When the River Runs Dry, the Rubbish Remains

An Englishman in the Balkans is a personal podcast about life, travel, culture, and storytelling in Bosnia and Herzegovina, told from the perspective of a British-born creator who has made this country home.

Expect gentle reflections, real places, local voices, field recordings, and stories that go beyond the usual headlines.

This episode begins with what should have been a glorious evening walk.

I am standing beside the River Turjanica, about two and a half kilometres from our home in rural Bosnia. The sun is beginning to set, birds are moving through the trees, and the views stretch across the valley towards Laktaši and the River Vrbas.

After weeks of extreme summer heat, however, the Turjanica has almost completely dried up. A tractor has even been driven across the exposed riverbed.

And without the flowing water, something else has been revealed.

Plastic bags, animal-feed sacks, bottles, old food tins, newspapers, part of a car and even a small beer keg have been dumped along the riverbank. Some of the rubbish has spilled from broken bags, and the smell is impossible to ignore.

What makes this particularly difficult to understand is that regular rubbish collections already take place here, including organised collections for larger unwanted items.

So why do people still bring their waste into the countryside and leave it beside a river?

This is not one of my usual gentle celebrations of life in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is a more uncomfortable story about fly-tipping, personal responsibility and the importance of loving a place honestly rather than pretending it is perfect.

In this episode:

• Walking to the River Turjanica through the fields
• How the extreme heat has affected the river
• What the dry riverbed has exposed
• The problem of illegal rubbish dumping
• Why appreciating Bosnia also means acknowledging its problems

Have you encountered the same problem where you live? I would be very interested to hear your thoughts.

Before I go, I'd love to hear from you.

If this episode brought back a memory, made you curious about Bosnia and Herzegovina, or simply gave you something to think about, why not send me an Email or WhatsApp voice note?

You might have a question, a story of your own, or just want to say hello.

With your permission, I may even feature your message in a future episode.

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The Email address is: david@anenglishmaninthebalkans.com

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