Under one roof

Samir Agić lives in Jajce, a city of 30,000 inhabitants in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is a particular place because in the middle of the historic centre, two rivers join and give life to a waterfall. For tourists it is a fairytale place. However, daily life in Jajce is very complex. In the 1990s the war arrived there too, as the memorials with the names of the fallen in the city center recall. There are two, one to remember the Croatian dead, predominantly Christian, and the other for the Bosniaks, mostly Muslims. Today the population is made up of these two components, with a small minority of Serbs. Before the conflict, the three components lived peacefully, then the war brought mutual hatred. Peace has been signed today, yes, but in Jajce one cannot speak of reconciliation.

«Here we have two schools under one roof – explains Samir – In primary school, Croatian and Bosniak children are divided and study history, geography and language in separate classes. This rule was born to protect cultural diversity, but in reality students learn the worst prejudices towards others. We study that the different is the enemy».

It doesn't just happen in Jajce. The phenomenon of two schools under the same roof also exists in other Bosnian towns, such as Mostar. "This is how hatred is cultivated starting from the smallest", underlines Samir. A few years ago, he founded the non-governmental organization COD, which has the precise objective of promoting reconciliation and putting a stop to that hatred. Today it has eight employees, strictly of mixed ethnicity: they organize activities to bring children together after school, create moments of dialogue between young Croatians, Bosniaks and Serbs and carry out projects to help boys and girls start small businesses. «Unemployment in Jajce reaches 50%. Alongside reconciliation, the challenge here is to keep the youngest,” says Samir.

For years, the town has been governed by nationalists – Croatian and Bosniak extremist parties alternate – and COD's activities have often been hampered at an administrative level. "Once we arrived at the office and we were unable to enter, someone had changed the lock without our knowledge," says Samir. His dream, in reality, would have been to be a teacher. It didn't happen because in Jajce whoever enters school must be well liked by local politicians. Samir never wanted to join any nationalist party, so he found himself excluded. But he still decided to stay, to do everything possible in silence. Why? “Jajce is simply my city. I love this land and I think of my family, my children. I try to do my best for them".


Chiara Vitali
NP May 2023