The Contribution of Women to Peace and Reconciliation
The Contribution of Women to Peace and Reconciliation
The Contribution of Women to Peace and Reconciliation
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INTERVIEWS WITH PEACE ACTIVISTS<br />
INTERVIEW WITH<br />
BOSILJKA SCHEDLICH, BERLIN<br />
Childhood in Yugoslavia/Croatia<br />
What made me strong <strong>and</strong> unruly as a child was the desire <strong>to</strong> escape<br />
from violence. Men beat women, children <strong>and</strong> animals, but for women<br />
<strong>and</strong> children <strong>to</strong>o, blows were an everyday means <strong>to</strong> get your way. In our<br />
village, as soon as children could walk, they had <strong>to</strong> work, <strong>and</strong> I didn’t have<br />
any <strong>to</strong>ys either. My father wasn’t there, he lived near Split with my older<br />
brother <strong>and</strong> sister, where he worked, <strong>and</strong> they went <strong>to</strong> school. I thought<br />
that there, in the city, was another world, one without brutality. At that<br />
time, I had never been <strong>to</strong> Split, or any <strong>to</strong>wn. And I wanted <strong>to</strong> go there.<br />
In school I unders<strong>to</strong>od that progress lies in learning – in Yugoslavia after<br />
the Second World War, that was an important idea in any case. I also saw<br />
it as a way <strong>to</strong> escape from the village <strong>and</strong> its violence. In school, I learned<br />
that women have the same rights as men. But my mother <strong>to</strong>o, who <strong>to</strong>ok<br />
care <strong>of</strong> everything alone, everything that men <strong>and</strong> women otherwise did<br />
– the household, the animals, the field – she was the one who gave me<br />
strength, <strong>and</strong> the feeling I could do anything I wanted, <strong>to</strong>o.<br />
When I was eight, I moved <strong>to</strong> <strong>to</strong>wn with my father. Only seldom could<br />
my mother come, because <strong>of</strong> her work with the plants <strong>and</strong> the animals.<br />
It was very beautiful when she was there, <strong>and</strong> the house smelled <strong>of</strong><br />
food when I came home from school. Otherwise, I had <strong>to</strong> manage the<br />
household <strong>and</strong> take care <strong>of</strong> my younger brothers <strong>and</strong> sisters. <strong>The</strong> feeling<br />
<strong>of</strong> responsibility for my surroundings developed from that – <strong>and</strong> also the<br />
feeling that I could be at home anywhere, in the country or <strong>and</strong> in <strong>to</strong>wn.<br />
After primary school, my father wanted me <strong>to</strong> go <strong>to</strong> vocational school,<br />
but I simply registered for secondary school. Since he never went <strong>to</strong> my<br />
school, he didn’t find out about it until two months after the beginning<br />
<strong>of</strong> the term. He accepted it because the school was nearer <strong>to</strong> our house,<br />
<strong>and</strong> I could get home faster after school. But after I got my leaving certif -<br />
icate <strong>and</strong> wanted <strong>to</strong> go <strong>to</strong> another <strong>to</strong>wn <strong>to</strong> college, he wasn’t so under-<br />
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