We are pleased to announce the publication of our new book “We Come in Peace: War Veterans in Peacebuilding“. We have done our best to collect the experiences that the Centre for Nonviolent Action has gained from working with ex-combatants for more than twenty years.
The book consists of two parts: the first part focuses on the potential of war veterans for peacebuilding and the experiences we have gathered; the second part focuses on the people who make this work possible. The texts in the book were written by Amer Delić, Ivana Franović, Nedžad Novalić and Nenad Vukosavljević. The book is edited by Ivana Franović, Davorka Turk and our long-time colleague and friend Martina Fischer.
We hope that it will serve as an inspiration and support for peace and human rights activists from the region, as well as from other parts of the world. We believe it will be of interest to researchers, and we especially recommend it to those who place ex-combatants in the category of spoilers.
The book is available in PDF format on our website. For a hard copy, please contact one of the two CNA offices.
From the foreword by Martina Fischer:
“We Come in Peace” – this phrase often appears in science fiction narratives and is spoken by extraterrestrial visitors on their first encounter with a planet’s inhabitants to signal that they come with friendly intentions. “We came in peace for all mankind” is the inscription on the Apollo 11 lunar plaque which was placed on the surface of the moon. But in our – very different – context, the phrase refers to another type of pioneer, much more down to earth. In this book, it signifies the powerful engagement of ex-combatants who decided to reach out to former enemies from the wars in the Western Balkans and take one small step by sharing their experiences and building relationships. In a second step, they then spoke about their feelings in public and started to engage for a culture of remembrance that recognises the pain and losses on all sides. It takes a great deal of courage to engage with people who fought on the other side. Step by step, this group of veterans transformed themselves into peace activists and helped to build a broader network of like-minded people who are willing to speak out in public and engage in peace education.