Workshop Day: the day after

Without further ado, here is the report on the Workshop Day; it was a massive success. Given that we only had three days to prepare, it was a brilliant event, everyone worked together very well, no major screw-ups, children, parents, and random by-standers were all attracted by music, food, clowns, games, and a sensational demonstration of the volunteers' first aid skills, crowned by the sudden and -to the author- surprising appearance of an ambulance (incidentally, a 'gift from the people of Japan')  who would rush the poor patients away.

The atmosphere was bright and cheerful, people wouldn't stop smiling, and two hours passed far too quickly. In retrospect, this Workshop day effectively underlined the successful cooperation of Swiss and Bosnian volunteers, it was amazing to see how well everyone worked together and how much could be achieved using little.

performance of the first aid group, supported by the local ambulance

It was nice to be so close to the people for once. Living on the camp site can be seen as an exercise in isolation, despite the vivid cultural exchange that does occur. However, it was the first time for us, Swiss volunteers, to enter in direct contact with the people of Bijeljina, who will eventually benefit from this project.

It was a great night, and probably the best ending our Red Cross camp could possibly get. But, but, but, but, we are not entirely finished. Look out for more pictures on the room, which is currently being refurbished.

Videos from the Workshop Day

New Red Cross camp videos are now available on Youtube, have fun!

Ljetni kamp u BiH

Ljetni kamp u BiH,tacnije u Bijeljini-Amajlije,koji je organizovao i finansirao Svicarski crveni kriz poceo je 18.07.2011 godine u saradnji sa lokalnim zajednicama iz BiH(Bijeljina,Banovici,Gradacac,Lukavac,Teslic,Zvornik) i Basela iz Svicarske.U kampu je ucestvovalo ukupno 50 volontera(9 iz Basela i 41 iz BiH).

Cilj ovog kampa bio je uspostavljanje bolje saradnje izmedju Svicarske i Bosne i Hercegovine,upoznavanje mladih,ali osim zabave i upoznavanja takodje cilj je bio pomaganje CK iz Bijeljine da renovira svoje prostorije kako bi ih kasnije mogli koristiti u edukacione svrhe i razne aktivnosti.U toku kampa volonteri iz ove dvije drzave su udruzili snage i uradili sve sto je bilo potrebno kako bi ostavili trag,da bi buduuce generacije mogle koristiti tu prostoriju za potrebe CK Bijeljina.U toku kampa volonteri su organizovali manifestaciju na gradskom trgu kralja Petra Karadordevica,u koju su bile ukljucene razne aktivnosti,poput pokazne vjezbe ekipe prve pomoci,plesanja,igranja s djecom,ali osim toga volonteri su bili jako vrijedni te su pekli palacinke i kokice za gradjane.Cilj kampa takodje bio je uspostavljanje komunikacije medju volterima na razlicitim jezicima,edukacija o kulturama ovih drzava.Volonteri su imali priliku da nauce jedni od drugih puno toga.Druzili su se,radili zajedno,mozemo reci da su zivjeli zajedno.Sve je proteklo u najboljem redu,volonteri su bili jako sretni jer su imali priliku upoznati jedni druge.Ovo je prvi put da imamo goste iz Svicarske,ali naravno,nadamo se da nije i poslednji,cvrsto zelimo da se saradnja nastavi,kako bi imali jos mnogo prilika da se druzimo i uradimo jos puno toga zajedno,jer zajedno smo jaci .

Misljenje volontera koji su napisali ovaj clanak :)

                                                            Arif-Gradacac;

Azra-Banovici;

Sora,Alessandro-Basel

Arif-Druzenje je bilo predivno i jako mi je zao sto nismo imali mogucnosti da se jos druzimo,jer svaki dan s ovim ljudima je dragocjen.Uradili smo mnogo toga za CK iz Bijeljine,ali ne samo za CK vec i za same gradjane.Iskreno se nadam da cemo ostati u kontaktu i da cemo imati jos prilika da se druzimo,da ucimo jedni od drugih.Jako sam sretan sto sam imao priliku da dodjem u Bijeljinu i ucestvujem u svim tim aktivnostima.Imali smo mnogo toga za uraditi,ali nista nije bilo tako tesko kao sto nam se cinilo,jednostavno,s ovim ljudima sve je zabavno,sve je bilo lako za uraditi.

Azra-Presretna sam sto sam imala priliku upoznati sve ove ljude,provoditi vrijeme s njima,jer ovo je bila jedinstvena prilika da se upoznamo,zabavimo i ucimo u isto vrijeme.Uradili smo dosta  toga zajedno i nadam se da cemo uraditi jos.Nisam ni sanjala da cu toliko zavoljeti te ljude,ali prosto je nemoguce ne voljeti ich.Naravno,ostat cu u kontaktu s njima,neki su mi cak i obecali doci u posjetu tokom iduceg ljeta.Nadam se da ce se to ispuniti jer  ne zelim da ovo bude poslednji put da provodimo vrijeme zajedno.Sama pomisao na to da moram nastavit zivjeti bez njih tesko mi pada,ali svako ima svoj zivotni put,nadam se da ce se nasi putevi ponovo ukrstit.

Sora,Alessandro-Sam dolazak u Bosnu nas je ucinio sretnim i tuzni smo jer je moramo napustiti jer odavdje nosimo puno novih iskustava.Upoznali smo  ljude iz Bosne,ucili o istoriji i kulturi BiH.Bosanci su ljudi s otvorenim pogledom na svijet i vrlo su ljubazni,te nam je drago sto smo imali priliku doci i upoznati ih.Vrijeme koje smo proveli zajedno proteklo je vrlo brzo i zao nam je sto druzenje nije trajalo duze.Super smo se zabavili i obecavamo da ovo nije poslednji put da smo tu.

