segregated vs. integrated schools in bosnia … vs. integrated schools in bosnia-herzegovina - a...

Segregated vs. Integrated Schools in Bosnia-Herzegovina

- a Simulation for Use in Youth and Adult Education (06/2012) page 1 of 21

Segregated vs. Integrated Schools in

Bosnia-Herzegovina - a Simulation for Use in Youth and Adult Education

Complete Manual with Role Cards and Guidelines for Facilitators by Emin Eminagic, Lamija Landžo, Paul Chiariello and Marta Tsvengrosh

Revised June 2012

Developed by: In cooperation with:

Supported by:

Are you interested in using the simulation? Feel free to contact us. Contact: Humanity in Action Deutschland e.V. Kollwitzstr. 94-96, 10435 Berlin Tel.: +49 (0)30 443082-71

E-Mail: [email protected] Web: www.humanityinaction.org/germany




- a Simulation for Use in Youth and Adult Education

Content of the Manual 1. Guidelines for Simulation Facilitators

1.1 Introduction 1.2 Objective 1.3 Materials 1.4 List of Role Cards 1.5 Meeting Procedure 1.6 Timeline 1.7 Action Cards

2. Information for all Participants 2.1 The Scenario

2.1.1 “Two Schools under one Roof” 2.2 Background Information on Bosnia and Herzegovina 2.3 Spectrum of Options for School Integration

3. Information for individual Participants (Role Cards) 3.1– 3.7 Eight Role Cards



1. Guidelines for Simulation Facilitators

1.1 Introduction This game addresses issues of segregation and integration in the educational system in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The scenario is set in a fictitious town on the border between Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The town adopted the policy of “two schools under one roof”, whereby Bosniak1 and Croat children attend classes separately in a morning and and afternoon shift. Following a football match that caused unrest on the school yard, the canton government, i. e. the government of the administrative area (canton) to which the town belongs, calls for a meeting to discuss the school’s future. The government is willing to reconsider its policy and is interested in discussion options that will put an end to violence. The views range from full integration to complete segregation. 1.2 Objective The government must make an informed decision on the future of the school in Dever. The statement should address concrete steps and measures relevant to the situation. 1.3 Materials The general information for all participants consists of the simulation scenario and background information on Bosnia-Herzegovina and on the spectrum of options for school integration. The material for individual participants consists of eight role cards for groups up to four participants. An ideal number of players would be 18. One could play it with less participants (minimum 10). However, discussing arguments and strategies in small teams who represent one stakeholder party considerably improves the quality of the game. The facilitators of the game receive additional instruments to influence the course of the game (action cards, see 1.7).

1 ”Bosniak” refers to a Bosnian Muslim. “Bosnian” refers to a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina



1.4 List of Role Cards (and number of players)

1. The canton government (moderator of the roundtable discussion) ideally 3 players, one chair and two aides

Note: The moderator role requires eloquent and strong participants with good moderation skills.

2. The school administration (i. e. the two headmasters) ideally 2 players 3. The parents’ organization “Concerned Parents of Dever” ideally 3 players 4. The Civic Democratic Party ideally 2 players 5. The Coalition of the Democratic Croat Party and the Democratic Bosniak Party

ideally 4 players in total 5.1 Representative of the Democratic Croat Party ideally 2 players 5.2 Representative of the Democratic Bosniak Party ideally 2 players 6. A representative of the local Roman Catholic community ideally 1 player 7. Representatives of the NGO “Dever Center for Dialogue” ideally 2 players 8. A representative of the local Muslim organization “Brothers of Friendship of Dever” ideally 1 player

1.5 Meeting Procedure The meeting that is simulated will be run by the canton government. The government – as moderator – must decide upon the seating arrangement and the duration of each discussion round. Finally, it will direct the conversation as it sees fit, ask questions, and generally keep order. It is suggested that the meeting begins with a round for opening statements and a question and answer session. Subsequently there should be a period of informal discussion, followed by a first round of formal discussions. This would be followed by yet another period of informal discussion and then by discussion round II. Afterwards the government will internally discuss and draft a policy proposal to be presented to the group. A vote of the various parties’ final positions may be taken, but this is not mandatory.



