Written by Isa Belle

The Initiative of the United World Colleges (UWC) and International Baccalaureate (IB) in Bosnia and Herzegovina aims to support the peace process in the country and the region by implementing a recognized model of post-conflict education. Dubbed the “lighthouse” for education reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina, this unique project builds on over 40 years of experience of the UWC and IBO in offering international education through the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) to students of all national and
religious backgrounds from across the world.

This is what you read when entering the website of the United World College in Mostar (www.uwc-ibo.org a school based in the old and famous Austro-Hungarian Gymnasium.  The core of the initiative’s work is the College, a classroom model of an integrated quality education in the country.   BiH teachers receive training in international educational standards, at workshops given throughout the year.  More than that,  United World College in Mostar (UWCiM) is also my school where I have just finished the first year of the two-year curriculum. In this article I want to share my experiences and feeling about this school that has become my new home.

I arrived in Mostar as an innocent  16-year old girl full of dreams and ideals. I didn’t know a lot about Bosnia and had no idea what was lying ahead of me, but I was looking toward the future with optimism and a belief that I could make a change. Fortunately, I had not yet experienced the feeling of being just another insignificant being. I had been in other countries before; however I had never been to those that were so different from mine, the Netherlands.  When I had gotten over my first culture shock, mainly caused by the ubiquitous visibility of war especially in buildings laid ruin everywhere in Mostar, I then had to overcome homesickness, a feeling which could be extreme at time.  Arriving as a 16-year-old in a country completely different from your own where nothing was familiar and no-one was your friend was quite intense.  I became aware that I would have to spend three and a half months without the familiarity I was accustomed to. I felt imprisoned by the hills surrounding Mostar since in Holland I was used to views which stretched for miles (People don’t call us the low country for no reason.) While here the view was blocked immediately by a hill. It’s funny how now when being away, I miss the hills and mountains of beautiful Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Time is the best healer; it’s really true, especially in a great environment where great people share your feeling. We support one other and make ourselves comfortable. Never before had I met people from Iraq. I only knew Sudan from the newspapers, and I didn’t even know Swaziland was a country.  Now when I think of those countries, I see faces. Faces of all the people I have met at my college. Faces of intelligent, diverse and above all incredibly friendly people from everywhere around the world.  Beside getting to know all these amazing individuals, I got to know Bosnia, a country that at first sight seemed unattractive and even repulsive to go to.  But how can people be misled by their perception?  Never have I seen such beautiful and diverse nature which I could have it all for myself because in Bosnia you can still enjoy nature without being surrounded by a crowd of tourists.  Never have I met such friendly people who always want to help even when we don’t understand each other.  For me, few countries are as interesting as Bosnia-Herzegovina!

Living in Mostar, a divided city–where an unmarked border split the Muslim Bosniaks and Catholic Croats east and west– was also an interesting experience.  Initially I could not understand one bit the nationalism of this country. Now I know better.  I know that it is deeply rooted, and that you cannot change it in a day or two.  However, I can still see a bright future for Bosnia; I can see people who have different religious belief living and going to school together. I believe that going to school together is a vital change that should be made.  Everywhere in Bosnia you see separate curricula, for example in the Gymnasium of Mostar.  My school is an exception; there Croat, Serb and Bosniak children are going to school together without any problems.  In a year I have seen people going from being suspicious towards each other to becoming best friends despite having different ethnicity. I even see Israeli and Iraqi become friends.  Magical things do happen, and it’s not idealistic to say that this magic can happen anywhere in the world.

These are just glimpses of great experiences I had during a year in Bosnia as there are many more. Some are just little moments that make my day and if I think again and again about how unique the project of which I’m apart, I feel warm and loving.  United World College in Mostar is a project which is truly extraordinary and should be appreciated. But eventually it should not be unique, rather I would like to see it as a standard in the entire Bosnia and Herzegovina.