Workshop Day: final preparations

Here are some impressions of the last-minute preparations from yesterday.

one of the last run-throughs

setting up the stalls

Interview in Semberske Novine Bijeljina

A Swiss volunteer was given the opportunity to give an interview to the Bijeljina newspaper "Semberske Novine". It was an interesting experience. One of the Bosnian volunteers- fluent in German, thanks to years of watching German TV series- acted as translator between the reporter and interviewee. The article, considerably longer than the one published in the Swiss newspaper, came out yesterday, the 28th of July. Generally speaking, it talks about the work we're doing in the summer camp but also touches upon personal thoughts and feelings. Bosnian people are very interested in what we, the Swiss, think about their country.

The lady at the kiosk seemed absolutely astonished when I asked her to give me three copies of "Semberske Novine". Pointing to the article and then to my humble self, she smiled and just added a "dobre, dobre".

The article was written in cyrillic font (it's a newspaper from the Republika Srpska) and I really couldn't understand a word, just my name, Alessandro Suter, written in these amusing letters. Talking to the Bosnian volunteers and asking them to translate the article, they said that it's "well done" and "interesting", so I think it's really not so bad.

Unfortunately "Semberske Novine" hasn't got any internet presence, so we'll have to take a good picture of the article and upload it.

Reminder

Tonight: 7 pm, King Peter's square. Be there.

Room update: nearly finished

We are almost there....

Blood and plasters

Preparations for the workshop day went on even after we returned to the camp in the evening. I had the pleasure of witnessing about fifteen Bosnian Red Cross volunteers practice their first aid exercises which are to be shown tonight, at the injuries- and first aid stall. Everyone had prepared their emergency kit, ready to save some lives on the football field. Out of nowhere, a plastic dummy appeared on which basic resuscitation methods were to be practiced. Soon, heated debates among the volunteers began about the exact number of strokes, accompanied by bleeping sounds from the saved, or soon-to-be-saved, dummy. I was deeply impressed by the scene that unfolded before my eyes; every grip, every detail had to be perfect. The volunteers worked with great precision and concentration. I felt like an intruder whose mere presence disturbed an almost sacred ritual.

Afterwards, the whole dining room began to fill with medical equipment, bandages, plasters, vaseline, and cups of fake blood. The whole scene and atmosphere seemed to be taken straight out of a medical TV drama and feverish concentration spread throughout the room. 

Danijela, a Bosnian volunteer from Bijelijna, took her time to explain me all the different kinds of bandages and their purpose, which injuries they would be used for and why. Like many of the volunteers, she wants to go on to study medicine. But even those, who pursue an academic path in the non-medical realm showed great enthusiasm and knowledge about first aid principles and the treatment of injuries and other medical conditions. Every volunteer is in charge of one injury or medical condition; Danijela’s bag contains mostly things needed to treat epilepsy patients, whereas others will be responsible for flesh wounds. Azmir took great pains to create a scary looking flesh wound on Ermin’s arm, using Vaseline and red color. The effect was so dramatic that I felt queasy merely looking into the general direction of Ermin.

gross......

This earnestness with which the volunteers prepared their equipment left me deeply impressed, one might have to add, that first aid and provision of medical care is one big pillar of their Red Cross activities, whereas in Basel, great emphasis is put on the integration of minorities and migrants or on reaching out to the elderly and  disabled. Our room project as such rather falls into the second category, one which was perhaps less familiar to the Bosnian Red Cross volunteers and thus, more difficult to implement. Yesterday, however, presented a great learning experience for us, Swiss volunteers, as we stood beside and watched how lives were saved.

and this is how you treat a broken bone

The Bosnian way of life

Für den heutigen Workshop-Day am Donnerstag, 28.7, haben Volunteers ein buntes, fröhliches Plakat gestaltet. Wir von der Publicity-Gruppe haben in einem Shoppingcenter mehrere Plakate drucken lassen und diese danach an den Fussgängerzonen in Bijeljina angebracht.

Es war schön zu sehen, wie Passanten aufmerksam die Plakate betrachteten (die bunten Plakate stechen besonders aus der farblosen Masse der Party-Plakate – CO2 Party with DJ Sexy Bitch – und Todesanzeigen von verstorbenen Bürgern hervor). Unsere bosnische Begleiterin kam darauf oft ins persönliche Gespräch und viele Leute haben sogar das TV-Interview und diverse Zeitungsartikel über das Camp gesehen.

Die Publicity-Tour war anstrengend. So setzten wir uns auf eine der vielen Parkbänke vor dem Gemeindehaus und genossen die Sonnenstrahlen, nach den regnerischen und kalten Tagen davor. Ich war warm und froh. Froh über die Offenheit der Bosnier auf den Strassen, die zugänglich und herzlich ein Gespräch eingingen, wissen wollten, was wir an diesem Workshop-Day machten, wie es uns Schweizern in Bosnien gefällt. In der Schweiz wäre dies nicht wirklich möglich. Da ist zu viel Skepsis in den Köpfen, Misstrauen, schnell weitergehen. Das wilde Plakatieren wäre bei uns sowieso an der Gefahr eine Busse zu erhalten, gescheitert. But that´s the bosnian way of life.

Hier ist die individuelle Freiheit recht gross. Etwas was die Bosnier selber gerne betonen. Man kann in der Strasse eine Barbecue-Fete veranstalten, alle einladen. Alles kein Problem. Das Leben findet hier sowieso viel mehr draussen statt. So frage ich mich aber auch, wieso es auf den Strassen z.B Zebrastreifen gibt, wenn alle Autofahrer einen trotzdem über den Haufen fahren. Und unser geliebter Chauffeur, ein super Kerl, der mit 120 km/h über Landstrassen brettert, immer in der Mitte fahrend (auf der Spur sind zu viele Schlaglöcher) und jedes entgegenkommende Auto löst eine gewisse Beklemmung in der Magenmitte aus. Aber keine Angst, auch wenn wir Schweizer die einzigen sind die sich in Autos, Taxis konsequent anschnallen. That´s the bosnian way of life.

