Hate Graffiti: When a Wall Becomes a Message of Fear

The “When the army returns to Kosovo” mural in Belgrade. Occupying a large part of the public space, the message connects contemporary politics with the legacy of the Kosovo war.

One version of the slogan “When the army returns to Kosovo”, a message that has appeared on walls in several Serbian cities in recent years, linking contemporary nationalist discourse with the legacy of the Kosovo war.

A mural presented in Avangarda’s accompanying article as a mural of Ratko Mladić on Njegoševa Street. Such portraits in public space have become highly visible sites of conflict over war legacies, accountability and memory politics in Serbia.

Graffiti denying the Srebrenica genocide. The message shows how war revisionism moves from political and media discourse into the public spaces people pass through every day.

An inscription claiming that “the only genocide in the Balkans was against the Serbs”. Messages like this move disputes over wartime facts and responsibility into streets and façades, where they become part of the everyday environment.

Anti-Muslim graffiti openly threatening Muslims with death and linking the message to the name of Ratko Mladić. It shows how hate speech in public space can move from insult to a direct threat against an entire group of people.

Graffiti containing an explicit threat against Turks, with the number 1389 referring to the Battle of Kosovo. The message shows how historical symbols can be used to carry contemporary ethnic hatred into public space.

An anti-Turkish insult written alongside a stencil portrait on a wall. Messages like this turn ethnic identity into a target of humiliation and leave hate speech visible in spaces used by everyone.

Anti-migrant graffiti reducing people to waste and suggesting that they do not belong in shared public space. Dehumanising language is one of the ways hostility toward migrants becomes normalised in everyday surroundings.

The messages “Serbia for Serbs” and “Fags out” combine ethnic exclusion and homophobia on the same façade. Public space becomes a place where it is stated very directly who is considered to belong and whose place in the community is rejected.

Graffiti calling for the death of LGBT people and Jews, accompanied by Nazi symbolism. Here, hate speech becomes a direct threat against groups targeted because of sexual orientation and religious or ethnic identity.

Neo-Nazi graffiti featuring swastikas, the numbers 14/88 and the words “Nazi Zone”. The extremist symbolism is displayed openly in public space rather than remaining hidden within coded references.

Personal insults written on a pavement show another way public space is used for public shaming, humiliation and targeting of individuals.

An intervention on a mural in front of gathered citizens. The photograph shows another side of the struggle over public space: messages on walls can be covered, removed or challenged, while the question of who decides what remains visible becomes part of a broader political conflict.