{"id":244106,"date":"2025-02-02T15:44:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-02T14:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nenasilje.org\/?p=244106"},"modified":"2025-02-19T09:41:18","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T08:41:18","slug":"valterportal-ba-books-like-we-come-in-peace-can-work-like-an-elixir","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nenasilje.org\/en\/valterportal-ba-books-like-we-come-in-peace-can-work-like-an-elixir\/","title":{"rendered":"Valterportal.ba: \u201cBooks like We Come in Peace can work like an elixir\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source: Valter.ba<\/a><\/p>\n

Given the general state of apathy and constant brewing of inter-ethnic hatred by political elites in today\u2019s Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region, some thirty years after the end of the war, reading a book like We Come in Peace<\/em> can act as an elixir to revive the soul and heal trauma.<\/p>\n

How is it possible that war veterans of ARBiH, HVO and VRS<\/strong>, people who used to look at each other through cross-hairs, become not just peacebuilders, but good friends?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The answer to this question can be found in the book<\/strong> We Come in Peace: War Veterans in Peacebuilding<\/em><\/a> recently published by the Centre for Nonviolent Action (CNA).<\/em><\/p>\n

This excellent book brings together experiences<\/strong> gained by the nongovernmental organisation Centre for Nonviolent Action<\/em><\/a> trough more than twenty years<\/strong> of working with veterans. Chapters in We Come in Peace<\/em> were contributed by Amer Deli\u0107, Ivana Franovi\u0107, Ned\u017ead Novali\u0107 and Nenad Vukosavljevi\u0107,<\/strong> and the book was edited by Ivana Franovi\u0107, Davorka Turk and Martina Fischer.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The greatetst support comes from disabled war veterans organisations<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The first part of the book<\/strong>, titled The Peacebuilding Potential of War Veterans<\/em> contains texts describing how the work of activists from CNA<\/em> with war veterans<\/strong> developed over the years and how veterans themselves became peace activists. It is particularly touching to read testimony from Amer Deli\u0107<\/strong>, a veteran of the Army of RBiH<\/em>, titled Fighter Turned Peacebuilder \u2013 What Will People Say?<\/em> as well as chapters describing visits by war veterans and peace activists<\/strong> to sites of suffering and war crimes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

It turns out it\u2019s important to persevere<\/strong>, because they would often be looked at with distrust<\/strong> on their first visit, with positive surprise<\/strong> on the second, and welcomed with open arms<\/strong> on the third.<\/p>\n

The second part of the book<\/strong> is titled Who Are These People?<\/em> and contains short profiles and photos<\/strong> of veterans who have become peacebuilders<\/strong>. It is telling that many of them point out how their children have moved away and live abroad<\/strong> and that they felt more optimism for the future of BiH in the first years after the war<\/strong> than they do now. They take part in peacebuilding because they don\u2019t want to see the war repeated ever again.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is interesting that some veterans\u2019 organisations<\/strong> were sceptical about the efforts of peace activists, and some decided they did not want to get involved<\/strong>, but they received the most support from organisations of disabled war veterans<\/strong>. Those who lost more in the war are often prepared to do more for peace.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Given the general state of apathy<\/strong> and constant brewing of inter-ethnic hatred<\/strong> by political elites in today\u2019s Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region, some thirty years after the end of the war, reading a book like We Come in Peace<\/em> can act as an elixir to revive the soul and heal trauma.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even though it\u2019s a small sample, the Centre for Nonviolent Action<\/em> with its perseverance in activism<\/strong> showed not only that reconciliation and understanding<\/strong><\/a> are possible between people in BiH, Croatia and Serbia<\/strong>, people who were on warring sides<\/strong> during the wars of Yugoslavia\u2019s dissolution, but that there can also be solidarity through which we can all build a better future.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We talked about what it was like working with war veterans<\/strong> on peacebuilding with Ned\u017ead Novali\u0107<\/strong>, a historian and member of the team at the Centre for Nonviolent Action<\/em> and one of the authors of the book We Come in Peace<\/em>. To start, we wanted to know why it was important to visit sites of suffering<\/strong> from the war.<\/p>\n

