I came to Basko Polje without a lot of expectations. I thought I would meet people who do not share my interests and my taste in music, and there would be food I don’t like. Oh man, was I wrong! I admit, the food and the music were really not my cup of tea, but I met the greatest people (and that’s what matters). Some rather shy, some totally extroverted (and I would say that I am very reserved).
I was proud of myself because I left my own comfort zone and learned a lot that I had not heard about in school so far.
What I mean by that?
In school, many of our teachers say that the Croats are the best and that Serbs and Bosnians are less important, that they are aggressive and that they don’t like Croats. But that’s not true! No one here was interested in the nationality of the others.
Until yesterday I did not even know how many Croats were in the peace camp.
On the other hand, I learned more about other cultures than in any geography lesson. And I even enjoyed it. I learned the story of the war which happened only a few decades ago. I learned not from a book, backed by some data, names and images, but from people who have experienced the war from different angles.
I could talk about it for hours and hours, but I think that’s enough to show how much I appreciate everything that this encounter taught me.
It was a pleasure to meet Ron Haviv, Laura and the film crew and all the others who made these days memorable.
A big thank you to all who make these encounters possible. I love you all and will continue to work for our goals.