At "Tufts University" in Boston, organized by "New England Friends of Bosnia and Herzegovina," March 1, the Independence Day of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was solemnly celebrated. The NEFBIH organization was founded four years ago with the hope of building a solid foundation and base for future generations to promote our history, culture, human rights, and educational programs. NEFBIH is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Although they are a relatively young organization, thanks to the passion, vision, and dedication of volunteers, they have achieved impressive results, and since their establishment in 2012, they has organized more than 70 projects. Through the projects, they managed to donate more than 50 thousand dollars, reaching thousands of people. In the amphitheater of one of the most famous universities in America, friends of Bosnia and Herzegovina gathered to solemnly and academically mark this significant date for our BiH. Among those present were government representatives, consuls, university professors, students from various universities, and Bosnians and Herzegovinans from all over America. The program began with the singing of the American and Bosnian national anthems. His Excellency Haris Hrle, Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to Washington, DC, USA, addressed the audience and, through his inspiring speech, said, among other things: "At the referendum on March 1, 1992, people voted for the independent state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the United States of America recognized Bosnia and Herzegovina as an independent and sovereign state on April 8, 1992. America is a partner in preserving the territorial integrity and sovereignty of our country. Our diaspora integrated into American society and became an important link and a permanent bridge connecting these two countries." His Excellency Ambassador Haris Hrle thanked the authorities of the state of Massachusetts for their help in accepting refugees from BiH and providing the opportunity for hundreds of young students to continue their education in America. The program was led by Edina Škaljić, and Lejla Arapčić, president of the Board of New England Friends of Bosnia, introduced the organization of NEFBiH to the attendees.
Two proclamations on BiH Independence Day were then delivered. The first proclamation was delivered by Mark Sullivan, executive director of the Office of Foreign Trade and Investment, on behalf of Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, and the second proclamation was delivered by Paul Mark and Jerry Parisella in front of the Massachusetts State Parliament. A brief overview of BiH through its history was presented by Naida Čolakhodžić, a member of the NEFBIH organization. The tribune was also attended by other guests from American political life: J. Catherine Rollins (Director of Policy from the City of Everett) and Farah Chatelier (Consul General of Haiti) The program continued with a panel discussion on the topic "The future with roots in the past," Human rights in the Dayton Peace, and the role and potential of the diaspora in economic development in Bosnia and Herzegovina." The moderator of the panel was Dr. Bridget Conley-Zilkic (Assistant Professor of Research and Research Director) at the World Peace Foundation at Tufts University. Panelists: Dr. Bruce Hitchner (Tufts University, Professor of Classics & International Relations; Chairman of the Dayton Peace Accords Project) Dr. Esad Boškailo (Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Author of "Wounded I Am More Awake: Finding Meaning after Terror") Armin Alijagić (Founder of "Naša perspektiva"), who called from Sarajevo via Skype, Dr. Boškailo, emphasized that the role of Dayton was huge in stopping the aggression on Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1995, but also that Dayton, by dividing Bosnia and Herzegovina along ethnic lines, enabled the nationalists to continue working on He also said that belonging to an ethnic group is only a small part of a person's identity, and when that ethnicity dominates the character, it leads directly to fascism. In post-Dayton, Bosnia, the ordinary citizen is torn between natural humanism and loyalty to the national group. "We all come from somewhere, and we didn't choose it, but we can choose the path we take. I'm fighting for the path of humanism and progress. We came to America as exiles; we came from a country where everything was taken from us, including our lives and our dearest memories. , and we came to the USA, a country where our hosts gave us everything we needed. We were allowed to live, to study, and to work. Bosnians and Herzegovinians are now successful citizens of America, and the reason for this is the advanced environment and the opportunities provided. We are the same people who currently live in difficult conditions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Why? Well, America was built on three main principles: pluralism, democracy, and human rights. According to Dayton, this is not possible for us on the entire territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In BiH, therefore, all those rights guaranteed to Americans by their constitution have been taken away from us. So, we should not spend energy to change people in BiH; we must change the system that will enable young people to get an education, work, form families, and overcome the darkest form of life called nationalism. So Dayton has to change and improve.” One of the tasks of the Bosnian-Herzegovina Academy of Science and Art (BHAAAS) is to connect scientists and artists from the Diaspora with colleagues from all over BiH to move in the direction of progress for all. Dr. Boskailo ended his presentation with Albert Einstein's saying: "The world is not dangerous because of evil people, but because of those who do not oppose evil." and said the old saying that a pot full of boiling water can be extinguished with a very small amount of cold water, and called everyone to calm down. Then spoke Dr. Bruce Hitchner (Professor of Classics and International Relations), who led the Dayton negotiations and was directly involved in finalizing this peace agreement. Dr. . Bruce Hitchner said that Dayton is not a sacred letter that should not be touched and that it must be changed. He emphasized that the big mistake would be to abolish Dayton and try to replace it with a completely new constitution, due to the risk of destabilizing the state, but that its changes are necessary for BiH to become a more functional state ready for Euro-Atlantic integration. Armin Alijagić, director of "Our Perspective," spoke via Skype and spoke about the importance of including the diaspora in the processes of change in Bosnia and Herzegovina to contribute to socio-economic development. By including the diaspora, which numbers over 2 million citizens from BiH who are scattered around the world, a lot could be done to strengthen our country. At the same time, he pointed out the importance of the inflow of funds in BiH from the diaspora, which make up over 30% of the GDP of BiH, and how these funds should be used more efficiently in the future. After the panel discussion, poet Fahro Zilkić presented Dr. Esada Boškaila as an introduction to the presentation of the book "Wounded I am More Awake, Finding Meaning After Terror." Fahro said, "I believe that only two types of people are possible in this world. Some go through life and do the best they can; look around and see the good and evil that surrounds us. Among them, people are even capable of predicting the terrible future, but they have never seen death face to face. There is another kind of person, those who have had that experience. In the case of Mr. Bočkail, this encounter was repeated on several occasions. This book is about the line that separates those two types of people. These books describe moments when you are with death, face to face, and death, for unknown reasons, forgives you. But death is arrogant, I guess due to its infinite superiority over us, and it feels no remorse or the need to explain something. No, death just comes and says, I forgive you... and forget about everything else. This book is about everything else.” Dr. Boskailo spoke about the book and the importance of written documents about the genocide and the horrors of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. As the reason for the book, he cited a reading by the famous chronologist from the 18th century, Mula Mustafa Bašeskija (1731-1809), who said: "What is not written, did not happen." The book also talks about the treatment of psychological problems caused by war traumas that a person can go through. The book talks about the horrors of the concentration camps in Herzegovina but also about hope and the future and how one can and must find the meaning of life after such traumas. Dr. Boškailo emphasized again that the book is not only about him and that he is not a hero, but that it is a story about all those who have gone through the traumas of war. He also spoke about the positive changes that occur after severe trauma and how Bosnians and Herzegovians should get rid of the role of victim that is imposed on them and turn to the future because it is impossible to live in the past. 
The entire organization took place at the highest level, which was taken care of by the hosts from Boston: Azem Dervišević, Lejla Arapčić, Edina Škaljić, Kemal Čolakhodžić, Dina Karihman, Elvir Prkos, Anela Demir, Halil Demir, Zerina Dervišević, Elmir Škaljic, Naida Čolakhodžić, Inda Čolakhodžić, Jasmina Ćesić, Amer Gabela, Mirza Arifović, Fahro Zilkić. On Sunday, we all had lunch together in the beautiful Mediterranean restaurant "Sabur," which is successfully run by the poet Fahrudin Zilkić. Aiša and Esad Boškailo Photo: Lejla Arapčić
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