Twenty-five students, young professionals, have come together in Belgrade, and all of them for the same reason, the Youth Reconciliation Ambassadors Program organized by the Youth Education Committee in Belgrade. To introduce some of our traditional/national things, food or clothes on the Intercultural Evening was one of the marvelous ideas to discover every bringing’s role. Different professors, ambassadors, government officials, civil society etc. need to be thanked for all of their lessons, which not only changed my opinion on the situation overall but also helped me understand more and made that the main topic of my next discussions with my friends, coworkers and family.
It all started in the 19th century, when the first four countries that have managed to achieve their independence from the Ottoman Empire (Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro and Serbia) and create the Balkan League. The first two Balkan wars have taught us to organize, regroup and fight the enemy, not to make secret arrangements between states or to try to fight them as well, and in the end, that we would always need a major force to make the wars stop (The Treaty of London and Bucharest). The recent conflicts that have happened between the Balkan countries, has made a huge impact on the people living there, by damaging every ones social life on every aspect, from the first Balkan wars that I aforementioned to the latest ones. As Harry Browne said: “War is the worst obscenity government can inflict upon its subjects. It makes every other political crime — corruption, bribery, favoritism, vote-buying, graft, dishonesty — seem petty.” (Harry Browne on Why Government Doesn’t Work, pages 144-145).The problems we face today are due to neglected Governments for the consequences that have an impact on our lives. All of these facts brought the people of the Balkan Region on having to introduce the name Reconciliation. Having to visit the War crimes Prosecution and Court, we became more vulnerable and sensitive on different cases on all over Kosovo and Bosnia. Maybe we cannot understand why it all happened but we can understand that we will not let it happen again. Some say we do not have to go through history, and calling these events a history is a big effort for the states growing together, but we do need to learn from it and do every possible thing not to repeat it ever again. We have to start learning how to live together in peace, tolerance and democracy, even if we have differences on the way of living or religion or even doing politics, we have to unite for us to have a better life.
The study visits that we had were very interesting and thoughtful indeed. The speakers were chosen carefully varying on their profession, in order to make us immerse more in several topics discussions that were still affective to us. Having different point of views depending on the countries that we participants were coming from such as Kosovo, Macedonia, Bosnia and Hercegovina, and Serbia, has made this program more appropriate and pleasant in a way that only post conflict states understand. We have managed to create e good friendship between each other, even if we shared different opinions, but peace was always the matching point. The Civil Society is one of the most successful instruments on the reconciliation process by introducing and integrating these kind of programs of and from all over the region, in which the youth need to attend in order to create a more constructive opinion and become more open-minded. “Consider peace at any price, or that it has always been among humanity’s highest values–for some, supreme” (R.J. Rummel on Understanding Conflict and War: Vol. 5: The Just PeaceChapter 2What Is Peace?).Since we are on a state building phase, we do need every seminars or programs such as this or any other way of teaching us on how to grow in a more pleasant and bright environment. We do need to develop as people and as a stabile state as well, and for us to have that we do need prosperity, andthe “Economic growth is often seen as essential for economic prosperity, and indeed is one of the factors that is used as a measure of prosperity” (Kinsley, Michael J. (1997). “Sustainable development: Prosperity without growth” Rocky Mountain Institute). The last hope is at the current dialogue between Belgrade and Prishtina, in which case both of the parties agree for all kind of the beneficial arrangements to be signed (political, socio-economic) within so we can continue into the future and let go of the past. As some participants mentioned that last year this dialogue was only a dream, and now, it is a dream come true.
Through this program I have learned that you can never have too much information and that you are never right or wrong in the discussions related to the points mentioned above.“I wanted to change the world. But I have found that the only thing one can be sure of changing is oneself” (Buddha). On a state to that I fully agree that change starts from within your soul and body and then introduce it to others, and that is what we need, we need to change our way of thinking. The fact that I am a young woman, an economist and a member of the civil society, shows the change I want to take part in and I know I can and will do a lot to help improve this new mentality on our regions consolidation.“I want to be liberated and find ways to overcome all the problems of the world. I want to help all my fellow beings to do likewise. I long to attain the highest state of everlasting peace and happiness, in which all suffering has ceased, and I want to do so for myself and for all sentient beings.” (Buddha). Upon my return back home and after all those lessons learned, I plan to pass these new ideas to other people by overcoming the first phase, the acceptance. After that, everyone can be liberated to talk and discuss about it, and not only to blame each other of what anyone did, but to accept that as part of a history and to start writing our own history of growing together as neighboring countries.
During my peer to peer lectures which I Intend to held in the University of Prishtina “HasanPrishtina” in front of my master students colleagues, I want to present every lecture that we have participated on and the genuine speakers, their tolerance and very beneficial thoughts on our states status and the results of these discussions, which were very valuable and favorable for the state being. That is the main goal of asuccessful ambassador thereforeI am the change and change is what we need.
