Message from Jerry White
I just returned from Bosnia-Herzegovina. Bosnia was where we launched our first amputee peer-support network in 1997 during our historic visit with Diana, Princess of Wales. What a difference seven years make. Brick by brick, Bosnia is re-building. And step by step, LSN-Bosnia is reconstructing the lives of survivors. From a staff of one in 1997, LSN-Bosnia has grown to include three social workers, 12 amputee outreach workers and other support staff trained to reach thousands of survivors in need. As Plamenko Priganica, LSN-Bosnia’s Director, keeps reminding me, there is still much work to do to promote health, economic opportunity, and rights for survivors.
Mostar is nested in beautiful mountains, but was devastated and divided by war. One survivor I met there, Mustafa, told me, “I don’t want anyone’s pity, just work. Work gets me out of the house and changes my focus from the past and my war injury to the future and my family.” Mustafa is now drawing up plans to rebuild a cherry orchard on his family’s property, dormant since it was scorched in the war. Mustafa is working with Izo, LSN’s community-based outreach worker, and a group of eight other survivors—mixing Croats, Muslims, and Serbs. They meet monthly to share their struggles and draw up plans to fulfill their dreams. The support group was their own idea, but they were brought together by LSN. Izo thanked me profusely (and I, in turn, thank you LSN supporters) for not disappearing after the war. Most international organizations, he explained, had come immediately after the war, but soon left for new emergencies in Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq and Sudan. If there’s anything we understand at LSN, it’s that recovery takes time. LSN is in it for the duration.
In late July, the world community will celebrate the re-opening of the historic bridge connecting east and west Mostar. The bridge is a symbol of both the past and the future of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The past, because it was destroyed in a bitter conflict that pitted neighbor against neighbor; and the future because, despite 40% unemployment, long-held divisions and much destruction of property, communities are planning for the future. On my first trip with the Princess of Wales, about the only thing that all Bosnians could agree on was that landmines were their common enemy in peace time. Now, communities are working to re-build their homes and their relationships with each other. LSN is helping get survivors back on their feet. It is bringing together fragmented communities. As we’ve seen time and time again, when people come together, when they lean on each other and work as a team, lives are changed, and hope is restored. Here’s to celebrating the “new” old bridge in Mostar and the work of survivors throughout Bosnia-Herzegovina.
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