Our fifteen minutes of fame

Monday not only saw the arrival of the new Bosnian Red Cross volunteers, but also the opportunity for two of our volunteers to visit Slobomir (the 'city of peace and freedom', founded by, what seems to the author, like a rich Bosnian emigrant) to do an interview at their local TV station.

It was Madame Dragana, a blonde dream and host of a show (the name of which still remains a mystery to the author), who would do the interview. For this reason, one Bosnian and one Swiss volunteer were sent out to see their faces on TV. It would be a bit of ten minutes, recorded in the studio. The questions centered on the experiences of the Swiss people in Bosnia and sadly focused less on our project as such. It was a great experience, all the same, and Dragana, the host, was very friendly and interested in our camp life.

All went well, and as the interviewee saw the ghost of Andy Warhol hover above her head, ten minutes flew by without any major screw-ups. So now, we were on Bosnian TV and we shall come to the following conclusion: life goal accomplished. 

In passing

As mentioned below, the second group of Bosnian Red Cross volunteers has arrived last Monday. The groups all come from different towns from both the Republic and the Federation. It is a motivated and energetic bunch of people that has come together and to our great surprise we would mix faster than expected. Whereas the cultural barrier was much more persistent last week lasting a good few days, there was none after a few hours of their arrival.

The Bosnian volunteers are all very approachable, friendly, and open and we all get along very well. There is a strong bond or a friendship in the making, not only between the Swiss and the Bosnians as such, but also among the different nationalities and religions themselves. This might be because we all spend time together under the umbrella of the Red Cross having thus internalized, to some extent, the principles of the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement; humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality. The author thinks, however, that there is some fundamental and omnipresent sentiment among young Bosnians today that may guarantee this country's peaceful future.

And this....

A Bosnian newspaper mentioned us on their website;

http://www.bijeljina.org/novosti/1312/54/Kamp-Crvenog-krsta-u-Bijeljini.html

We thank you for your attention and hope you will continue following our project on this very blog.

Room update

The painter we hired at the end of the first week did a great job, and while we were enjoying the wonders of Tuzla, the room has obviously undergone some slow but nevertheless miraculous transformation; the walls no longer look grubby and tatty, but have taken on a nice and clean appearance.

Workshop Day

Apart from the room in the Red Cross office that is currently fervently being painted, refurbished and redecorated, another part of this project has so far been neglected; preparations for the workshop day.

The idea of organizing some sort of workshop for people in Bijieljina was put forward by the Bosnian volunteers and thus the second week in Amajlije has not only seen the arrival of another group of Bosnian RC volunteers but also the start of serious discussions about the kind and range of activities this workshop day should offer.

In essence, this workshop day will not be a workshop day, but rather a workshop evening starting from 7 pm.

Different stalls will be set up all around King Peter’s square in the center of Bijeljina offering food (from corn, pancakes, cookies to Swiss specialties), introduction to first aid and basic medical care, folk dance lessons, music, and martial arts performances. The idea behind the workshop day is to show and present the competences of young Red Cross volunteers, in an effort to reach out to the local community and, perhaps, to get more people interested in the activities and principles of the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement. 

As far as publicity goes, a few good volunteers from both the Swiss and Bosnian team have created a logo and a flyer. Latter will be distributed all over town, so look out for yellow spots on the gray walls and buildings. Hopefully, enough people will turn up, if not, the pancakes and cookies will most definitely be in good hands. 

Weekend in Tuzla II: visiting the local Red Cross branch

After the first and tumultuous week in the camp and a teary goodbye from the Bosnian volunteers, the Swiss volunteers found themselves on a coach on the road to Tuzla, the third biggest city in Bosnia and Hercegovina. The bus ride was a visual revelation of the Bosnian countryside; rich green landscapes accompanied us, past little farms, troops of goats and coal-fired power plants.

In Tuzla we were greeted by Mihela Hinic, head of office of the local Swiss Red Cross branch. She took us to their offices which were located only minutes away from the bus stop in a nice, quaint house, close to the city center. Upon arriving, we were immediately greeted by Amela, another SRC worker who offered us cups of Bosnian coffee which our caffeine-deprived bodies absorbed with great appreciation.

In the course of this little coffee party, held in the bright and spacious living room area, we learnt more about the activities of the Swiss Red Cross in Bosnia and the office in Tuzla, in particular. Essentially, the Swiss Red Cross has been represented in Bosnia and Herzegovina since 1992, supporting the civilian population with emergency relief supplies. The end of the war in 1995 saw the beginning of reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts of schools and hospitals by the SRC with an emphasis on psycho-social support to refugees and internally displaced people living in collective centers. Since 2004, moreover, the SRC has supported the return in marginalized, resource-poor rural communities using a multi-level approach so as to facilitate community empowerment, development of good governance, and improvement of social services through local Red Cross branches. To that end, the Red Cross office in Tuzla offers computer or English classes to a whole range of people, informal clubs, especially aimed at women and young people, sports and cultural events. These initiatives have helped forge connections and cooperation among local communities.

Various projects also look to link community members and their councils to municipal administrations and to the Red Cross network in general by enhancing a mutual dialogue and local capacities at all levels. Citizens need to be involved in order to create local politics, thus the SRC offers leadership training, roundtable discussions, forums, and debates. Moreover, it maintains communication between municipalities and local communities and co-finances various projects.

Alongside these capacity building and community development efforts, the SRC in Tuzla also offers a wide range of other activities that focus on first aid, health care provisions and the promotion of human values through young volunteers.

All in all, it was a very informative and inspiring afternoon. We are very grateful for the insights that Mihela and Amela have granted us into their work and occasional obstacles and institutional hurdles set aside, both agreed that seeing their efforts being put into practice is rewarding after all.

