Nataša – Teslić
“We need to change ourselves first.”
“When I was young, I was told by a teacher not to pursue my love of journalism because, as she said, it’s not a good job for a woman. Sadly, I listened.” Nataša went on to study agricultural engineering and agribusiness to follow in the footsteps of her farmer parents. But then one day she applied on a whim to a training for youth journalists on the portal eTrafika and was accepted. She went on to volunteer with them and is now employed there. “I’ve always loved reading and writing and now I get to report on issues concerning youth, marginalized groups, human rights abuses, and corruption. I try to use my work to promote understanding in our society. I truthfully think that in order to fix the bigger issues in BiH, we have to accept the problems in ourselves first. For example, people blame politicians for corruption, but we are the ones who allow them to be like that. We do the same things in our private lives – giving gifts to a doctor to get better care or giving professors something in hopes of a better grade. We have to change ourselves first.” Nataša is back in Teslić for a bit but knows she can’t stay long. “When i was younger, Teslić was a bigger city, but the old people died and young ones left. Nothing but my family keeps me here now. There are no opportunities for young people.” With her patchwork of experiences and interests, Nataša will head to Banja Luka, get back together with her salsa dance group, and continue to dream up ways to use and develop her talents. “I would love for Bosnia to not be so divided. It makes me so sad when people say ‘they are ours’ or ‘they aren’t ours’. We are all part of this mosaic together.”
Other stories
Hannah - Sarajevo
“BiH must define herself by the diversity of all her citizens and be unshakably proud of it.”
Živan Ugljevik
“It’s time to accept the truth, unite behind it, and leave future generations an opportunity to succeed.”
Ivana – Banja Luka
“We can all be community organizers…we all just need a little push. I want to be that push.”
Magdalena – Prijedor
Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.
Mirna – Stolac
“WWI ended. WWII ended. Yugoslavia ended and the most recent war ended. This period of time will also come to an end.”
Stela – Banja Luka
“My friends tell me not to fight the wind, you cannot win. But I can try.”
Velida – Podlugovi
“It begins with individual action. Through it, I believe we can initiate change in our home communities.”
Nikolina – Banja Luka
“Sometimes we are given two options to choose from, and we are told that this choice is democracy, but what we really need is to demand new options.”
Aleksandar – BL
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only this that ever has.”
Vesna – Vitez
“Having different points of view makes for much more interesting conversation.”
Božo – Trebinje
“Bosnia and Herzegovina’s reliance upon the international community needs to end.”
