The love story of 35-year-old Vahdijana from Serbia and 39-year-old Momir from Bosnia and Herzegovina began with an introduction through mutual friends. Vahdijana, a teacher working developmentally challenged students, and Momir, a computer programmer, faced no significant obstacles in their love story, despite encountering a few disapproving glances. Their love eventually culminated in marriage, and today, they reside in the Brčko District with their two children.
Jasmina Alić-Zec and Siniša Zec met through Facebook. By the end of their first coffee date, which lasted for five or six hours, they realized they have a lot in common, from their clothing style to the kind of music they listen to and their love for nature. Although society defines them as Bosniak and Croat, they don’t identify that way. Their different ethnic backgrounds did not stand in the way of their love story, which culminated with their marriage in Tuzla, where they now live with their daughter Iris.
A state of peace is not only the absence of war but a full understanding and tolerance of others as well as the realization of human rights without discrimination. This is one of the messages from the meeting of representatives of the European Union in Bosnia and Herzegovina (EU BiH) and participants of the State of Peace Youth Academy, which was held at the headquarters of the Delegation of the EU BiH in Sarajevo.
Although the Spid swimming club was founded with the goal of developing inclusive sports, over the last eight years, it has become a gathering place and a source of unbreakable friendships for children from all over Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), regardless of their ethnicity or any other differences. This club has also been a place where children with developmental difficulties or disabilities, who are often referred to as “water heroes,” have won numerous awards.
What began as a temporary arrangement, “two schools under one roof” has now become an enduring example of segregation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with profound implications for long-term peace and coexistence in the country.
Nataša and Elvir Čelebić, born in 1976 and 1978 respectively, embarked on their love story 20 years ago. Today, it is crowned with two children, Boris (born in 1997) and Ena (born in 2003), demonstrating that love knows know boundaries.