“Most of what you hear from Croatia and the Balkans
nowadays is negative. The good news is that it is possible
to bring young Croats and Serbs together and help them
develop an atmosphere of trust, tolerance and
reconciliation. It gives us hope,” says Jan Oberg, head of
TFF’s conflict-mitigation team, returning from the
foundation’s 30th mission to what was once
Yugoslavia.
Last month TFF conducted a series of reconciliation
seminars in Eastern Slavonia with 120 Croat and Serb
gymnasium students from Vukovar, Osijek and Vinkovci. For
most of them it was the first time they left “their” town
and met “the other side.” Various techniques such as fish
bowl, role play, groups discussions and brainstorming were
used. The students got to know each other and exchanged
views, made friends and sang songs. They cried when anyone
who so wanted told about the hurt and pain and what he or
she had experienced during the war; they did so with
statements like “I experienced, in my family…” and NOT
with statement like “you did this to us…” They did a
brainstorm and produced fascinating ideas and visions about
a peaceful Croatia, Eastern Slavonia and Vukovar. They
unanimously told us that many more ought to participate in
seminars like this: parents, politicians, journalists as
well as hardliners, war profiteers and people with little
education, as some of them said.
“It took Croat and Serb students less than an hour to
find out that they have a lot in common, in contrast to what
they have been told by their government, the media and often
their parents since 1991. Far the majority of those we
worked with told us directly and indirectly that they share
more with each other than with many among their own
nationality,” Jan Oberg continues.
“We didn’t want this war, those in power have stolen a
good part of our childhood. We cannot hate each other just
because someone tells us to hate. We have to meet and shape
our own opinions. Perhaps we cannot forget but we can learn
to forgive; if we forget, it could happen again. The
‘others’ are human beings like us, and we’d like to meet
them more frequently,” they told us repeatedly.
What the majority want is better schools and a much more
modern, well-financed educational system; they want places
to be together, employment opportunities, freedom to travel
and work; sports and culture activities, rock concerts – the
profits from which, they suggested, should go to the
re-building of Vukovar. They felt that politicians were
mostly playing their own games and not caring about the
young generation after the war. Many want to stay in Eastern
Slavonia or somewhere else in Croatia but do not feel that
the opportunities are promising.
“Their vision of peace includes open borders, another
type of police and military, if any. Some want to do
newspapers and a radio station together and for all
nationalities. Some want a peace and culture boat sailing
down the Danube. Very strongly: they long to be normal youth
and reach out to their Central European peers. What they see
around them is the opposite of their visions and hopes. Many
consider the newly independent state of Croatia quite
backward and nationalistic still, they feel that they have
little opportunity to develop their talents. It was
surprising for us to see that quite a few, Croats and Serbs
alike, would leave for other countries in Europe or for the
United States if they got the chance.”
Some students were prevented from participating in TFF’s
seminar by their parents. A minority wrote statements in
their evaluation such as “we can never live together” or
“the Serbs still don’t understand that Croatia is our
country and they better leave” or “Croats are obsessed with
nationalism.” Even if this was their honest view, these
young people listened and talked with each other in a
respectful and dignified manner.
“We must not forget that for many of them the war and
their refugee life has been extremely painful and left deep
scars. Many commented that it helped a lot to speak openly
about it and to feel that somebody cared and listened. The
fact that it went so well is extremely encouraging,” says
Jan Oberg and continues:
“I can’t help wondering: Why did the UN, OSCE, and
human rights organisations not do this systematically when
they were here in the thousands? Why is it not done today to
prevent new violent conflicts in the future? Do
international organisations at all understand the potential
for reconciliation and peace that young people represent –
potentially the future leaders it war-torn societies? Why
did neither Croatia nor the international community develop
a post-UN peacebuilding strategy? Why is Eastern Slavonia
forgotten in the media?
TFF and several local NGOs would like to do much more –
but it is so difficult to find the small sums needed for
this type of education. Croatia itself spends a lot of
resources on the police and military and the luxurious life
style in Zagreb contrasts, to say the least, with the
conditions of the schools in Eastern Slavonia, Vukovar in
particular. And the international community spends enormous
sums on arming new states or imposing market economy. It
would be helpful if some of them put people first,” says dr.
Oberg.
We have had 7 missions in Eastern Slavonia during the 18
months and we can see the changes, also among ministerial
representatives, principals and teachers. But these students
– admittedly some of the best educated in the country – are
much more ready and “peace competent” than the majority of
politicians we have met. It is amazing that all this
positive energy gets very little support from within Croatia
as well as from the international community. So much needs
to be done now. If the young citizens we met do become
leaders in the future, there is hope. Will anybody nurse
their aspirations and help them to stay and realise their
potential in time?”
What did TFF do? How did it plan and implement this
reconciliation process in cooperation with the Croatian
government? Exactly what did the students say about the
experience and about the future they wish to see? How did
the students evaluate TFF’s seminars and teachers?
Read about it all in “Eastern
Slavonia: TFF seminars with 120 Serb and Croat Gymnasium
Students a Success. Report and Students’ Comments” –
freely available, for your to print out.
