WSCF-US Joins WSCF-Europe in Sarajevo: A Reflection by Ailih

During the last week of October, WSCF-US joined students and leaders from the WSCF-Europe region of the global WSCF in Sarajevo for a peacebuilding training. A central aspect of WSCF's mission is to connect movements of young Christians and give exposure to the realities of life around the world. The Frame the Future series brought together representatives from student Christian movements in Finland, the UK, Austria, and Germany, and from partner organizations in France, Georgia, Lebanon, Brazil, Colombia, and Azerbaijan. 

By Ailih Weeldreyer (she/her), WSCF-US National Organizer

The greatest gift of belonging to a global movement is that we are given the opportunity to see God at work through people across the world. Our global neighbors teach us that though we may be far from one another, we are united by our hope for peace and justice. We are not alone in our efforts to bring about the kingdom of Heaven on Earth. 
Last week, I traveled to Sarajevo in Bosnia-Herzegovina to fellowship and learn alongside friends and colleagues from WSCF-Europe. This was the final installation of their Frame the Future peacebuilding training series, which brought together young people from around Europe and the rest of the world to learn about peacebuilding in contexts throughout the continent. In Sarajevo, we learned non-violent communication skills, practiced dialogue, and studied the city’s history of war, division, and reconciliation. 

Ailih and Deidre in conversation with peers from Brazil and Germany. (photo by Marcos Dorneles, 2025)

On Wednesday, we took a tour of Sarajevo led by a young historian whose depth of knowledge - both academic and lived experience - painted a picture of a city and a culture with a legacy of interreligious harmony. We learned that for centuries, from ancient times through the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires, Bosnians who were Catholic, Orthodox, Jewish, and Muslim coexisted peacefully. The idea that people living in the territory that is now Bosnia-Herzegovina should divide themselves according to the faith community to which they belong emerged only in the 20th century, as a response to oppressive Austro-Hungarian policies. The three main ethnic groups within Bosnia-Herzegovina are Croats, who are mainly Catholic, Bosniaks, who are mainly Muslim, and Serbs, who are mainly Orthodox. As nationalism rose in resistance to Austro-Hungarian rule, people began to identify with their ethnic groups through the signifier of religion. These divisions grew until the fall of communist Yugoslavia in 1992, when war broke out amongst the national groups. 
The war was brutal, reminiscent of the conflicts we see on our screens today. All parties committed atrocities, with civilians bearing the worst of the violence. During the siege of Sarajevo and the Srebrenica genocide, civilians were starved, shot by snipers, and systematically removed for mass murder by the Bosnian Serb military. Their nationalist struggle for power was fueled by the dehumanization of other groups. Because Serbs in the military could not see their Bosniak neighbors as human, policies of ethnic cleansing and genocide became part of the attempt to win control over territory. 
Echoes of the conflict remain in plain sight in Sarajevo. Apartment buildings with giant mortar scars, bullet holes peppering concrete walls along the largest road through the city, and red paint splatters represent the memories of war which linger along with feelings of division. We learned that while the Dayton Accords officially ended the violent conflict, the peace agreement lacked policies aimed toward reconciliation of people. Thus the war has been frozen in place, like the “Sarajevo Roses” which mark with red paint the locations where people were killed by mortar fire. 

Our guide, Ahmet, shows us a Sarajevo Rose in a city square.

Another Sarajevo Rose outside the Tunnel of Hope, which was the city's lifeline during the siege of Sarajevo.

And yet, according to our tour guide, people choose in this state of frozen conflict to remember the spiritual resistance of wartime. The moments of joy and hope were precious, and many people who lived through the Siege of Sarajevo will recall that while it was the worst time of their lives, they also experienced the best moments of human connection and beauty. At the level of daily interactions, Bosnians of all ethnic groups have returned to coexistence. But political divisions and fearmongering remain a threat to peace in the country today. I was strongly reminded of the heightened anxiety and division pushed by political leaders in our own country. I saw how we exist at a time when political violence and tactics of oppression could lead to more widespread violence. At the same time, the continued coexistence of Bosnian people in Sarajevo regardless of their national or religious identity demonstrated enormous potential for restored communal relationships on the political level. Relating this to the American context, it showed me that there is always hope for reconciliation and violent conflict is not inevitable. 
Experiences like Frame the Future above all remind me to live with a posture of humility. Learning about the many experiences of people from around the world takes me out of my focus on the US and reminds me that we are not special in the problems we face. This is humbling and comforting, in a way. We are not special in our problems, which means that we are not alone in trying to solve them. We can learn from people in deeply divided societies around the world, who have lived through terrible, heartbreaking violence and who are still seeking ways to live more peacefully alongside their neighbors. In our movements in the US, humbly recognizing our un-exceptionality, we can take strategies and courage from those working for the same justice and peace around the world. 
This reflects our Christian worldview, as well. God’s peace and justice are not limited to one people, one nation, or within borders. As Christians, we draw on a scriptural foundation and a legacy of action that calls us to reach out to others, building peace in our own communities and for all God’s people. On the last day of the training, participants were invited to make a “peace pledge” for the months to come. I pledged to build peace in my own community, knowing that in a deeply interconnected world, the ripple effect would reach places far away. And trusting that the efforts of my friends on the other side of the globe would come to touch my community, too. 

And now I ask you: What is your peace pledge, for your community and for the world?