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"Building
Bridges of Peace
New Jersey Synod Friendship Camps 2007"
This summer the New Jersey Synod hosted 16 Friendship Camps throughout Bosnia attended by more than 2,200 children. These camps are for children ages 10-13 (and anyone else who showed up!), and are intended to help bring Healing, Hope & Peace, into their lives and their communities. Each camp had anywhere from 60-300+ students, and 10-20 teachers present.
The theme for this year’s camps was “Building Bridges of Peace”. Throughout Bosnia, any village, town or city is built on the banks of at least one river – the country is full of beautiful rivers. Because of this, they well know the value of a bridge at an instrument of bringing people together. Furthermore, in the Muslim culture, bridges are considered a gift from God.
During last year’s Friendship Camps (with a similar theme of “Building Bridges: Journeying Together”) the school Director at one of our camps told his students: “You should build bridges like your grandfathers, not destroy them like your fathers.”
So we spent the day with the children exploring this theme while playing together, singing together, sharing stories, creating art, and eating and laughing together. We gave the children, the teachers in attendance that day, and the schools some gifts – including the gift of our time and love.
VISOKO Friendship Camp
held June 25, 2007
Visoko is a relatively small town in Central Bosnia, just north of Sarajevo. During the war there was a fair amount of fighting around Visoko, and though it was never captured there was considerable damage both to its structures and economy. Because of its relative safety and proximity to Sarajevo, many refugees (mainly Bosniaks) settled here and many remain to this day. This Friendship Camp has a special place in our heart – the teachers and students seem particularly fragile and are always so grateful for our presence. This is our sixth year in Visoko.
DONJA MAHALA Friendship Camp
held June 27, 2007
Donja Mahala is a village near Orašje on the Sava River on the border of Croatia. The population of the village and school is primarily Croat (Roman Catholic). The school has always welcomed us most graciously, often with lovely dancing. It is also one of the few schools that prepare the lunches themselves in their small kitchen (most schools work with one or more local restaurants). One of our dear interpreters, Martina Grzic, comes from this school and town. This is our sixth year in Donja Mahala.
BRCKO Friendship Camp
held June 28, 2007
Brcko is a major town on the Sava River, on the border of Croatia. During the war the fighting was intense in this area. At the Dayton Peace Accord (that ended the war) this region was a major sticking-point, with neither side willing to cede it to the other, so a unique "Brcko District" was established, one that allows them some autonomy in the ethic strife that continues to this day. This is our fourth year in Brcko.
GRADACAC Friendship Camp
held June 29, 2007
The town of Gradacac lives in the northeastern part of Bosnia. It was a majority Bosniak (Muslim) population with a large Serb and Croat minorities. It was severely bombed during the war, and to this day has multiple land mine fields nearby. Today, the community and school has worked hard to rebuild and takes justifiable pride in its efforts. This is one of our largest camps each year. This is our eighth year in Gradacac (it was one of the first set of Friendship Camps held).
SIPOVO Friendship Camp
held July 2, 2007
Sipovo is a small town in central Bosnia, in Republik Srpska (the Serb-controlled section of Bosnia). During the war no fighting took place in Sipovo, but for a time it was held by opposition forces, which expelled the local, mainly Serb, residents. Since the war it has struggled to recover economically, as Republik Srpska receives little international aid. This is one of the towns we visit where many of the children seem to suffer from significant poverty. Though our first Friendship Camp, in 2000, was met with some mistrust, the people of Sipovo have graciously opened their town to us for many wonderful years. This is one of our largest camps each year, where we regularly have to, regretfully, turn many children away because of their overwhelming numbers. This will be our eighth year in Sipovo.
BIHAC Friendship Camp
held July 3, 2007
Bihac sits in the North Western corner of Bosnia, on the Una River. Bihac suffered the destruction of many buildings (including severe damage to the school where our Friendship Camp is held) during the war, when the area around the city was under siege by the Bosnian Serb forces for over three years. Though many of the students must walk many miles to come to school, and our Friendship Camps, they are always so excited to see us each year. Bihac was in the first group of Friendship Camps we held. This will be our eighth year in Bihac.
KOZARAC Friendship Camp
held July 4, 2007
Kozarac is a small town in north-west Bosnia. It is in Republik Srpska (the Serb-controlled section of Bosnia), though prior to the war it was 85% Bosniak (Muslim). During the war, Kozarac had a rape house set up by the Serb authorities, and was next to the notorious Trnopolje Concentration Camp, where detainees were abused, some tortured, raped or even killed. In Kozarac, our team stays in Srcem do Mira's (Through Hearts to Peace) remarkable House of Peace. The Friendship Camp is usually very small, but very important. This will be our fourth year in Kozarac.