The government's final decision will represent a statement of the intended future policy for the school. This might potentially involve any of the scenarios outlined below (2.4), including keeping the school as it currently is. To the extent that changes are called for, the canton government will need to decide whether to make these immediate, or whether to gradually move along a timeline towards some particular level of integration. The decision will probably attract great media attention on the national and perhaps international level, even if the status quo is to be maintained. The meeting closes with a final plenary session. 1.6 Timeline Overall game duration: up to 5 hours Preparation: 1 hour

• Introduction: 10 minutes • Individual reading time: 20 minutes • Developing strategy within groups: 30 minutes

Game playing time: 2.5 to 3 hours (to structure this period is a task of the representatives of the canton government) Suggestion:

• 20 min. round of opening statements, • 10 min. question and answer session, • 20 min. informal talks, • 30 min. discussion round I, • 20 min. informal talks, • 30 min. discussion round II, • 15 – 30 min. government retreats and drafts a policy • 15 min. final plenary session

Debriefing: 45 minutes



1.7 Possible Action Cards Action cards can be introduced by facilitators if they wish to impact on the course of discussion and the dynamics of the game. The decision as to if and when action cards will be introduced must be made collectively by all facilitators during the game. Theoretically, these action cards can also be intended for individual groups or selected groups. In this case, the groups receive the cards secretly from the facilitators. Action Cards (example):

Action Card for the Canton Government: You were found guilty of accepting bribes from local industry. A journalist discovered this practice and might disclose the news. Be prepared that some other groups in the game might accuse you of being corrupt and think of a strategy. A Action Card for the Dever Center for Dialogue: The Canton Government was found guilty of accepting bribes from local industry. A journalist discovered this practice and might disclose the news. Be prepared to accuse the Canton Government of being corrupt. Other action card possibilities:

− The Brothers of Friendship of Dever accepted a large donation by a known fundamentalist group from Yemen

− The Catholic Church of Dever is planning to build an oversized church with housing for the priest financed by the Vatican



2. Information for all Participants (Scenario/Background Information) 2.1 The Scenario The simulation is located in the fictitious city of Dever on the border between Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. During the war in 1992-95, Dever was one of the centers of conflict. Due to the fight between the Bosnian and Croat armies, Dever endured 18 months of siege. Thousands of people were killed, and the city was severely damaged. By the war's end, the city was divided into Croat and Bosniak2 sections. This division was regarded as a temporary solution, and a new law to establish administrative unification was applied in 2006. However, in practice this unification was less successful, and Dever remains strongly divided. Most residents do not enter areas populated by the opposite group, and the city has gradually developed two separate downtown shopping areas for Croats and Bosniaks, respectively. The animosity that these two groups feel towards each other is still quite strong, and the majority of their members show an unwillingness to mingle. 2.1.1 “Two Schools under one Roof” We are now in the city of Dever, one of the most beautiful and historically significant places in the country. This city, at first glance, appears quite normal; however, something makes it stand out. Through the middle of the city passes the railway, dividing it into an Eastern and Western part. The casual observer would only see similar-looking houses, with nothing special to them, but the people living there consider themselves to be very different from one another. The west is populated by Bosniaks (i. e. predominantly Muslims), while the Croats (i. e. predominantly Catholics) live in the east. In the center of the city lies one of the largest schools in the region. While this might appear to be a perfectly normal school, in fact it is not. The school follows the policy of “two schools under one roof”, whereby Bosniak and Croat children attend classes separately. The morning shift (7-13.00) is reserved for the Croat children, while the Bosniak children go to school in the afternoon (13-19.00). Both groups have different teachers as well as different headmasters. Meanwhile, their curriculum differs with respect to four crucial areas:

mother tongue, history, geography and religion.



Depending on their nationality, children learn either Croatian or Bosnian, despite the fact that the two languages are virtually identical. This approach also impacts the choice of literature, with a bias towards authors of a certain nationality. When learning geography, Croat children learn that Croatia is their mother country and that their capital is Zagreb, on the reasoning that where they presently reside is part of a more intrinsic Croat homeland. Similarly, Bosniak children have a strong affiliation towards Bosnia and Herzegovina. Not surprisingly, many of the events that took place in the war are depicted differently by each group, which is reflected in their respective history lessons. A few days ago, there was a football match between Turkey and Italy, which Turkey won 1 to 0. Frustrated by the outcome of the match, a group of Croat children, who sided with the Italian Catholics, began arguing in the schoolyard with Bosniak children who identified with the Muslim Turks. This escalated into a fight leading to the hospitalization of one Bosniak and one Croat student. This incident, while only the most recent of many, drew media coverage and resulted in heated public discussions. Left-leaning political parties and NGOs opposed to the nationwide segregation of schools called for the canton government, i. e. the government of the administrative area (canton) to which Dever belongs, to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the schools’ future. In order to gauge community opinion, the government has called certain groups to the table for a discussion before issuing any policy proposals. The following fictitious groups invited are:

