|
|
|
| Port of Call-Dubrovnik,Croatia-June
5th and 6th |
 |
| Mortar shells turned into vases, one of the peculiar souvenirs to be found in Mostar |
As the sun set over the hills behind the town, the
Global University group met with families to stay the night with while
the International Students headed back to Dubrovnik to see the old
town. For most on the tour, it was the first time to see such ruins
in person and left on us all a deep impression, contrasting the warmth
and hospitality of the people in welcoming these visitors with the
reality that somehow, media manipulation often said to be most responsible,
such hatred was fermented in the same people as to do to this beautiful
town what they did. |
|
 |
| Dressing the daughter of a Desa woman in a Yukata, a traditional Japanese dress. Photo by Kei Satoh |
Back in Dubrovnik another group spent the day with
Desa, another women-focused NGO which began during the war out of
a need to give women something to occupy their time with so as to
fight off depression. Over the years the organization has developed
a program of teaching economic independence, though the problems of
fighting depression and giving local and returnee women a means of
developing a new life, especially for those who lost the men in their
families to the war are still at the heart of the program. Participants
visited the homes of women working with Desa for a slow lunch and
finished the day by introducing Japanese culture through Origami,
calligraphy and wearing of the traditional Yukata. To see these women
empowering themselves in the face of war and an often negative attitude
from the male half of society was very encouraging to participants,
especially coming from a male-oriented society like Japan. |
|
 |
| The SPACE dance team performing in the center of the old town in Dubrovnik |
As always in Dubrovnik, the stunning beauty of the
old city settled into the rugged coastline and hills plus the history
of conflict and rebuilding that people are doing leaves us with a
powerful impression of what life can be for so many people in the
world. The city has recovered much since the war and tourism is providing
much needed jobs to the local people. Most participants ended the
brief stay with a hurried spin through the market in the town to pick
up last supplies of fruit and cheese while others sat over a cup of
espresso and contemplated the beauty of the occasionally bomb-scarred
marble under their feet. |
|
| front page / Peace
Boat's 37th Voyage |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
PEACE BOAT is an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. |
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
