Ćao! My name is Deborah, I am 24 years old and I just finished my Bachelor’s degree in political science at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. I have been living in Sarajevo for more than two months now. To be honest I have never even dreamt about going abroad after my Bachelor studies. Least to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). So how come I ended up living in Sarajevo? Well, I am here because of my interest in peace building (And because of my family’s and friends’ persuasion work ;)). My university studies initially aroused my interest in conflict transformation and peace building. With some theoretical knowledge in this field I came to BiH to experience how peace building works in practice. For this reason I am currently volunteering in an NGO involved in peace building in Sarajevo.
I have been working there for eight weeks now. As many other NGOs, “my” NGO has loads of work to do and is chronically understaffed: my colleagues endlessly edit, plan and conduct the NGO’s various activities. Despite their immense workload I am often not able to help my colleagues: the language (BCS) has proven to be a bigger obstacle than I initially thought – and unfortunately one that I cannot overcome during my three months here. Nevertheless, there are a few things I can help my colleagues with – despite my lack of BCS: I prepare materials for workshops, write little reviews of past activities in English and buy lunch for my colleagues and me.
From time to time I also get to accompany my colleagues to some of their activities. Recently, we headed to Tuzla for a weekend. There we conducted a workshop for primary school teachers about universal ethical values and how to integrate these values in class. During the weekend I also had the opportunity to meet someone from another NGO who works with women from Srebrenica. She told me about their NGO’s comprehensive approach to address and heal the traumata the women have experienced during the war. It was a very touching and inspiring meeting for me.
Lately, I took part in a workshop for primary school teachers about media pedagogy. The workshop leaders were to creative guys who want to encourage people to approach media critically. In their workshop, the participating teachers learnt about how media function in general and that every one of us has some medial quality because every one of us transports and transmits messages. Human beings in general but teachers in particular have the power to shape perceptions of other people. It is therefore important know about that power and to act responsibly since “with great power comes great responsibility” (Spiderman quote ;)). The workshop leaders also put forward ways of how to use filmmaking as educational means. They were invited to develop their own short film (from idea over script to acting) about violence in schools. It was interesting for me to see how enthusiastic the participants were about their own filming projects and how diverse and creative their ideas were.
Altogether my time in Sarajevo has definitely been worthwhile so far – and I would recommend it to everyone else who wants to broaden his/her horizon: not only do I daily learn something about peace building in practice but I also learn much about Sarajevo, its history and its people. I particularly grew to like to listen to people. It is interesting and insightful to listen to different people who want to share their stories and experiences about their life in Bosnia with me. Unfortunately I could only listen to the stories of people who speak English or German – as I mentioned before: my BCS has missed out badly (so far). Nevertheless, I am very much looking forward to spending some more weeks in this intriguing country. And maybe, I will find the time and discipline to improve my BCS in the time remaining – motivation I would have enough.
Deborah Fritzsche, BA political science at the University of Zurich, currently living in Sarajevo