society: a stable economic situation, well-paid jobs, an organized health and education system, a peaceful and safe environment’.
“Of course, it is also necessary for institutions to create and implement effective pronatal measures to help young people in the process of acquiring offspring. But it is also necessary to revitalize the role of the family in public, culture and education and promote its most beautiful values. It is important to show that getting married and creating a family is not a burden, nor a renunciation of personal comfort, but the progress and upgrading of each individual through the community,” she says.
In her speech, she emphasized that she met many harmonious and successful multi-member families throughout BiH. entity Republika Srpska. She remembers, she says, the words of a mother of eight children who jokingly, yet honestly, said that it was much easier for her with eight than it was with two. The reason was that the older children had grown up in the meantime, so they took care of the youngest, Fena reports.
