Before this program, I had no idea where the "Balkans" were, and had a vague idea that there may have been a war there once.. but wow, now I really understand both the history of the Balkans and the relevance of the issues there in today's world and the future. Issues in the Balkans have not disappeared and if they are ignored, could turn violent again. Visiting Bosnia was really wonderful- it was shocking to stand where bombs went off and people died only 15 years ago in the city of Sarajevo and also to see the fresh graves of those thousands of genocide victims in the massacre of Schrebinitza, Bosnia- only just 15 years ago...we were given a tour of the memorial by a young man (abour 35 years old) who barely managed to escape death by genocide by luck about 20 yards from where he stood... wow. How could I not have known about this before? Probably because the news is fickle and moves on quickly to the newest events...anyway, I think these are historical events everyone should be aware of the same way everyone is aware of the Holocost.
While our group was there, we got to hear from the ministry of Foreign Affairs in Serbia, survivors of the bombardment of Sarajevo and the massacre of Schrebenitza- all because of ethnic and religious divisions that were incited by politicians looking for legitimacy in a post-communism Yugoslavia... disgusting and amazing at the same time- but it was amazing to meet youth like us who went through this, enjoying their culture and their freedoms just like us.. people aren't that different around the world- and ethnic cleansing has happened all over the world and throughout history- therefore we cannot look down on these people... there are good and bad people everywhere :) ...
Yes, I think that is one of the lessons I've learned more deeply this semester. Good people are capable of horrible things and generally bad people are capable of beautifully selfless acts of kindness... therefore, forgiveness is key to our success and peace in life. This has reverberated in my personal life as well; I often find myself debating in my mind where I can place this person, in the category of good or bad...but I am always caught by the truth that this is impossible. Instead, don't take the goodness in people for granted and be forgiving of yourself and others for mistakes or ill-willed deeds that they are sorry for.
The Balkans was deeply moving and.. as you might tell- I spent a lot of time while I was there asking questions to others and to everyone I met as to the root of these issues- being an American (although we have dealt with many ethnic and religious divides), understanding the beliefs that could fuel ethnic cleansing and war on this scale was very difficult to wrap my mind around, but I think I have a decent understanding of it now.. America and the ideals of America are very unique in the world and that ethnic divides are common, especially is struggling parts of the world. Also, leave it to corrupt politicians looking for a reason to extist to bring up old ethnic conflicts- blame the other group for all your problems! you see..
Anyways, that is the tip of the iceberg of what I learned in the Balkans. Then I returned home (brussels) and continued my studies, finished up my internship- said goodbye to our Austrian friends in the parliament and said goodbye to the big, beautifully international institution that we (Alissa and I) had the priviledge of working in this semester! (tear) Our boss congratulated us on being great interns and making friends in the parliament. We visited the US embassy to the EU and the NATO and SHAPE headquarters.. which was really cool ofcourse. Then we had exams.. which were pretty hard core- preparing 17 essays for each 3 exams (17 time 3) about EVERYTHING haha. My hands are still sore from writing the exams.. but it was a good excerize to put everything together and make some opinions of my own. I even wrote two essays about my opinion of the war in Afghanistan and the future of NATO to.. oh JUST the strategic planner for NATO.. NO BIG! haha.. yea I'm using a lot of CAPS in the paragraph..
I keep thinking of more to talk about.. but I must go to sleep! I'm going to Copenhagen tomorrow and then Paris! Looking forward to going home- yay christmas and family and good friends!
Peace and LOVE, Flo
