I wanted to end my Advocacy Project Blog by discussing a moment that was very important for me in Belgrade. During my fellowship, one of the interview questions Donna and I asked activists was “What is your greatest memory associated with Women in Black?” I first wanted to show you a clip of what WIB activists said but due to some technical difficulties I’m going to have to skip the video for now. But just to give you a glimpse, WIB activists often answered the question by referring to Srebrenica Commemorations or by discussing the friendship and solidarity they have gained by being a part of WIB.
My own personal greatest memory associated with Women in Black was the second Srebrenica Vigil Women in Black coordinated on July 10th, 2009. I spoke about my experience at this vigil in an earlier blog post. I am thankful that I was fortunate enough to express solidarity with Srebrenica victims’ families. The Serb nationalist group that was standing in opposition to us on that day gave me an even greater conviction that political activism is essential. The world cannot become a better and safer place until more of us contribute to the politics of our nations and to the politics of the international community as a whole. We also need to be sure to educate younger generations about the importance of being politically involved – an element of our society that is often lacking, especially in the U.S.
This specific vigil made me positive that Women in Black is working towards something that is very essential in Serbian society: goodness and morality. While you probably won’t find these two words in a list of WIB’s top ten goals, I really think their endeavors can be summed up as such. WIB is basically asking its people to stand up for what is right and stand up against a regime that has committed mass atrocities. It really doesn’t seem like too much to ask.
I really hope that my work in Belgrade was able to contribute to WIB’s agenda and that the organization reaches its goals in the near future!
WIB Activists
I love this quote of yours Simran:
“The world cannot become a better and safer place until more of us contribute to the politics of our nations and to the politics of the international community as a whole. We also need to be sure to educate younger generations about the importance of being politically involved – an element of our society that is often lacking, especially in the U.S.”