C'est fait

Hier nun das Interview, das heute in der Tageszeitung 20 Minuten erschienen ist. Viel Spass bei der Lektüre:

http://www.20min.ch/news/basel/story/Junge-bauen-Treff-14623157

Weekend in Tuzla

Nach dem Abschied der ersten Gruppe, reisten wir Schweizer Volunteers fürs Wochenende nach Tuzla. Mit dem Bus brauchten wir 1 ½ Stunden durch verwinkelte, kurvige Strassen. Bei der Ankunft bot sich uns jedoch kein unbedingt schönes Bild an. Der Autor dieses Textes fühlte sich durch den Anblick von Plattenbauten aus der Tito-Ära sehr über architektur-psychologische Fragen angeregt und kam zum Entschluss, dass Kommunismus sehr hässlich sein kann. Warfen diese überdimensionalen, futuristischen Angstbauten kein zuversichtliches Bild in die unsichere Perspektive des realsozialistischen Europas? Doch recht unverständlich, wie innerhalb dieser vollständigen Anonymität, in diesen resonanzlosen Betonkonstruktionen, ein Funke freie Entfaltung entstehen kann. Was auch nicht unbedingt im Interesse eines totalitären Systems ist. Kopfschüttelnd aus dem Fenster schauend, staunend über riesige Fassaden, unzählige Balkone. Und da leben irgendwo auch Menschen. Ganz viele reingestopft.

Tuzla selber hat eine interessante Geschichte. Sozialistisch geprägt , bot die Stadt während dem Bosnienkrieg Zuflucht für Flüchtlinge aller Ethnien. Der Föderation zugehörend, leben viele Muslime, aber auch Katholiken und Orthodoxe nebeneinander. Wenn der Muezzin zum Gebet ruft, klingeln die Glocken der christlichen Kirchen nebenan. Das ist irgendwie schön.

Vom Krieg selber verschont (die Stadt war nicht besetzt), geschah am 25. Mai 1995 – zum Ende des Krieges – ein verheerender Anschlag von serbischen Paramilitärs, die am Geburtstag Titos und dem am gleichen Tag stattfindenden Tag der Jugend, eine Granate in ein Café mit feiernden Jugendlichen warfen und 71 Menschen töteten. Ein Mahnmal mit Rosen erinnert heute noch daran.

Nach einer Woche Camp auf dem Lande und den Besuchen in Bijeljina, eine doch grosse Stadt in der Republika Srpska, jedoch recht verschlafen und ohne richtiges „Zentrum“, tat uns der Besuch einer grossen Stadt mit einer richtigen Innenstadt und Nachtleben doch recht wohl. Unsere Nacht in einem gepflegten Hotel machte uns wieder bemerkbar, wie froh wir um Details wie Handtücher, warme Duschen und einem richtigen Bett sind. Da Tuzla als Universitätsstadt gilt, leben dort recht viele junge Menschen und dies macht sich in der ganzen Dynamik der Stadt bemerkbar. Wir konnten endlich wieder mal richtig ausgehen.

Auf einem grossen Platz mit vielen Springbrunnen tranken wir Cappuccino und hatten auf das wohl schönste Minarett in Tuzla Aussicht. Wir genossen jeden Moment um Energie zu tanken und vom Tapetenwechsel zu profitieren. Die Stadt, bunt, herrlich heruntergekommen und lebendig, gab uns einen Einblick in eine andere Perspektive dieses Landes, eine Stadt in der Föderation, in der man mal keine Speisekarte in kyrillisch angeboten bekommt. Aber Scherz beiseite. Auf der Busfahrt zurück erblickten wir Schilder die auf Minen aufmerksam machten und viele Ruinen. Ob vom Krieg zerstört oder einfach verlassen, die ganze Stimmung inmitten dem Nebel, der aus den Wäldern stieg, war doch recht beängstigend.

Zurück im Camp sind wir motiviert auf die zweite Woche und gespannt auf die nächsten Volunteers.

Volunteer Interviews now on Youtube!

The documentation group started to make short interviews with volunteers from the Red Cross Bosnia-Herzegovina and Switzerland. They tell us what they think about the camp and their work. The first three interviews show the Bosnian volunteers Jelena and Azmir and the Swiss volunteer Namira. They are held in English, Bosnian and German - just as the blog!

Kamp

U ponedeljak 18.07. stigli smo u Bijeljinu na radni kamp Crvenog kriza. Nasa ocekivanja za ovaj kamp su se ostvarila i jako smo odusevljene organizacijom kampa. Svrha ovog radnog kampa je pomoci u renoviranju kancelarije Crvenog krsta „Bijeljina“.

Kada smo stigli u Amajlije smjestili smo se u drvene kucice i okupili se sa ostalim clanovima kampa kako bi se upoznali. Nakon upoznavnja odredili smo pravila kampa i podijelili se u radne grupe.

Postoje tri radne grupe. Prva grupa je fizicka grupa koja radi na uredjenju i dekoraciji kancelarije. Druga grupa je zaduzena za dokumentaciju dok treca grupa radi na smisljanju aktivnosti koje ce se vrsiti u toku kampa.

Pored ove tri grupe imamo i grupe za rad na kampu. Prva grupa je zaduzena za kuhanje. Druga grupa za pranje sudja. Treca grupa je zaduzena za ciscenje toaleta, dok cetvrta grupa cisti podrucje oko kampa. Zaduzenja u ovim grupa nisu stalna kao u prvoj radnoj grupi , clanovi se smjenjuju svaki dan tj. svi moraju proci kroz ove cetiri grupe.

Pored rada na ovom kampu imamo i zabavni program, gdje se kroz igre druzimo i bolje upoznajemo.

Kroz rad sa Svicarcima saznajemo nesto o njihovom nacinu zivota, upoznajemo njihovu tradiciju, obicaje, kulturu i ishranu. Kroz rad sa Svicarcima uocavamo razlike izmedju njivog i naseg nacina zivota. Jedna od bitnih stvari je sticanje novih prijateljstava, a oni su jako druzeljubive i prijatne osobe.

Ovaj kamp je jako koristan za ucenje i usavrsavanje engleskog jezika, sto je jako korisna stvar.

