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Vera Kelava1
The contribution of the Youth Communicative Center (YCC) to the
process of peace building on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina
and in the region
Since its foundation in 1997 YCC has been working intensively on the process of
reconciliation and peace building. Over the last years we have completed programs and
activities aimed at different population categories (refugees and displaced persons,
minorities, those returning to deserted homeland, demobilized soldiers, political party
representatives, and local NGO representatives) in over 40 municipalities on the territory
of Bosnia and Herzegovina and broader. The focus of our work has always been building
and maintaining peace, culture of dialogue and reconciliation. Although there is a
program division within YCC, every filed of work (program) in its own, specific way,
contributes to the realization of this broader goal.
The program of peace building and the development of democracy is devoted entirely to
the reconciliation and the process of building democratic patterns on personal, group and
social level. In our work, we use different methods; however, the focus is on education.
During the work, we have developed a methodology of education on reconciliation and
peace building, adjusting the experience of good practice from foreign countries to the
needs of our surroundings we act. Having in mind that peace is a state of mind of an
individual and of a community; we try to achieve progress in this field with our selfsustaining programs. The years of experience have taught us that self-sustainability is
imperative and it demands a long-term continuous work. Having in mind the capacity of
our organization and the inability to organize programs continuously in different
communities through our programs, we make a selection and educate representatives of
different population groups in the process of peace building. After the education, we
provide support for these groups and the supervision in their further work thus providing
continuity.
Besides the educational activities we organize programs with the aim of connecting
young people in the region, conducting actions and campaigns of public advocacy with
the aim of creating of democratic changes on the local and state level; we also organize
counseling and psychotherapy with the endangered categories of population; we have a
continuous media promotion of reconciliation through radio programs on our own and
other radio and TV stations; organize education for professionals from the community
who deal with reconciliation; provide support for the development of other local NGOs
on the territory of BiH; participate as the full-fledged partners in activities of global and
regional peace networks etc.
1
YKC, Banjaluka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, E mail: [email protected]
Reviewing the work of our NGO and other local and international initiatives, we can
conclude that despite enormous amounts of investments in the projects of reconciliation,
the results obtained are still not satisfactory. During the academic year 2002/2003, we
conducted research among the high school population in Republika Srpska, which
encompassed 32 towns. The results of this research showed that only 11% of young
people feel connected to the country they live in; 24% of young people would marry a
person from other nationality or religion, 30% of young people think that Bosniaks, Serbs
and Croats should live together and 63% thinks that Republika Srpska should be a
independent country, only 8% think that the international community is doing the things
the right way etc. Considering the results of this research, and having in mind the so far
made efforts in creating the reconciliation, we come up against many questions: What
kind of results do we expect? Do programs and projects that are conducted really bring
long term results? To what extent can these programs really affect the attitudes of
individuals or do they just compete with traumas from the war and the war stories still
untold and histories, in the race where the programs cannot possibly win? It should be
mentioned that those who participated in this research were aged 5-10 at the time of
beginning of the conflict in Bosnia. This very important piece of information says that it
is precisely the attitudes of this population that can be considered valid when assessing
the influence of these programs. The influence of the programs on the older population is
probably greater since the programs can bring back to memory many positive experiences
from the common past, and these memories of living together with other nationalities
often help in achieving better results. The former experiences of young people
encompassed in this research are negligible.
Many dilemmas are in front of the individuals and organizations that deal with
reconciliation in any way. Do individual unsynchronized programs of reconciliation,
numerous in BIH, affect the problem of peace building, or they barely maintain the state
of peace? Are the “experiences of good practice – intelligent solutions” offered from
“abroad” really effective or we need to create our own solutions? If we need ours the
question is whose solutions are in fact “ours”?
There are many “key”, “extremely important” or “unique” factors, truths and facts in the
process of reconciliation. We have our own.
Power- manipulation
For many years power was only a one-direction process on this territory. In the creation
of a two-track process one should go step by step ever since childhood. We try to do that
through the educational system, we try to teach young people how to think and use their
capacities in the best possible way, a way only they can choose. Unfortunately politics
and media are taking us back at the beginning on a daily basis; however starting from the
premise that an active individual is created, not born, we do not give up.
History-truth
The question of the existence of one or several historical truths could be elaborated on for
days. Working with young people we have noticed that every discussion among young
people of different ethnic groups reveals a great amount of emotional tension. By
supporting and maintaining an open dialogue in dealing with, sometimes, hard and
unsolvable questions (e.g. who was the first to arrive at this territory: amebas or some
ethnic groups) we offer an opportunity for them to express their emotionally colored
attitudes in a new, different, and more acceptable manner. A great cohesion among
groups can be noticed after this type of process.
Communication
Omnipresent and low quality. Impersonal. Created in families with their past linked to the
war, encumbered by the fear for survival, and helplessness. Very resistant when it comes
to changing style. However, the continuous presence of the educational program about
the effective ways of communication will probably create new patterns of family
behavior which will be applied by today’s youth in relations with their children.
Aggressiveness
It’s hard not to notice how the parents today, probably incapable of offering their
children any better, bequeath hatred, rage and helplessness to their children. These
emotions were carried through generations in family traumas and (un) told stories. Often,
young people express their aggressive emotions in socially unacceptable manners. The
question is what other means does the society offer them? By engaging them in socially
useful, voluntary activities we offer them a possibility to activate the accumulated
amount of energy through a positive, psychologically enriching manner.
And after everything, learning from the others
Sometimes it is very hard to apply the models of reconciliation created in different
territories, circumstances, in situations where there was a common enemy. Also, the
application of certain experiences asks for the investment of joint efforts of all segments
of society. However, if we don’t try we will never know whether they work. If we try,
even if we do not succeed, at least we will know what we are not supposed to do. After
the Second World War in Germany in the former concentration camp Dachau a model
that could perhaps be used in our case was initiated. A group of ex convicts created a
board that dealt with reconciliation under the slogan: “ may it never repeat again”. The
board is active today as well. In the last couple of years they worked on the opening and
reconstruction of the memorial center and the maintenance of the board by introducing
young members, children even grandchildren of the ex-camp prisoners. Today, groups
visit this memorial center, open to public on a daily basis, from all over the world that
learn about things that happened. There are special programs for the youth, groups of
certain nationalities that reconstruct history here, in different ways. Although sometimes
painful this process creates understanding and empathy and for sure creates conditions for
realizing the slogan: “may it never repeat, again”.