I always like to wonder what I would do in difficult situations. Would I be able to risk my friends, family, job and possibly even life to stand up against oppression and for what is right?
Thankfully, I have never been in a position where I had to test my resolve.
Which makes my admiration for those activists who have risked a great deal to stand up for what is right even that much stronger.
One of the activists that I most admire is Natasa Kandic. Ms. Kandic is, in my opinion, a hero.
I have a great deal of respect for her and for the work she does and the risks she takes in defending human rights.
Here is some more information about Kandic and the work she does:
2005 Magazine Profile
Time Europe Heroes of 2003
Speak Truth To Power Profile & Interview
(This is of course, only a very small sample of information about Ms. Kandic that can be found online. When searching for information on Ms. Kandic, I was also able to see examples of just a sampling of the harassment and abuse Ms. Kandic still receives by extremists.)
Of course, Kandic is best known for the Belgrade Humanitarian Law Center-an organization working for human rights for everyone who resides in the Balkans. The website is really informative.
Humanitarian Law Center
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3 comments:
Hi Shaina,
Natasa Kandic is one those people who stands up for justice and condemns war crimes. While Serb nationalists hate her and accuse her in local press of "betraying" Serbhood, Bosniaks regard her as a Saint. She is trully beautiful person, inside and outside, and I wish her all the best. I just wish I could hug her and shake her hands and tell her how much I am grateful for her activisim in Serbia.
Both highest ranking Bosnian Serb politicans, Radovan Karadzic and Momcilo Krajisnik, were warned by Bosnian Serb military commander General Ratko Mladic, also indicted on genocide charges, that their plans could not be committed without committing genocide.
''People are not little stones, or keys in someone's pocket, that can be moved from one place to another just like that... Therefore, we cannot precisely arrange for only Serbs to stay in one part of the country while removing others painlessly. I do not know how Mr Krajisnik and Mr Karadzic will explain that to the world. That is genocide,'' said Mladic.
References:
http://www.bosnia.org.uk/news/news_body.cfm?newsid=2229 Bosnia's Accidental Genocide], Bosnian Institute in UK. September 30, 2006.
Yes, Ms. Kandic is a beautiful and a brave woman. She's what Balkan mothers will aspire their daughters to be, considering that theirs sons will never be able to.
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