Thanks for the comment. I am not sure what part of my story seemed to have revealed that I do not understand the situation. I will admit that I often feel like a stranger but this is a normal feeling for any exile coming back to his or her place of origin.
However, I do believe that these matches reveal the true division of the city. Like I said in the story, it is not the hooligans who worried me. They always created problems even before the war and even today across Europe. But it is the way the city RESPONDS to these events that is symptomatic of the deeply rooted division of the city. For example, the city has two of everything: two water facitilites, two electric companies, two internet companies, two police forces (although on paper they are one), two fire stations. And the standard of living is hugely different on the two sides. For example, salaries are much higher on the West side. And when you talk to people there is still a lot of mistrust towards the “other side.” And people dont try to hide it. They openly admit that the city is divided.

And this is what I wanted to say with this story. It is a deeply scared city with a serious adn dangerous division running along the Neretva river. This is an undeniable fact.

THanks for the comment!

Fedja