Nasa preporuka za volontere Crvenog kriza je da se odazovu na ovakve ili slicne pozive. Ovdje se moze jako puno nauciti o zivotu sto nam moze pomoci u buducnosti. I za kraj nas komentar za kamp je IT`S LIKE SO AWESOOOOME DUDE !!!  J

Working in the Room

Swiss people

First day when we came to camp we put our bags in the wood house and we then we went outside to meet eachother. Firs we made the rules of the camp, I liked it very much. They are very organized people and they practice team work. Every person has the role in the camp. I also like friendly side of them, they are very polite and careful persons. Also they are very humorous and very smart. With knowing them you can learn English language or improve it.

Anna is our leader and she is very organized and smart person.Mariane is also our leader she is so funny, always smiling and very motivated person.Margarete is super funny person she likes cartoons a lot. Sora is so beautiful ,smart and calm person I realy like her. Roberto is like a little genious he learns Bosnian words realy fast and he is careful and such a good friend. Mazlum , well I can say that he is like a chef of the kitchen also good friend. Alessandro is very funny communicative and super awesome person. We have our camp song and Alessandro is “guilty” for that. When we came to the camp we sang the Lady Gaga`s song “Alehandro” all the time so now we call it the camp song. Lusisa has realy good sense for humor, she makes the best cakes in the world.Namira is our “orange girl” , she is so crazy (but in positive way), very friendly person and always in a good mood.

In my opinion they are nice people who will help you if you need something. You can make frinendships with them, they are realy creative,smart and if I have to rate them from 1 to 10 I would give them big 10.

The authors were Jelena and Majda from the Bosnian Red Cross

 

Don´t call my name, don´t call my name. Our camp song - thanks to Alessandro...and wait...ROBERTO!?

At work...

Half time

This camp is big experience for me. This is my first camp so I was realy excited about it, like living in forest and get to know the outdoor life stile. I call it survival camp. There are some things that I never do in my private life, but I do it in the camp. For example my friend  Majda and I never cleaned the dishes at home so now we appreciate more our mothers and their work at home. We didn`t know that cleaning can be that exhausting, it was so hard to wash the dishes last night for Alessandro, Maragrete, Majda and me, it was so hard, so we were jocking : “ Are there like 500 people in the camp ? ” , there were so many dishes.

This camp can make you better person ( you will be less spoild less lazzy , more active, organized and you will get to now what is the team work ). I  realy like work camps, because I don`t like to be passive and in my opinion this camp is perfect combination of work and having fun. In this kind of camps you make new friendships  and you get new experience. You get to know new things about life in the other countries, their life stile , tradicion, culture, food and you can also see the differences between countries. With knowing new Red Cross organizations and their activities you can use it in your Red Cross.

The most important thing of this camp is to help Bijeljina´s Red Cross.  You will learn how good is to help to people. So in the end I can say it`s worth to participate in this kind of camp,if you come you won`t regret .

The authors were Jelena and Dragana from the Bosnian Red Cross.

Of interest

Perhaps, it is about time to mention our main sponsoring bodies; essentially, we secured funding from the SAJV (Schweizerische Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Jugendverbände) and, in collaboration with the European Union and its Directorate General for Education and Culture, the Swiss foundation 'Jugend in Aktion'. 

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made ofthe information contained therein.

Welcome Speech from Monday 18 July

Youtube-Account available now!

Last but not least: The documentation group finally created a Youtube-account to offer you a glimpse into our life in the camp and to show you the progress we make working in the room. Volunteers walk around with cameras and capture the very special moments on tape so as to share them with you guys. But please be patient: It takes about 80 minutes to upload a clip of 6 minutes onto Youtube. We´re really big fans of the Bosnian internet connection. But well. We just have to sit back and drink coffee. And you guys, please enjoy our videos!

                

www.youtube.com/redcrosscamp2011

20 Minuten-Interview – Bericht anfangs nächste Woche in der Zeitung

Sora und Alessandro von der Dokumentationsgruppe haben vorher mit der 20 Minuten-Redaktion Basel ein Telefon-Interview geführt. Wir wurden über das Projekt, aber auch über persönliche Erlebnisse, Erfahrungen und Gedanken gefragt. Wir bedanken uns herzlich für das Interesse von 20-Minuten und freuen uns nächsten Montag oder Dienstag in der 20-Minuten-Ausgabe zu erscheinen!

The room

Namira standing before a pile of shoe boxes (there really were shoes inside these boxes...)

This is not a mess. It is organised chaos.

Minesweeper

Living in Bosnia or merely spending a limited amount of time in this country means being confronted, sooner or later, with the issue of  mine fields. Even a decade after the war, mine fields still abound and growing up in an atmosphere of constant uncertainty and threat thus requires a certain degree of acquiescence. Hence, an integral part of this camp constituted prevention and education about this very issue. In this regard, the Swiss Red Cross invited three experts who arrived on a sweltering monday afternoon to give us some insights into their work, and the Bosnian mine issue in general. Three Austrian EUFOR commanders from the Mines Information Coordination Cell, equipped with maps, leaflets, and 'Topgun' attire, gave an entertaining presentation, which seemed to be of greater interest to the blissfully ignorant Swiss volunteers, a fact evidenced by the astounding number of Bosnian Red Cross volunteers who took the opportunity to rest their eyes.

Two of the Austrain LOT officers in Bosnia

This comes as no surprise, since many schools in the Republic and the Federation take mine education very seriously and even organize competitions among themselves in order to test their students about the dangers of mine fields. For the Swiss noobs, however, this was an excellent opportunity to discover a crucial aspect about life in Bosnia, and to some extent, about the mentality of its people; the number of anti-personnel mines is estimated to amount to 220,000 spread over a surface of 1589 square kilometres, sixty per cent of which have been discovered and secured. This means that around forty per cent of these mines are still buried, hidden, and remaining invisible in unknown areas, thus constituting a constant life threat. 

It is especially the military fronts that had been drawn between the opposing  forces during the war that hold most of the mines, as well as abandoned houses, formerly inhabited by soldiers who would mine them before leaving for another quarter. 

