Bosnian Bulletin #7

April 4, 1999

Greetings and happy Easter to all of you! We hope you experience the joy of Christ's resurrection and the hope that brings for all people. Here in Banja Luka, the sun is shining, the hills surrounding the city are turning green and the tree s that line the streets are budding and blooming. We can feel the arrival of spring.

We want to thank everyone for the e-mails, thoughts and prayers for the situation in this part of the world. While we remain safe, our concern grows for the people of Yugoslavia and surrounding areas. We know you are probably seeing and hearing a great deal about the situation in Kosovo and Yugoslavia. While we don't want to get into sticky details of politics, we do need to tell you that people in North America are not hearing the whole story. We are saddened to watch international news (like that which is reaching North America) and hear the efforts to justify NATO's actions. We are also saddened to hear the Serb people become the victims of this kind of rhetoric. We live among Serbs in Bosnia and know quite a few people in Yugoslavia. They are not monsters. This is not a one-sided conflict.

The situation for the Kosovo Albanians has been desperate and is becoming increasingly desperate as a result of NATO's actions (although you will probably never hear that side of the story in North America!) In the end, violence will not solve this conflict. We ask you to pray for peace and encourage you to protest NATO's bombings so that peace talks can resume.

For us, the last week has brought a major change to our MCC term in Bosnia. Several months ago, we had mentioned MCC's discussions with IOCC about our eventual assignment. Those discussions were to continue here in Banja Luka two weeks ago. Due to NATO's threat at that time , the visit from MCC Europe was not possible. IOCC has had to evacuate from Banja Luka because of fear of retaliation against internationals by Bosnian Serbs here in Republika Srpska (on behalf of Serbs in Yugoslavia). IOCC (along with all the other international organizations) is uncertain when, how and to what capacity it will be able to return to Banja Luka. In light of this, IOCC has encouraged us to "not wait for IOCC" but to take any other opportunity that MCC might have.

So, we had many phone conversations with the MCC Europe office discussing our options at this point. We are familiar with several local organizations in Banja Luka, but agreed that this is not an ideal time (and political climate) to try to create a new partnership. At the same time, MCC has been looking for someone to fill the position in Sarajevo in May when Amy Gopp completes her term. They have been unable to find a good match so far.

MCC offered us the position in Sarajevo, and, after much discussion and many prayers, we have accepted. The assignment title is Program Managers of the "Face to Face" Interrreligious Dialogue Service. The objective is to set up a meeting point on peace and reconciliation efforts in Bosnia-Herzegovina (particularly in Sarajevo). The Service attempts to provide a safe space for counseling and support for peacemaking initiatives in the region and encourage interfaith understanding and dialogue. Our work will be to coordinate and disseminate information about peacemaking in and around Bosnia as well as in the international community; plan and carry out programming for the Service; organize workshops and roundtables on peace and justice issues; and work with local people in implementing projects and goals.

In addition, we will have responsibilities with organizing tours and concerts for, and singing in, the interfaith choir, "Pontanima" -Latin for "spiritual bridge", which is an ongoing project of the center. John also has dreams of creating a small "peace garden" on the grounds of the center.

This work is the initiative of the Bosnian Franciscans in Sarajevo, inviting the participation of various Christian, interfaith, and peace groups. The main mentor and director of the Service is a Bosnian Franciscan priest and social activist, Fra Ivo Markovic, who has been involved in peace ministry thoughout the war. We are excited to have the opportunity to work with such a inspiring peacemaker.

It's difficult for us to leave Banja Luka and our friends here -especially during this difficult time. However, we are excited about this new opportunity to work directly with local initiative focusing on peace and reconciliation. We've visited Sarajevo twice and enjoyed meeting many of the people affiliated with the peace center and fell in love with the city.

We've spent the weekend here in Banja Luka packing up all of our things and saying good-bye to friends. We will move to Sarajevo tomorrow (Monday the 5th). Everything has happened so fast! We will try to check this e-mail address from Sarajevo -until we have a new one.

So, on this Easter Sunday, we look forward to a new beginning in a new place, while praying for our neighbors to the East who are suffering so much. We are thankful for all of your support, and wish you a happy Easter.

Love and peace from Banja Luka, Bosnia,

Karin & John


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