JAJCE FRIENDSHIP CAMP
held July 5, 2007
Jajce is famous for its beautiful waterfall where the lake Pliva meets the river Vrbas. It is also home to the ruins of St. Luke's, a church that once held the actual bones of the Apostle Luke! At the beginning of the war, Jajce was inhabited by people from all ethnic groups, and was situated at a junction between areas of Serb majority to the north, Bosnian Muslim majority areas to the south-east and Croatian majority areas to the south-west. In 1992, after almost all Serbs left the city and fled to territory under Bosnian Serb control, Jajce was heavily bombed by Serb forces. Most of the houses and government building were totally destroyed. The city was under Serb control until the Croatian army retook the city in the summer of 1995. The chidlren in the school and its Director are always very welcoming of our team. This will be our third year in Jajce.
Southern Camps
SREBREBNICA Friendship Camp
held June 26, 2007
Srebrenica is a small town in the far east of Bosnia – very near the border of Serbia. It is in Republik Srpska (the Serb-controlled section of Bosnia). During the war, Srebrenica was declare a UN Safe-Zone. Near the end of the war Srebrenica (with its large Muslim population) was overrun by Serb forces who, in their attempt to ethnically cleanse the area, massacred over 8,000 unarmed civilian men and boys. This is the largest massacre in Europe since WWII. Today Srebrenica still bears many deep scars from the war; psychologically, physically, socially, spiritually. This year’s camp with not be with their school, but rather with a wonderful program for children with disabilities called Leptir (butterfly).
GORAŽDE Friendship Camp
held June 27, 2007
Goražde is located on the Drina River in South East Bosnia. It is a part of the Federation, the Muslim-Croat controlled section of Bosnia. In April 1993 it was made into a 'safe area' in which the UN was supposed to protect the civilian population from attack. Between March 30, and April 23, 1994 the Serbs launched a major offensive against the town. Virtually all of the UN peacekeepers fled and 694 people were killed and another 1,917 were wounded before the offensive was stopped. The majority of the casualties were civilians. The city held out until the end of the war and in the end it was to become the only town in eastern Bosnia not to be ethnically cleansed by the Serbs. After the Dayton accords were negotiated a land corridor was established between Goražde and the Federation. This is our fourth year in Goražde.
FOCA Friendship Camp
held June 28, 2007
Foca is also on the Drina River in South East Bosnia and, at least prior to the war, was considered a sister city to Goražde. During the war most of its Muslim population left or was driven out, and went from being almost 50% Serb, 50% Muslim (Bosniak) to nearly all Serb today. Foca was also the site of a rape camp which was set up by the Serb authorities in which hundreds of women were raped. For these reasons we feel this is a particularly important location for our ministry. This Friendship Camp is one of our largest, often with over 300 children. This is our fourth year in Foca.
POTOCI (Mostar) Friendship Camp
June 29, 200
Potoci is a majority-Muslim (Bosniak) suburb of Mostar, which is the main city in southern Bosnia. It is home the the world-famous Stari Most Bridge. Mostar saw much fighting during the war, first when the Serbs laid siege to it, then when the local Bosnian-Croat forces (in east Mostar) attacked Muslims (Bosniaks) (in west Mostar - where Potoci lies). Our team stays in the Egyptian Orphanage, which is filled with loving children who have so few resources. This Friendship Camp is always fun and always challenging because the extreme heat in this region make the unairconditioned school most uncomfortable. This will be our fifth year in Potoci/Mostar.
RAMA Friendship Camp
held July 2, 2007
Rama is a village in central Bosnia, on the shores of the remarkably beautiful Rama lake. We are very excited about this camp as it will be our first time in this school!
TRAVNIK Friendship Camp
held July 3, 2007
Travnik is a city near the geographic center of Bosnia. During the war, the city escaped most of the damage from Serb attacks. Following this, conflict arose between the area's Bosniaks and Croats, which has led some to accuse the Bosnian army of ethnic cleansing. After the war came great population shifts, as well as possible ethnic cleansing in the region. Thousands of Croats and Serbs left the area, while thousands of Bosniak refugees flooded in. This will be our third year in Travnik.
VARES Friendship Camp
held July 4, 2007
Vares is a town in central Bosnia with a Bosniak majority. Last year our team received such a warm welcome here. This will be our second year in Vares.
VOJKOVICI FRIENDSHIP CAMP
held July 5, 2007
Vojkovici is a suburb of Sarajevo near the airport. It is in Republik Srpska (the Serb-controlled section of Bosnia). The school was bombed during the war and heavily damaged. During much of the fighting the teachers, despite the danger, went to the children’s houses to continue their teaching. This school has an ethnically diverse student and teacher population. We love this school! This will be our sixth year in Vojkovici.