The crux of the matter is that during the war, a vast number of soldiers and paramilitaries carried around mines which they spread without a specific plan, meaning that it is impossible today to find their location on military maps or in strategic documents. Trial and error. Trial and error. Hence, mine experts depend, to some extent, on accidents in order to find new, undiscovered mine fields. Sometimes however, they also receive leads from local scouts who occasionally find old maps with indicated mine fields. Thus, maintaining good relations with the civilian population is crucial.
Nevertheless, locals sometimes enter mine fields despite the numerous warning signs, because they look to chop down trees to sell wood. To this end, they deactivate mines, bury them somewhere else, and activate them again once the job is done, so as to keep competitors from getting to the precious trees.

Given that it took more than a decade to locate and secure sixty percent of the mine fields, estimations of the international community to clear all of Bosnia from mines by 2030 seem far too optimistic; funding for these operations has dried up and the Bosnian government is less and less inclined to invest in further clearing operations. It is understandable; with every new generation the danger of active mine fields becomes less urgent, merely a part of everyday life. People have gotten used to the warning signs, the uncertainty, and the occasional accidents. The mine problem is becoming an abstract issue,  entrenched in inaction and difficult to grasp if one is not directly affected, but nevertheless one that requires solving.

Voices from our Bosnian friends

Srijeda-The lazy day

Lazy day je poceo kao i druga dva dana kampa,ustajanje u osam sati ,osim grupe koja ustaje u 7 sati da bi pripremila dorucak.U pola 9 svi smo bili u prostoriji za dorucak.Sto je bio pun raznovrsnih namirnica –sok od narandze,mlijeko,neskvit,kafa,voda,margarin,itd.Nakon dorucka jedna grupa je imala pauzu dok su tri ostale bile zaduzene za pranje sudja,ciscenje wc-a i podrucja oko kampa.Ono sto je juce bilo jako zanimljivo jeste posjeta TV kuce ,Bijeljina,koja je napravila intervju sa nekim ucesnicima kampa  i snimili neke od aktivnosti.Jedna od aktivnosti koju smo juce imali jeste  LEDENI BRIJEG.To je igra u kojoj vrsimo diskusiju o temama  sa kojima se mladi najvise susrecu.Igra se sastoji od 27 tema ,koje razvrstamo  u dva kruga u zavisnosti od toga da li je tema dobra za nas ili ima i svoje negativne strane.Neke od tema su droga,alkohol,cigarete,internet,FB,ljubav,itd.Nakon zavrsetka igre slijedio je rucak .Za rucak smo imali sendvice i nakon toga uslijedio je dug odmor u trajanju od 3 sata.U ta 3 sata morali smo se pripremiti za predstavljanje  svoje organizacije,sta radimo,koliko clanova imamo u nasem gradu.To je radila grupa Bosanaca,a Svicarci su nam pricali  o svojoj  drzavi ,Bazelu-gradu iz koga dolaze.Nakon toga smo imali pauzu,a poslije je uslijedila vecera.Posle vecere smo svi otisli na spavanje  u 1 h da bi se odmorili i pripremili za naredni dan.

Campleben

Das Campleben nimmt immer mehr Form an. Durch spannende Gespräche, gemeinsame Spiele, traditionelle Tänze und die Begeisterung für Musik, konnten wir eine Annäherung, ein „Antasten“ zwischen uns und den bosnischen Volunteers wahrnehmen. Die zuerst befürchtete „Kluft“ scheint überbrückt. Die täglichen Momente, das Beisammensein, das Eintauchen in eine andere Kultur, einer anderen Lebensart, erleben wir alle als wertvolle, interkulturelle Erfahrung. Den gestrigen Tag verbrachten alle Arbeitsgruppen zusammen auf dem Camp. Und diese Pause, die wir machen konnten, hat dazu beigetragen, dass wir uns alle besser kennenlernen konnten. Für mich war dies eine nötige Auszeit, die wir gebraucht haben. Wir hatten einen Tag Zeit, um die nötigen Abklärungen betreffend Raumgestaltung zu machen. Aber auch um uns gegenseitig zu verstehen und Verständnis und Toleranz zu entwickeln. Zu verstehen, wieso das Leben hier nicht immer einfach ist, was die bosnischen Volunteers wirklich beschäftigt, wovon sie träumen, was sie wollen und brauchen. Wir hatten die Chance auch unser Leben in der Schweiz zu erklären, die bosnischen Volunteers an unserem Alltag teilnehmen lassen. Der gestrige Tag war von vielen Spielen gestaltet, die unsere Teamfähigkeit festigten, es erlaubte uns in einer Lockerheit, einer Stimmung, die nicht von Erwartungsdruck oder Skepsis geprägt war, aufeinander zuzugehen. Am Abend stellten die Volunteers ihre Arbeit im Roten Kreuz ihrer Stadt vor und wir Schweizer hatten die Möglichkeit, etwas über unsere Arbeit im Jugendrotkreuz, Basel und die Schweiz zu erzählen. In gemeinsamen Diskussionen und Gespräche, erfuhren wir viel über Bosnien, über den Krieg, über die Narben, die dieser schreckliche Konflikt hinterlassen hat. Von fehlenden Vätern, von einer grossen Traurigkeit, fehlenden Perspektiven. Aber auch was uns im Leben wichtig ist. Was wir für Wünsche haben, wie wir unser Leben gestalten wollen. Und das schönste daran war, dass wir erkannten, dass wir doch nicht so verschieden sind. Wir sind junge Menschen mit vielen Gemeinsamkeiten. Und wir haben ein Ziel: Das Leben von den Mitmenschen in unserer Umgebung  durch unser freiwilliges Engagement  lebenswerter und schöner zu machen.

So verbrachten wir den Abend, singend, tanzend, spielend und diskutierend, lachend und mit Frohsinn. Es donnerte und blitzte, der Platzregen entlud sich über die ganze Landschaft, nachdem es anscheinend über einen Monat nicht mehr geregnet hatte. Der Strom fiel ab und zu aus und wir setzten uns ganz eng nebeneinander, lauschten dem Prasseln des Regens und fühlten uns „geimeinsam“.

