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The Privilege of Rationality
Safia Lamdaghri, a Danish student completing her masters in Global and Development Studies at Roskilde University, is currently an intern with PCI in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The following is a reflection processing BiH’s war-torn history and complex context as a visitor and Danish citizen.
ASPYRE Europe - When Youth Shape Their Communities
Peacebuilding is not only about responding to conflict when it happens. It is also about helping people develop the skills, confidence, and opportunities to address problems constructively; participate in decisions that affect their everyday lives; and shape their communities for good. Young people around the world are an incredible force for good but oftentimes lack the support and encouragement they need to develop this knowledge base. However, when they learn that they can identify an issue, listen to different perspectives, engage decision-makers, and advocate for real, concrete change, young people build peace in their own communities.
The Wars in Our Minds
Verbal insults, controversial statements, and hateful speech can be understood as symptoms of an ongoing war: a war fought within people’s minds. It spreads like a plague, transmitted through conversations, storytelling and insults, rooted in the political narratives. Those who absorb these narratives often do not realize that they themselves are victims. Victims of a hostility-inducing environment, which shapes their worldview and burdens their daily life with disturbing emotions.
Therapy is Peacebuilding
Over the past three months, I had the opportunity to be part of a local project called “Safe and Strong – Women Shaping Communities,” through which I led Kintsugi workshops in different towns across Bosnia and Herzegovina. Kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold, symbolizes the idea that our scars do not have to be hidden, but can instead become part of our strength and beauty. In many ways, that philosophy reflected the women I met throughout this journey.
Everyday Peace Through Simple Stories
I hope these short and simple journal entries can help you better understand or better communicate to other audiences the mission of peacebuilding while offering a glimpse into PCI’s work in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
A Palestinian in Sarajevo
For the past 6 months living in The Netherlands, I have felt like I escaped the reality of the world. However, as soon as I landed in Bosnia and Herzegovina I landed into reality once again. Yet, what surprised me was the division within the city. I wondered why there were inverted Russian flags all over town. As soon as I opened my mouth to ask, my new colleague Mirela said, “Welcome to Republika Srpska” (predominantly Serbian Orthodox). I realized that all of my reading and understanding wasn’t enough to prepare me for this.
The Greatest Art in the World
“What will happen?” This question kept popping into my head as I sat in the van, winding through the rugged mountains of Kula, somewhere between Montenegro and Kosovo. Together with the artists from the acting troupe Magic Theatre (Magični Teatar), we were on our way to perform a play with women living in Kosovo. The project aimed to bring together women of Albanian and Serbian ethnicity, using theatre and artistic expression to empower those from areas affected by conflict. The twist? The actresses weren’t professionals—they were going to be local women who had never acted before but were willing to give it a shot.
Column from Sarajevo: Sevdah music as therapy for dealing with the trauma of war
Several nights ago, I was invited by my dear friend to come to Vratnik, but this time to a local “kafana” (pub) to come and sing Sevdah, a traditional genre of song from Bosnia that usually talks about unrequited love, tragedy, and fallen heroes. I’m a big advocate of in-person therapy, but oftentimes that type of therapy is unavailable or unattainable. So that evening, I decided to offer a different kind of therapy, the kind that sings songs of sorrow and gives permission to even the most hardened of men to experience the emotions of pain.
Working Toward Trauma-Informed Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The prevalence of transgenerational trauma in Bosnia and Herzegovina is not well understood or communicated. The older generations, who lived through and survived the war, never received the help needed to heal from that trauma, and this results in mental health issues for the country’s youth that are made even worse by the persistence of ethnically-biased and conflicting narratives. This is all why our intern in Sarajevo is learning from and working with a local organization called Progres as part of her internship with us. Keep reading for more about what she’s learning.