The school administration, The parents’ organization “Concerned Parents of Dever”, The Civic Democratic Party, The Coalition of the Democratic Croat Party and the Democratic Bosniak

Party, A representative of the local Roman Catholic community, A representative of the local Muslim organization “Brothers of Friendship of

Dever”

The NGO Dever Center for Dialogue . The canton government is the moderator of the discussion.



2.3 Background Information on Bosnia-Herzegovina Bosnia-Herzegovina is a country in southeast Europe that has a population of about 4 million. Because of its unique geographic location, it has been a point of interest throughout history for many prominent forces such as the Roman, Ottoman and Austrian-Hungarian Empires. Due to the different occupying forces, three dominant religions remained: Islam, Catholicism and Greek Orthodoxy, which lead to the formation of different ethnic and national identities amongst the people in that region. Serbs eventually became the ethnic group to be identified with Greek Orthodoxy, Croats with Catholicism, and Bosniaks with Islam. Before the Second World War, each religious group displayed a tendency to isolate themselves from one another. This is reflected in the larger educational system in which schools were segregated by ethnic groups. After the Second World War, Bosnia became part of the Social Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, a secular country that tended to unify the different groups of the region under the title “Yugoslavs”. President Josip Broz Tito pursued a policy of “separating church from state”, leading to the creation of nationally unified schools. The situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina, however, was much more complex than in the other regions due to rivalries between these three ethnic groups – Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks. Nationalistic tensions, already brewing from the decay of Yugoslavia, led the region into a horrible war that lasted four years (1992-1995). During the war approximately 100.00 people were killed, about 70 % of them Bosniaks. Especially in Bosnia a great deal of expulsion and migration occurred in a process of so called ethnic cleansing, which led to millions of displaced persons. A result of the war was the restructuring of the population and the separation of Bosnia into two autonomous parts:

the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Srpska.

After a few years, people started to return to their pre-war homes, and disagreement arised over the creation of new educational programs. The vast majority of the local population did not support having children of different nationalities taught together. In order to keep the situation from escalating into local conflicts, the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) devised a temporary solution – the so-called “two schools under one roof”.



2.3. Spectrum of Options for School Integration – from Complete Segregation to Full Integration Currently, the school is used by Croat children in the morning (7-13..00) and Bosniak children in the afternoon (13-19.00). The schoolyard, the lunch area, gym and bathrooms are therefore also used at different times by the two groups. One option towards further segregation could be to completely divide the school into two unconnected halves. Separate entrances could be built, or a doorless partition to divide the classrooms, the schoolyard and common areas. Alternatively the policy of “two schools under one roof” could be discontinued in order to give more autonomy to the individual groups. One group could keep the old school for themselves and the other group would build a new school on the same property. Another option could be to keep the status quo. On the other hand a first step towards integration might be to build separate classrooms, but abolish the two shifts, so students would share the lunch area, gym, bathrooms and schoolyard where they would meet each other. . This could be followed by the sharing of books and teachers for less controversial subjects unrelated to religion, like math and science. A further step would be to integrate socially at the school, such as with joint competitions, and a common lunch and recess time so that the Bosniak and Croat students would have the opportunity to actually play, eat and relax together. Another measure would be to place students in mixed classes when it comes to non-religious and non-ethnical subjects. Eventually, the goal would be to create a common curriculum with mixed classes for history, language and geography. Finally, at the most advanced level of integration, the religion classes would either be combined to teach students about world religions or ethics, or simply be discontinued.



