The Contribution of Women to Peace and Reconciliation

ible things. By means of these stories, they were able to build a narrow
bridge across the ravine of the terror which they had survived, to their
lives before the war, to overcome the chasms within themselves, to
leave behind their identities as victims, and to reconnect to their lives
before the war. That helps them to overcome the self-destructive hatred,
and to get to where their lives are today, in Berlin: here, where their children
live and their grandchildren were born. They have thus not only
overcome the terrible past, but have also regained their previous lives,
and gained the future.
Conclusion
I learned a lot about myself through this work, and about the effect on
me of the experiences of my relatives, primarily those of my father. I
have become happier, more courageous and freer, and can better grasp
and appreciate the value of life. The lesson which I draw from the stories
entrusted to me so openly and so trustingly is that wars can break out
again and again, if the groups concerned are left to themselves in a crisis.
The experiences from earlier conflicts not dealt with have an effect
through the generations, and can facilitate and promote the outbreak of
new violence. After all, that’s true in personal relationships, too. I think
we have to have the courage to look at the potential dangers, so that
we can react preventatively, before the shooting starts.
This realization was the motivation behind the creation of the foundation
Überbrücken (“bridging”). We are working here against forgetting and
against sublimation, not only in former Yugoslavia. We want to keep
alive the knowledge about human violence and wars, so as to promote
the creative and the positive through art, and to thus also work for
peace. The thin line between wartime and peacetime must be redrawn
anew – through education and training for every single person, every -
where in the world, everyday, so that the children will become neither
victims nor perpetrators. I look forward to this task, and to everyone
who is willing to join in it.
Interview: Birgit Daiber, Berlin, August 27, 2009
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