Recognising the suffering of the “other side”<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cTo put it in the simplest terms: because these places exist, commemorations are organised, memorials are constructed. It is important to visit these sites because that is often a sign of support to a community that is today in the minority and needs every kind of support, and from our experience, I can say that for many people the arrival of a mixed group of veterans means a great deal. It is a sign that they were being accepted, that their suffering is being recognised,\u201d says Novali\u0107.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He warns that there are sites, monuments and commemorations that are destructive from the perspective of peacebuilding.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cSelective memory of only our own victims, denying \u2018other\u2019 victims, messages of hatred from monuments or official commemorations, we saw all this and wanted to change it somehow. One of the ways to intervene is to come to such places and such commemorations. A particularly powerful intervention is when war veterans, former members of the Croatian Army, ARBiH, HVO, VRS and JNA\/Army of Yugoslavia, come to such places together. That sends a message that the \u2018other\u2019 side recognises \u2018our\u2019 suffering and that \u2018among them\u2019 there are people who are prepared to condemn crimes and call for the prosecution of those responsible, and this is a significant way to establish basic trust among people,\u201d this peace activist explained.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The book also says that daily political developments in BiH often presented a problem<\/strong> for the efforts of the Centre for Nonviolent Action<\/em> and war veterans who worked with them. We were interested to hear about specific examples?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just a problem in BiH, but everywhere in the region, and global developments also have an impact. The Homeland Movement coming to power in Croatia necessarily makes peace work more difficult, in Serbia the government led by Aleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107 has in a way rehabilitated a host of war criminals, sponsoring their books, television appearances, etc.\u201d Novali\u0107 pointed out.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIn Bosnia and Herzegovina, we\u2019ve had situations were various statements or decisions raise tensions to such a degree that people begin fearing for their own safety. There were times when returnees temporarily left their homes out of fear, and it\u2019s difficult to work in such circumstances,\u201d he said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He added that the war in Ukraine and Israel\/Palestine<\/strong> also affects people because they are reminded of what they went through and fear mounts again,<\/strong> a feeling of insecurity and helplessness.<\/p>\n

\u201cPolitical elites in the region view the past as a political resource, one of the few that they totally control and that is important for them both in terms of staying in power and maintaining the overall power dynamics in society. When we wrote about the culture of memory in another publication, we defined what we are witnessing as a \u2018war of memories\u2019, this is the state of affairs that political and other elites strive to maintain,\u201d Novali\u0107 believes.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The public ins not shown positive examples<\/strong><\/h2>\n

One of the most striking things in the book<\/strong> is the number of times war veterans conclude they had been wrong about something, so they changed their minds<\/strong>, they talk about what they regret doing during the war or right after the war. This is seldom heard in BiH, errors and faults<\/strong> are mostly seen only in others<\/strong>, not in ourselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou will hear it from ordinary people, but the question is if their voices will be heard. There is a just relationship towards the past that prevails with ordinary and honest people. You will even hear such messages from some local politicians. The problem is that the higher you go up the social ladder, the less of it there is,\u201d says Novali\u0107.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He also cites some concrete positive examples:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cFor instance, you have the mayor of Vare\u0161 who is an HVO veteran and regularly attends the commemoration in Stupni Do, the former mayor of Rudo was a VRS veteran who regularly supported and attended commemorations for Bosniak victims, you have a similar situation with the mayor of Lukavac who is an ARBiH veteran. These things are possible and they are happening, the question is how to raise them to a higher level, how to get the members of the BiH Presidency to go somewhere together to honour victims.\u201d<\/p>\n

