Back from Sarajevo.
It's been a good trip. Intense, but good. I'll post some pictures when I have gotten my camera in order.
There has been a lot to see. I have seen the shrapnel damage on the buildings of Sarajevo. I have walked down Sniper Alley where thousands of bullets were fired towards the women and children of the city. I have seen the graffiti in the UN building and the Memorial of the massacre of Srebrenica.
Last night we cheered to the Swedish contingent NordBat's honour in moonshine Kravijca donated by a local from Stupni Do whose wife and two kids were saved by them at the massacre back in 1995, We were in Stupni Do only for a day, and met so many people who, when finding out that we were from Sweden, were so grateful for what our colleagues had done and thanked us. It was touching to see how they, even fifteen years later, still held so much gratitude towards the people who in the name of UN risked their lives to save the locals in Vares.
It makes the Swedish presence in Afghanistan so much more motivated. We make a difference, to somebody. We make their day, and their lives. Literally.
And whenever you can make a difference, not matter how small it is - do it.
It's been a good trip. Intense, but good. I'll post some pictures when I have gotten my camera in order.
There has been a lot to see. I have seen the shrapnel damage on the buildings of Sarajevo. I have walked down Sniper Alley where thousands of bullets were fired towards the women and children of the city. I have seen the graffiti in the UN building and the Memorial of the massacre of Srebrenica.
Last night we cheered to the Swedish contingent NordBat's honour in moonshine Kravijca donated by a local from Stupni Do whose wife and two kids were saved by them at the massacre back in 1995, We were in Stupni Do only for a day, and met so many people who, when finding out that we were from Sweden, were so grateful for what our colleagues had done and thanked us. It was touching to see how they, even fifteen years later, still held so much gratitude towards the people who in the name of UN risked their lives to save the locals in Vares.
It makes the Swedish presence in Afghanistan so much more motivated. We make a difference, to somebody. We make their day, and their lives. Literally.
And whenever you can make a difference, not matter how small it is - do it.
It's unfortunate that over here in the US we don't really get those stories. It appears as though our media feels that, if it isn't American troops doing it, it doesn't really count.