Vesna Terselic of ARK welcomed participants to the Triennial and noted the difficulties facing participants from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Montenegro and Serbia, including Vojvodina and Kosova). "The war in Kosova is gathering force and the humanitarian crises have already started, but the Croatian administration have not given visas to the people who work for peace and who could tell us about the `other side' of the conflicts."
One invited participant, a human rights worker in Kosova, was seriously injured when the van in which she was travelling struck a landmine a few days before the conference, Vesna told the meeting.
African-American peace activist Greg Payton spoke of his journey from conscript to discharged veteran to anti-war organiser. "In the coming days I will talk with people in Croatia and Bosnia who are traumatised by war, as myself. It's my hope that by talking about my own experiences can solve some of the inner tensions of what many people are suffering. Talking about the war is a way out of it.
"Within eight weeks of basic training, I was transformed from a person to a killing machine. It was a process of starting to dehumanise." Later in 1967, he was sent to Vietnam.
"Racism was very visible. The blacks were doing the dirty work, especially drafted blacks. It was supposed to be a rotating system of duties, but it didn't happen. After a while I understood that the way the Vietnamese were treated, was the same way as the blacks were treated. I was disappointed. I raised my voice against the practice in the barracks. Then I was attacked. I was shot at more times by white US soldiers than by the North Vietnamese.
"I started smoking opium in Vietnam. When I was back, I started with heroin. That took me away from reality and to forget what I had experienced. At the same time as using drugs, I tried to live a regular life with a family. It was like having two faces. Eventually I had a crash: I lost everything, my family, work, my dignity. I came to wanting to take my life. On that day I heard a voice in the back in my head.
"I was taken to the veterans' hospital. There I got in touch with Vietnam Veterans Against the War. As I got better, I started to talk with other veterans. We suffered from post-traumatic disorder. We suffered from the same problem. That unified us."
The closing plenary included a powerful speech from Koussetogue Koude of Chad. Born during the civil war in Chad, Koude ('I come from a sacrificed generation') works for a youth organisation which resists discrimination and injustice. "When we talk about nonviolence, and say that it is possible to build a world without violence, they say that we are being utopian. How can we envision such a thing, when we live in a world with increasing borders and rising nationalism? But people can refuse to support war and violence...I am utterly convinced that we will prevail. They can call me a utopian, but I am profoundly convinced that it will happen."
1998 WRI Triennial index page
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