The of war veterans<\/strong> who worked with CNA<\/em> and became peace activists had various experiences back in their home communities<\/strong>, both good and bad.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome were targeted by dreadful verbal abuse, the government would take revenge on them by denying them a prosthetic for the leg they lost in the war… We asked the veterans about how they coped and for most, the support of their families and a close circle of friends was crucial. We tried to have several veterans to work with everywhere and to keep expanding this circle of support. The credibility we have built up and maintained over the years has led to many victims\u2019 associations, religious leaders and local politicians respecting us as a group that treats all victims fairly and has honest intentions. This also helped reduce pressure and increase support,\u201d Novali\u0107 remembers.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We also asked Ned\u017ead Novali\u0107<\/strong> about the emotional toll<\/strong> of working in the Centre for Nonviolent Action<\/em> and with war veterans, as well as the emotional fulfilment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s emotionally demanding, because you simply have to invest yourself in the work. It is the darkest part of our history where there was so much inhumanity that you can\u2019t help but be shaken by it. At the same time, it is fulfilling because you are doing something meaningful and useful, you have the chance to change something and see that change, even if some might consider it small.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vicious circle of denying responsibility<\/strong><\/h2>\n

He also spoke about an event that affected him deeply:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was in Vitez, which is part of my broader home region, at the commemoration for killed Croat children, and when you see how much it means to a parent who lost a child all that time ago that you came, brought a rose, held their hand, it gives you motivation to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe burden veterans as peacebuilders take on when they visit sites of suffering is huge. It is not easy as a veteran of, for instance, the Croatian Army to go to Varivode and Go\u0161i\u0107, or for a veteran of ARBiH to go to Trusina, or a veteran of VRS to Srebrenica<\/a>… And it\u2019s not so much a question of courage as of responsibility and removing the burden from entire collectives and future generations,\u201d Novali\u0107 believes.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Given that BiH news media<\/strong> feature a commemoration<\/strong> related to the war that ended 30 years ago<\/strong> on an almost daily basis, the question that should be asked is what if commemorations keep the war close, current, even alive?<\/strong> This is not to say that it should all be forgotten and nothing should be commemorated, but that the right measure needs to be found<\/strong> to open up the way for more freedom and rid us of constantly going through cycles of retraumatisation<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure many people feel that there\u2019s too much of everything, I sometimes do myself,\u201d says Novali\u0107.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe political elites that hold power are trying to make sure the past never passes, and that instead its burden is passed on from one generation to the next so that we stay trapped forever in a vicious circle of denying our own responsibility and lacking compassion for others. We are aware of this and for that precise reason we go to commemorations and deal with the past, in order to show that the burden can be shifted with dignity, that a different kind of memory is possible, a memory that will go towards building a better and more just society,\u201d Novli\u0107 points out and adds:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI completely understand people when they say they feel constricted, that it all gets to be too much and they refuse to play projected social roles. One of the effects of working with war veterans who have become peacebuilders is precisely this rejection of the projected role of war veterans, what they are allowed, what lines must not be crossed… Peace work is essentially about creating a space of freedom, including the freedom to choose how much memory is not too much,\u201d concludes the co-author of this excellent book and long-time peace activist.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Valterportal.ba asks how war veterans, people who used to look at each other through cross-hairs, can become not just peace activists, but good friends, and gives answers through a review of our book<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":244084,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,80,72],"tags":[311,337,1947,304,146,143,182,2149,1904,238],"class_list":["post-244106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-activities","category-others-about-us","category-excomb","tag-activism","tag-combatants","tag-former-combatants-en","tag-peacebuilding","tag-reconciliation","tag-responsibility","tag-veterans","tag-war-veteran-cooperation","tag-war-veterans-in-peacebuilding","tag-war-veterans"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nenasilje.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nenasilje.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nenasilje.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nenasilje.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nenasilje.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=244106"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/nenasilje.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244106\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":244109,"href":"https:\/\/nenasilje.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244106\/revisions\/244109"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nenasilje.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/244084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nenasilje.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=244106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nenasilje.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=244106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nenasilje.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=244106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}