Port of Call LAST UPDATE October 31, 2009
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October 9, 2009 Durovnik, Croatia – Building Bridges and Renewing Hope
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Dubrovnik’s historical old town, viewed from the steps of the DESA center. Thousands of tourists flock to the town each year to walk through its centuries old alleys and squares.
The city of Dubrovnik is a scene from a fairytale. Its cut stone buildings, narrow alleys, inviting seas and mountains that reach up into the clouds are the perfect backdrop for romance and reverie. Today, Dubrovnik is a popular tourist destination in the Mediterranean but its beauty and charm belie a painful and not-so-distant past.

Eighteen years ago, a brutal conflict erupted in Croatia between Croats and Serbs. Beginning in 1991, refugees from surrounding areas in Croatia and Bosnia began fleeing to Dubrovnik to escape the violence. Close to 30,000 refugees crammed into hotels made available by local authorities in Dubrovnik. But despite food and shelter, the women despaired for their future. It was out of this need for some kind of certainty that DESA was formed.
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DESA’s Executive Assistant Ana Cvjetkovic checks on the progress of the Peace Boat participants hard at work with needle and thread during the embroidery workshop. Ana and her family fled to Dubrovnik from the Konavle region of Croatia during the conflict.
The non-governmental, humanitarian and peacebuilding organization was founded in 1993 to help displaced women regain their independence through skills training. It soon became apparent that the community spirit DESA provided was also helping the women to recover emotionally from the trauma of war.

On the 67th voyage, Hibakusha (Japanese atomic bomb survivors), International Students from Tuebingen University and other interested Peace Boat participants spent some time at the DESA centre. The center, near Dubrovnik’s historic old town, is a gathering place and training center for DESA’s 250 members. In the beginning, women came to the center to learn traditional weaving, needlework, sewing and candy-making. Today, DESA also offers free language courses and computer training.
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Fatima Imic is a weaving instructor at DESA. Here she helps Peace Boat participant Tomine Kiyoko work the loom. Ms Imic is a refugee from Bosnia and has no home to return to. She makes a living through handicraft sold through DESA.
When asked about the focus on women, DESA Project Assistant Seka Limov said that women and children are the most vulnerable during war. She went on to explain that “women are the pillars of the family, if you help a woman you help an entire family.” Men are also welcome and have joined DESA programmes in the past. Between 1997 and 2003, 1,784 people participated in educational programmes and workshops organized by DESA, 85% of whom were women. Now, over 400 unemployed men and women go through DESA programmes each year. Peace Boat has a longstanding relationship with the organization, and 23 sewing machines donated by Peace Boat in 1998 are still in use at the DESA center today.

Ms Limov said that even after the military hostilities of the war ended, the people of Dubrovnik continued to suffer from psychological scars. While a support system was in place for war veterans, there was no organized assistance for civilians suffering from post-traumatic stress. Displaced women, in particular, felt useless and withdrew from society. DESA provided an opportunity for these women to socialize and share their thoughts while learning skills that would help them to gain employment or create their own. Ms Limov says DESA gave them hope of functioning again.
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Hibakusha Ono Mitsuko (right) expressed her solidarity with the women of DESA. Her description of the suffering experienced by families in the wake of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings resonated deeply with the group. Listening intently to her presentation is DESA Project Assistant Seka Limov (second left).
As Dubrovnik and the rest of the region recovered from the war, the influx of refugees ceased and DESA was able to expand its mandate. Today the organization strives to respond to the needs of its community through educational programmes and campaigns. DESA is currently collaborating with women's associations in Montenegro and Bosnia to promote sustainable tourism in the region. The project also serves as a bridge between the nations and is playing its part in the process of healing and reconciliation.

Hibakusha Ono Mitsuko made a personal connection with DESA’s commitment to the women of the region. A writer, through her work she shares the stories of women and children affected by the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and their road to recovery. Speaking to a gathering of DESA members at the center, Ms Ono shared a story of a mother’s unwavering love for her daughter who had been badly disfigured by the blast. She said that as the givers of life, women had the power to overcome the agendas of those who seek to take life away. She urged the women of DESA to be unrelenting in their call for “NO MORE WARS!”