Embracing uncertainty

Wenn viele Menschen aus zwei verschiedenen Ländern zusammentreffen, können schnell Schwierigkeiten entstehen. Es sind zwei Mentalitäten, die anders nicht sein können. Wir Schweizer, die eher als kühle Strategen mit gründlicher und langer Vorbereitungszeit ans Projekt rangehen wollen, stossen auf die eher unbekümmerten und spontanen Bosniern.  Zudem man in diesem Land nicht wirklich langfristig planen kann. Zu verschieden sind die Strukturen, das Leben wird stark von Hierarchien und irgendwelchen Instanzen geprägt. Man merkt die turbulente und zerrüttende  Vergangenheit dieses Landes , bestimmt vom Kommunismus der Tito-Ära und der Nachkriegsproblematik der 90er Jahre. Zwischen uns Schweizern und den bosnischen Volunteers könnte zudem eine „Kluft“ entstehen. In der Annahme, Teilnehmer dieses Lagers zu sein, fühlen sich viele schweizer Volunteers  in ihrer Rolle unsicher, da wir oft die Rolle der „Leiter“ einnehmen müssen. Unsere stark entwickelte Eigeninitiative und  gute Vorbereitung führen wahrscheinlich dazu. Ich habe Mühe, weil es mir etwas „elitär“ scheint und es mir lieber wäre, mit den bosnischen Volunteers auf gleicher Höhe, gleicher Wellenlänge zu arbeiten und zu kommunizieren.  Aber es ist eine spannende Herausforderung für uns alle. Wir müssen lernen loszulassen, zu arbeiten, ohne genau zu wissen, wie das Endresultat wohl aussieht. Viele Dinge sind unklar. Es ist nicht sicher, inwiefern wir die Erlaubnis kriegen, den Raum völlig umzugestalten. Das ist eine Handbremse für unsere Arbeit. Aber wir richten uns an den Leitsatz der Entwicklungshilfe – Do Not Harm. Lieber abwarten, anstatt irgendwelchen Schaden anzurichten. Abwarten, Limunada trinken und Drinas rauchen. Und das unbekümmerte Leben hier in Bosnien geniessen.

S U N D A Y

We woke up on Sunday morning to the sound of, well nothing. Being the only inhabitants of this huge lot, apart from a couple of permanent dwellers, explained the lack of background-noise that would certainly follow as soon as the first bunch of the Bosnian Red Cross volunteers arrived. Empty stomachs soon started rumbling and so we waited for our breakfast that would be brought to us by Amela, one of the organizers of this camp and loyal employee of the Swiss Red Cross in Bosnia, and another volunteer, Nedim, who, incidentally, is also one of the leaders of the camp.
Our breakfast consisted of Burek, a Bosnian pasty filled with either meat (for the carnivores), spinach, or cheese (for the vegetarian majority), and nutella-like spread whose whole content of sugar would stick stubbornly to our teeth. We wolfed down our breakfast accompanied by strong Bosnian coffee, which by the way, the author thinks, is the  greatest beverage in the world making Starbucks a pariah among all caffeine consisting drinks. True story.

After breakfast, we were sent off to 'explore the city', as our team leaders had to discuss the organisation of the days to come. Boris, who was mentioned earlier on, took us to a place called 'Ethno Village' in the white Red Cross van. Apparently, this place is the Disney-land of Bosnia and quite obviously, 'the real thing'. As we climbed out of the vehicle, we were dumbfounded, believing that this had to be a mistake: not in a million years could this place, that seemed to be taken out of a bad Barbie-daydream, be the city we arrived in the night before. But Boris was quite adamant to leave us explore the wonders of Ethno-Village and only persistent arguing convinced him that we would be much happier to spend the day in the actual city of Bijeljina. And so, he loaded us up again in the van and drove us to the city center, still smiling and concerned, as usual, about our safety.

We got off near a bus stop, in the center of the city, surrounded by trees and smiling wedding guests that were gathered in front of what looked  like a town hall. And so we started walking and ended up at a cafe, about fifteen minutes later. The heat made it nearly impossible to walk more than twenty minutes straight and so we dragged our feet to the nearest place we could find that offered cool drinks and clean toilets.
The rest of the day would look a lot like that: walking from one air-conditioned place to another, filling our bodies with liters of lemonade that would evaporate as soon as it touched the inside of our mouths.

With dried up and fried bodies we waited for our team leaders to come to the city center for dinner. Looking for an adequate restaurant would take another our and ironically we ended up in the very Ethno Village we had dismissed only hours before. But Disney kitsch set aside, this place does offer great food, an interesting scenery, and real life swans! Full and happy we returned to the camp, where we would conclude this day with another satisfying shower from PET bottles.

Road to Bosnia

As we have now finally arrived at the camp site in a little village called Amaljie, it is now probably a good time to turn back and reflect a bit on our 24 hour train journey. Starting from Zurich, we took the night train equipped with small, but nonetheless cozy bunk beds. It would be the last time we’d sleep in such comfortable beds and had we known that ancient hospital beds in little shacks on a field awaited us, we’d probably have paid more attention to these simple luxuries. The journey took us through Austria, Croatia, and Serbia. From time to time, we’d stop for the obligatory border controls, hoping to get at least a stamp from the stern officials so we could boast our now well-travelled, red passports at home. Everything went well, apart from the last border-crossing in Serbia, which involved one of our delegates, a Venezuelan passport, and an unrelenting Serbian border

official. But all’s well that ends well, and despite the occasional throwbacks we’d find ourselves reunited after all in Bijeljina.

