How do you portray peace in photographs? Can peace be tangible, or is it something that is only found inside the heart of a human being? Is it possible for a person or place to appear peaceful when lurking beneath the surface is suspicion and unspoken fears? These are all questions that have come to mind in relation to conversations here in Bosnia.
Today I listened to the story of a man named Vahidin. He grew up in a village near the town of Sanski Most, which he says is the most beautiful place on earth (see photo with his dad above). When he was 16 he and his family fled their home because Serbs were attacking their village and they were killing the Muslims. He talked about what it was like to live as a refugee and how he felt angry because of what happened to him and his family during the war. Before the war, people lived together in "peace". They were neighbors and friends even though they were from different religions and ethnic groups.
Later Vahidin attended a peace workshop between people from both sides of the conflict. At first he did not want to go, but somehow the messages spoke to his heart and he was changed. Now he is leading peace building workshops and started a Center for Peacebuilding, which MCC supports. Most of our time in Bosnia was spent learning about the work of the center and talking with people whose lives have been changed by it.
One thing that Vahidin said that stood out to me was that you can not have peace without reconciliation. He mentioned that even though Bosnia appears to be peaceful (without war), there are lots of issues that people have not dealt with related to the war. Vahidin described true peace between people happening only after they are willing to talk and listen to one another.
more to come...
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