We Come in Peace

We Come in Peace. The title symbolises the powerful engagement of ex-combatants who decided to reach out to former enemies from the wars in the Western Balkans and take one small step by sharing their experiences and building relationships. In a second step, they then spoke about their feelings in public and started to engage for a culture of remembrance that recognises the pain and losses on all sides. 

It takes a great deal of courage to engage with people who fought on the other side. Step by step, this group of veterans transformed themselves into peace activists and helped to build a broader network of like-minded people who are willing to speak out in public and engage in peace education.

We have been working with our partner organisation Center for Nonviolent Action (CNA) since the 1990s as part of the Civil Peace Service (CPS). It is an impressive example of peace work that has been continuously supported over many years and has been able to grow. Reconciliation work of immeasurable value.