Growing up in postwar Bosnia and Herzegovina, many things bothered me as a young person, and the complexity of the situation made me explore the society I lived in. The first thing I tried to look for were the facts, which confused me even further since I could not find a fact that all three sides agreed upon. I realized that this will not work for me, and I got interested in people and their stories, because losing someone or something important hurts anyone, regardless which "facts" you follow.
I got interested in people and their stories.
All activities done by Youth for Peace revolve around youth, dialogue and non-violent communication. What sealed my trust for the idea of Youth for Peace was a meeting with war veterans, men who had to go through hell called “war” as active participants and during this meeting they shared their stories. Then came the part I did not expect: we were invited to share our stories. I remember this day for two reasons, because I got the chance to listen to these life-changing stories and because this was the day I really got to know my colleagues.
We want our stories to be the last ones of this kind ever told.
Click the yellow arrows to scroll through the photos in the slideshow below.
After listening to these testimonies, I realized that the common thread of our motivation is that we want our stories to be the last ones of this kind ever told. Right there I realized we had to fix something we did not ruin, for us and everyone standing together with us. This became my life devotion.
What I see us doing is approaching the middle ground.
I always envision society as divided in three groups; one consisting of people who share your views, one being opposed to your views and the third one being between these two. What I see us doing is approaching the middle ground and offering our, Youth for Peace’s, perspective to those who still have not made up their mind. Since we are growing in number, I would say we are good at dialogue and there are still people who are interested in establishing peace.
Samira Fatma Baručija
Youth for Peace Cooperation Circle
