The tour of Mostar and the discussion that we had with our wonderful tour guide Dragan Markovina at the end was something that had a lasting impact on me and the way I view not only the approaches to activism in different situations but also the effects that war, strife and discrimination can leave on a person no matter how strong.
During our time in Bosnia & Herzegovina we spent five days in Mostar, a beautiful town with which I fell in love with. Alongside this beauty were many sights that remind you of the country’s tragic history of prejudice and purging. We learnt of the ethnic cleansing of Bosnian Muslims that took place in the region from 1992 to 1995 and visited many memorials, museums and sights that do not allow this memory to be forgotten. On the day of our tour with Dragan Markovina, he gave us a summary of the history and his experiences with it. Dragan was only 11 years old when the war started and had to endure unfathomable experiences that came with it. Despite his experiences with the war he was able to muster enough strength to return to Mostar and pick his life back up over there. He tells his astounding and inspiring story through his journalism.
We had the privilege of sitting down and talking with him about his experiences and opinions about the state of the country today. There is still widespread inequality among many other issues in the nation today that have to be fought for to see some change happen but Dragan introduced me to an interesting perspective. Contrary to what most of us students at a liberal arts college believe, who is he to say the next person is wrong for his opinion? He admits that yes the treatment of this sect in society is wrong and he used to harbor so much hate for people that did not hold the same opinion as him, as morally right as it may be, but he came to an understanding of the importance of dialogue. Something that many of us may ignore as we tend to always take a moral high ground. After this statement the conversation segued into how this fight for justice would take place if people are not open to dialogue and he simply told us he is done fighting. This confused me so much because I relate the struggle and fight of marginalized communities to those of the US and the thought of giving up did not sit right with me. He then went further and said how he is content with the peace he has. He had to live through a war at the young age of 11 and even though life for his community is not perfect, at the very least he has peace and would not trade that for anything, he is content. This gave me the perspective of someone that had lived through war, there is a certain feeling, emotion or understanding that I would never be able to fathom. I came to understand him and that everyone that had to live through this period deserves rest and peace. Such fighting and activism should be left to the generations that are beneficiaries of this peace.
Dragan Markovina was a knowledgeable and outstanding person and the conversation I will forever remember the mark that our conversation left on me.