Ordinary man

Despite the very nature of the theme that was covered, despite historical facts, court judgments from internet articles, comments of glorification of war crimes and appropriation of the same, stories from parents, grandmas and grandpas, during my participation in this year's Most Mira camp, the same story attains a different meaning.

Thinking that I was already well informed about the events which took place during the homeland war in Bosnia and Herzegovina I did not expect to learn too many facts - especially about the region where I come from and where the camp was held. However, I must admit that I may have learned or better say seen a rather different view of all those events.

In fact, we did not play with numbers [of victims], politics, colours displayed like those in the House of Peoples that are the current topic in the ongoing and future election campaigns, and which are seemingly some of the main arguments of political entities during their fight for votes and positions [of power].

The approach was completely different. We were learning about an ordinary man who by sheer luck or misfortune was born there, was assigned faith, ethnicity, and the status of friend or foe. The whole time we observed the camp from the perspective of an ordinary man, who did not demand any of the above, who just found himself [wearing] an inherited jersey.

When all the colours are deleted, this approach lays bare all the problems facing ordinary citizens, created back then but still present in our society: the selective approach to war monuments and markings from the last century; the selective selection of historical facts and their concealment; marginalisation of certain victims; the absence of rights and systemic support to the victims of the same events; struggles to achieve them and stifling the struggle to achieve them; and other phenomena and movements organised for the same purpose.

The absence of war does not mean peace, and young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina can make a difference by taking off their jerseys and contribute to the achievement of these goals.