Western Balkans diversity #YouthDay

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#enough

I think there is no other place with such a history of nationalism hate as the Balkans and former Yugoslavia.

We all have harsh history with each others. Wars after the break of Yugoslavia spread hatred and chauvinism that lead us to the state where a lot of people are afraid of each other. Xenophobia is present in every country, because our political leaders have taught us, in the past 30 years, that that phenomenon is normal. They wanted us to hate each other, because it was easier that way for them to rule.

Nowadays, we, as a young people, are aware of this problem and the harm it can cause. We've had enough of the hatered. We've had enough of wars. We've had enough of the celebrated chauvinism that our ancestors left us as legacy.

We want peace and unity. We want to live all together with each other, with mutual understanding. We want love and friendship intead of hatred and wars. That's our hope for the future. That's our vision of the future that we can have. Together.

We already work on creating this future for ourselves. We have regional projects that are connecting us. We all understand that we are humans after all. We recognize our differences and we accept them.

But there is still a big problem. Adults, politicians, the policymakers underestimate us. They often ignore our needs and create conflicts and tension. 

We, as a young people, don't want that! We want to raise our voice and fight together for peace and equality! We want our rights, we want rights for everyone!

I don't care what is the nationality of my friends as long as they are good people! Bad people will always exist, regardless of their nationality. Actually, as my father always says, bad people are bad people, they don't have a nationality. 

Young people from Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Albania and North Macedonia, want to live in peace. And we will, as long as our voice is heard!

#OurVoiceOurFuture #YouthDay

Alone, we can do so little: together we can do so much
-Helen Keller
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