From our last stop in Belgrade we took the coach, which was surprisingly air conditioned and ran smoothly on lit highways and narrow streets. Because our train ended up behind schedule, we just about missed our connecting bus which left us stranded for two hours at the train station in Belgrade. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the rare sights of Mladic t-shirts, one-legged pigeons, and lost back-packers. It could have been worse, and munching away on a giant and delicious Pizza, we kept our spirits up. The bus ride only lasted two hours and enveloped in cool air we sat back and took in the scenery; never-ending landscapes, a sunset, trees dipped in pink and gold, and many people resting by the street on blankets, accompanied by food and laughter.

After one and a half hours we finally crossed the Serbian border into Bosnia. Once again, we showed our passports to a stern border official, who probably took some pleasure in keeping ours, and a few others, for routine checks. On returning them he barked our names through the bus:

-Alleshandro!

(Alessandro raises his hand)

-Nadi-Enn!

(Namira looks on in confusion)

-Namira!

(Namira smiles, nods ‘yes’, receives her passport)

-Adé-Lia!

(Margarete, obviously used to administration and border officials calling her by her first name, nods

and says ‘yes’)

Reunited with our passports, the journey went on. I didn't notice it, but one of our observing volunteers pointed out the absence of street lights as soon as we left Serbia and a certain degree of 'bumpiness' of the streets themselves. We found ourselves unmistakably on Bosnian soil. The darkness hid most of the buildings and fields from us, but a starry night sky greeted us nonetheless. 

Having finally arrived in Bijeljina, Goran, one of the Red Cross workers welcomed us with a big smile and some German greetings. He and Boris, another Red Cross volunteer from Bijeljina, loaded our pile of baggage up into the trunk of a white van and drove us in breakneck speed to the camp site in Amaljie, avoiding potholes and probably some living creatures as well.

The camp site itself would be full of unexpected surprises, too: no running water, dirty toilets, a kitchen probably dating back to the 1940s, and an army of mosquitoes, ready to test its newest bite-technology on unsuspecting tourists. 

But all this would be quickly forgotten, after our first shower in over in 24 hours -even though the water came from PET bottles- and a well-deserved cigarette under a star-lit sky. 

Dve nedelje, dve zemlje, jedan projekat. Delegacije Crvenog Krsta iz Bosne i Hercegovine i Svajcarske saradjuju tokom dve nedelje sa ciljem da ostvare centar za mlade u srcu Bijeljine. Ideja je ponuda redovnih socijalnih i kulturnih aktivnosti u otvorenoj i tolerantnoj sredini. Molimo Vas da pratite nas progres na ovom blogu i da nam se pridruzite prilikom workshop day krajem jula.

Huddle Formation- The Go! Team

The 'Let's get some work done' song

Some thoughts and questions....

As the departure date is slowly creeping up on us, the last meetings at the Red Cross headquarters in Basel basically revolved around some more questions and served as a good reminder of what we actually want to achieve. According to Amela, one of the leaders of the Bosnian Red Cross delegation, the room in Bijeljina that was put at our dispoal is currently being used for various activites by the youth section and for first aid lectures. Thus when deciding on a specific concept we should keep in mind not to disrupt current activities and to rearrange the room in a way that would allow us to carry out parallel projects.

It is to be stressed that the idea behind the room was to provide a neutral and safe place for all kinds of groups, it should aim at integrating younger and older generations, as well as different minorities. 

This raises a whole bunch of interesting questions, as we are encouraged to think about minority groups in our respective countries; who are they, where are they, and how do problems related to minority indentities manifest themselves?

These questions should be discussed within the Swiss and Bosnian working groups or perhaps in a more relaxed setting during leisure activities.

These were all ideas that were thrown around in the course of the last meetings and they are still subject to change, so it is important to stay flexible and open-minded.

some photographic impressions of the first planning stage

 

Risotto dinner by Namira

Post-its obviously rule.

sometime after the 5th cup of coffee

 

 

photo credit: Margarete Dias

Planning Frenzy in Swiss German

 

Here they are, one half of a bicultural and bilingual team, hugely motivated (obviously) and running on triple infusions of caffeine (perhaps even more obvious). Right, this is it, the first big meeting to discuss the project that is to be launched this July in Bijeljina, Bosnia, organised by the Swiss and Bosnian Red Cross. Armed with sleeping bags, gazillions of pens, and some vague ideas we boarded the train that morning that would take us to the Swiss countryside where every last detail of the project and its planning process were soon to  be hammered out and eternalized on colourful post-its. It should be noted that in one of the preceding meetings the idea of setting up a youth center met with so much appeal that the Swiss section subsequently decided to soldier on and to present it to the Bosnian delegates. We were thus very happy to learn that the Bosnians, too, were eager to carry and further support this concept. So here we are now, almost ready to make our journey to Bosnia and Hercegovina and equipped with a detailed schedule and a somewhat clear idea of what we are actually supposed to do.

So far everything looks very promising. The best thing probably is that we won't have to look for a room in Bijeljina: in fact, the Red Cross is willing to provide us with a furnished room that, by the looks of things, only needs some cleaning out, painting and decorating. Another point we will all rack our brains over is what kind of programme we want to offer on a regular basis. Hence a planned workshop day at the end of the second week will not only serve as an inauguration of this youth center, but will also hopefully point into the general direction of this project. 

In this intial planning phase that we were able to carry out sucessfully, despite the usual hiccups like geographic gaps, we have now come so far as to decide on the major working groups; there will be a group in charge of the room and its concept, another one will be responsible for actually cleaning out the room of its thousands of shoe boxes, and a third group will plan and organise the workshop day in close collaboration with all the other groups. 

Probably the most amazing and challenging aspect of this project will be to work with people from different backgrounds with different ideas, dreams, and expectations. However, language and cultural barriers set aside, one thing we definitely do have in common is probably a sense of responsibility for our fellow man, an understanding of humanitarianism, tolerance, and mutual respect. All the groups mentioned above are going to be made up of an equal number of Swiss and Bosnian delegates, thus great flexibility and a good sense of humour are going to be essential. In that sense, let's take a bow, have some coffee and let the two most intense and rewarding weeks begin.