This was supposed to be a story about national minorities, however, it soon became an effort to find the words to best describe the greatness of a man who does not allow others to judge him based on what he is, but rather on all the important characteristics that make him WHO he is. This was supposed to be a story about national minorities, however, it soon became an effort to find the words to best describe the greatness of a man who does not allow others to judge him based on what he is, but rather on all the important characteristics that make him WHO he is. Dalibor Tanić, Editor of the Roma online portal “UDAR”, puts his professional identity above all else and views his nationality as a mitigating factor rather than a source of aggravation or weakness. He considers himself a journalist, activist, and editor first and foremost, placing these above his nationality. For a time, Tanić worked and lived in Serbia where he encountered higher quality and more advanced legal solutions regarding issues related to nationality, which he attributed to a simpler state apparatus as compared with that of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). In addition, Serbia has made significant steps forward in its negotiations with the European Union (EU) and, thus, must work to improve minority relations accordingly, among other things. There were situations in which some editors labeled Tanić as a Roma journalist and, therefore, assigned him to cover a certain set of topics. He, however, didn’t see that as his problem, but rather as a manifestation of other people’s shortcomings. “Everyone has a chance to do something worthwhile with their lives. I gave my absolute best to be a professional and I succeeded,” says Tanić. When it comes to the status of Roma in BiH, Tanić would prefer they are not viewed as having a separate set of circumstances as the problems are the same for all citizens of this country, a condition he considers quite normal for a transitioning society. Nevertheless, he does agree with the fact that Roma have far fewer opportunities in this society. “Today, if you are not a member of a political party, it’s almost impossible to get a civil service job, regardless of your qualifications. Now, imagine the position of the Roma when referring to such topics of nepotism, corruption, and a society where the core values are distorted,” states Tanić. We are well aware of the power of the media to initiate societal change and we ask ourselves what influence they truly have when it comes to shaping the opinions and attitudes of the average citizen. Amidst images that capture poverty and the dirty details of everyday Roma life, an unenviable position is portrayed and the question arises as to how such content influences the consumers of such. “What you see and hear on the evening news at 7:30 pm you take at face value and then create your personal judgments about someone, or something. It’s really not necessary to talk about the media’s depiction of the Roma. For example, if you have a 100-second reportage and 90 seconds is dedicated to covering positive stories about successful Roma students, you only need to insert 10 seconds of coverage containing muddy neighborhoods, dirty kids, and begging, and the positive coverage is erased from the viewer’s mind. The average viewer will only remember those 10 seconds, which will once again reinforce their prejudices towards the Roma,” Tanić emphasizes. Tanić adds that in order to change this situation, it is necessary to change the public service policies and to introduce regular TV programming in the Romani language. Despite the numerous changes, displacements, and difficulties the BiH society has been facing for decades, it appears that the country’s citizens are just becoming colder more prejudiced towards others and those who are different. According to Tanić, this situation is a result of ignorance and the lack of awareness. “That is how stereotypes and prejudices are born. On the other hand, we have become completely indifferent towards everything. I don’t want to generalize, but we had the opportunity through the social networks to see how people in Sarajevo reacted towards migrants. People saw them as terrorists and thieves, not as refugees like they themselves were just 20 something years ago,” says Tanić. Tanić believes that the Sejdić-Finci verdict made the border of inequality much more visible because the verdict still hasn’t been implemented despite the fact that it was issued by an institution whose laws are above the domestic laws. He also adds how the implementation of the verdict is also driven by politics, and that it will not be implemented without foreign influence.