From War to Wisdom: A Youthlinc Journey Through the Balkans by Anna Derrick

I recently returned from my Youthlinc trip in the Balkans (Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia) and all I can say is WOW. It was truly a transformative experience in such a unique and fascinating part of the world. I learned so much and met some amazing people that helped me change my perspective on conflict and healing. I’d like to share one of the stories that had the biggest impact on me and my time there.

We visited the Srebrenica genocide memorial a couple of days into our trip. It was a truly humbling and somber experience. Our guide that day was a veteran who had fought in the war as a young man. After visiting the memorial and reflecting on justice and forgiveness, he shared a personal story with us on our way to the next city.

This man fought as a part of the Bosniak forces against the Bosnian Serbs. His brother was killed by a sniper in combat and he watched him pass away. He said that after the war, he held a lot of resentment and anger toward the Serbs for the death of his brother. He was talking to his mother one day about what he was feeling and the hatred he felt toward them. She then shared with him this story:

“Son…God has two books. One book has the date that we will die and the other has a list of all the things we have done or will do in our lives. Your brother is dead, and his pages are filled. There is nothing we can do to change that. The men who killed him also have their own pages. Someday, God will judge them for what they have done. However, you cannot hate them. You can hate what they’ve done. You can hate the action. But you cannot hate them. We must move on.”

This story greatly impacted me. There are so many people that have been hurt throughout war and in the world. But if we can separate person and action, I believe the world has opportunities for healing. Often, I think we forget the humanity of individuals in conflict, whether it be personal or political. It sounds cliche, but the world really needs a whole lot more empathy. If we can cultivate that, we could do a lot of good. Hopefully we can both do things to help create these spaces in our own lives and interactions. I know I will be trying to do better in my own life!

The Balkans were a very complicated place with also a lot of good. I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to go and experience this region and this place. I will remember these lessons for the rest of my life and I will use them to better the world in the future!