The Balkan States have a long history of ups and downs. That is to be expected from peoples who are quite similar, but still have their differences. It has not been uncommon for these states to be in different types of unions or federations. What happens after these unions dissolve is the actual cause for most of the disputes between the political entities in the Balkans. These disputes are with a strong political background, but unfortunately they have also corrupted the common people who live in these countries. With the Balkans being a somewhat traditional region prejudices and stereotypes are an integrated part of society. These social phenomena have deep roots and are really hard to destroy. But no mission is impossible.
What I believe to be the biggest contribution towards reconciliation of the states in the Balkans region, when it comes to the European Union, is that with the process of accession to the EU all of these countries will have to make some essential changes towards improving the relations with their neighbouring countries. The European Union practically obligates the countries to move past the barriers and problems from the past, which is a great and useful thing.
In addition to the changes that are required by the accession regulative of the European Union, there are many other ways that the Union can help the states from the Balkans reconcile. Most important of all by emphasizing and broadening the Cross-Border cooperation projects which have shown quite positive results in some cases. For example, the southern parts of Macedonia have a very good cooperation with the northern parts of Greece even though the two countries have serious issues that have not been resolved for over 20 years. This example can be used in the rest of the countries as well.
Even though the support from the European Union is quite important for these states to pass the process of reconciliation, the initiative should be from within. Especially the youth is a critical factor for resolving the issues that last for years. Anyway, the young people by themselves, however enthusiastic they might be, cannot possibly do it all. First, they need to get to know each other and learn about their similarities in every aspect, social, political, cultural etc. And then, with the help of their local environment spread the word that across the border there are people as well, who share the same problems and obstacles as they do. This is essential because only together, as a region we can integrate in the European Union without losing our personal and collective identities as people from the Balkans.
The Youth Reconciliation Ambassadors’ role in this entire process is quite vital. For one, we, the Ambassadors of several generations, are probably the first, beside the political representatives from each of our countries or regions, to have the opportunity to be face to face with peers coming from countries or regions that are considered not that friendly in our environment. Having the opportunity to be in the same room with Bosniaks, Serbs, Macedonians and Albanians from Kosovo is not something we can come across every day, and that is why these rare opportunities are supposed to be used to the fullest.
Nevertheless, this is only the first part of the mission of the Youth Reconciliation Ambassadors. There are a couple of other parts that are as important as the first one. One of them is of course the promotion and affirmation of the knowledge and experience acquired during the regional meetings. This can be conducted in several different ways; it all depends on the approach of the Ambassador. The first step in determining the approach is to choose your target group; whether the focus will be on students, academics, politicians or the general public. In my case, the target group was constructed in that way that it covered all of the aforementioned, but still not in a way that will trivialize the whole story. For instance, when I organised some meetings in Skopje I had invited representatives of every category. There were students of Bachelor and Master studies, University professors, but also people who deal with politics, are involved in the decision making processes, or are members of certain political organisations that can influence the decision making processes. Of course the general public was present as well, physically and through the media who covered the entire event.
The next part of the Ambassadors’ mission is closely connected to the one before. It is keeping the topic of reconciliation alive on local and national level; because that is the only way the topic will be alive in the region. Having a couple of meetings is not going to do the job. There has to be a further involvement in some local organisations that work in the field of reconciliation, human rights, EU accession processes etc. This, again depends on the personal skills, interests and goals of the Ambassador. This is the second phase that determines the approach mentioned in the previous part. The type of organisations the Ambassador associates with. It’s important to keep in mind that regardless the personal political and every other type of views of the Ambassadors, they have to be open to everybody; that’s why it is my opinion the organisations the Ambassador associates with are rather inclusive than exclusive. There were several elements that I looked for in the organizations that exist in Skopje. First of all, I looked for an organization that promotes altruism as one of the highest human values, and fights for justice as the ultimate goal. Furthermore, I wanted an organization that has strong regional connections and cooperates with similar organizations in the region, also the presence of academics in the organisation was a huge advantage. For all the stated reasons I chose the Macedonian RECOM initiative. The RECOM coalition is a regional initiative in the former Yugoslav countries that works towards launching the Regional Commission Tasked with Establishing the Facts about All Victims of War Crimes and Other Serious Human Rights Violations Committed on the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia in the period 1991-2001. One of the key people in the Macedonian RECOM initiative is Dr. Biljana Vankovska, a University professor of Peace Studies, which gives the academic momentum to this network of organizations.
The third part, which is probably the most strategic part of the role of the Ambassadors is the recruitment of young people who will one day become Youth Reconciliation Ambassadors and will this process a cyclic and ever-growing process. This part is the sum of the two previous parts. Once the Ambassador has chosen his target group and has some organizational background, the next thing to do is to determine the profile of the Youth Reconciliation Ambassadors of the future. The processes that lead to the ultimate reconciliation and justice in the region constantly changes due to the many political, social and economic changes in the region, there are many factors that influence the process of reconciliation. These include, but are not limited to elections, changes of different levels of legislature, changes of laws and EU accession processes. For all these reasons, the profile of the new Ambassadors changes with each generation; it’s of vital importance for the reconciliation process, that the new Ambassadors are adapted to the current circumstances, and that they are proactive in every situation, that they are prepared for what expects them and always have the same goal, which is reconciliation.
Unfortunately during the nineties, many wrong things took place in the Balkans. When there is war there is not right and wrong, everything that happens in war is wrong one way or the other. But, that is the past, that is what we know happened. The future lays in front of us unknown and unexplored, with some predictions that are supposed to happen because of statistics and similar so called scientific methods. But that’s all theory. In practice the only thing we have is the present. So, the only thing we can basically do is educate ourselves and the environment we live in of the importance of cohabitation, tolerance and acceptance, learn from the past, and never repeat the mistakes in the future. By doing this we build a better world for us and for the generations that are to come. Let’s hope that they will live together, reconciled in peace and prosperity.