3. Information for individual Participants (Role Cards) 3.1 Role Card: Representative(s) of the Canton Government (Moderator) You as representatives of the canton government are the moderators. You invited the various parties to the table. You must decide upon the seating arrangement and the duration of each discussion round. You will direct the conversation as you see fit, ask questions, and generally keep order. It is suggested that the meeting begins with a round for opening statements and a question and answer session. Subsequently there should be a period of informal discussion, followed by a first round of formal discussions. This would be followed by yet another period of informal discussion and then by discussion round II. You determine the course of events. You may ask the facilitator for a suggested structuring of the meeting (timeline).At the end of the meeting, you will internally discuss and draft a policy proposal to be presented to the group. A vote of the various parties´ final positions may be taken, but this is not mandatory. Your final decision will represent a statement of intended future policy for the school. This might potentially involve any of the scenarios outlined below (2.4), including keeping the school as it currently is. To the extent that changes are called for, you will need to decide whether to make these immediate, or whether to gradually move along a timeline towards some particular level of integration. Please keep in mind that the decision will probably attract great media attention on the national and perhaps international level, even if the status quo is to be maintained. The meeting closes with a final plenary session. Your Profile The canton government is generally in charge of education within its jurisdiction currently led by an independent party. Its representatives are the mediating body in this meeting. The NGO “Nansen Dialogue Center” delegation and the coalition of the Democratic Croat Party and Democratic Bosniak Party originally petitioned you to call the meeting. Your objective is to hear the arguments of the various groups that you have invited, and to form a position on future policy initiatives. These initiatives may



reflect any of the choices or combinations of choices outlined above in “Spectrum of Options for School Integration”. You are aware that the policy you prescribe for the school will determine future practice, and create a precedent drawing national (and possibly international) political and media attention – even in the event that you decide the school should remain unchanged. You are not going to take part in the debate itself, but will manage the discussion, direct the conversation and ask questions as you see fit, keep order, take notes, and after a 15-30 minute deliberation at the game's end, read a statement to the delegates regarding your decision. Before reading this final statement, you will discuss it with any advisors/consultants that you may have. Your initial position is to keep the school as it is. The educational system per se has not been one of your biggest worries, but you still acknowledge it as an important issue (which is why you have agreed to call this meeting). You are willing to change your opinion about the proper level of integration in the school, according to the arguments that you hear today. However, you also are taking into account the effects of:

1) the majority of your constituency, which favors the status quo and an even higher level of segregation;

2) and your superiors' goal of joining the EU, which leads them to seek a greater degree of integration among schools and society.

Above all, you do not want to choose a policy that will create even further divides between communities, which might erupt in violence. So taking into account all the different groups present is very important. If anyone asks about the nationality, ethnicity or religion of you or one of your aides, respond that you wish to remain impartial. In reality, you are Croat and your aides are Bosniak; each of you privately leans towards your own religious and ethnic communities.



3.2 Role Card: Representative(s) of the School Administration (i. e. the two headmasters) You both are principals of the school in Dever: one of you is the principal of the Croat student body and the other of the Bosniak students. Although you feel animosity towards each other on a personal level, both of you share a dissatisfaction with the current situation, and argue that the educational system needs to adopt a more sensible economic policy. “Two schools under one roof” requires higher and more complicated funding, including teachers` salaries, building maintenance, overhead expenses, etc. Currently, the funds provided from the government are too modest to maintain the current system. Jointly you recommend a complete physical integration of the school, which implies the sharing of classrooms, gym, schoolyard, school equipment, and so on. Furthermore, you believe a great deal of money would be conserved through a reduction of the school staff; thus, you suggest that Bosniak and Croat students share some common teachers. Exceptions to this would be in geography, history, language, and religion classes, whose curricula differ between the two ethnic groups. However, you argue that the school should still have two principals, to ensure that the interests of all students are respected equally. Generally speaking, you support neither the complete segregation nor integration of schools. You still believe that children should treasure their national, ethnic and religious identities. If these historically hostile groups are to coexist, in your opinion they must have some distance, too. Therefore, fully integrated classes should not be considered. These separate identities are facts of life for these groups. When it comes to other possible options, however, you are more willing to compromise.



3.3 Role Card: Representative(s) of the “Concerned Parents of Dever” You are a group of parents in Dever, which contains both Bosniaks and Croats. The participants of your group wish to remain anonymous with respect to their ethnic/religious identity and therefore, openly admit to using pseudonym names. You are very concerned about the conflict that took place after the football match, and worry for the safety of your own kids. Violence is by far the biggest concern for you. You do not want such a situation to be repeated, and therefore believe that your country's school system should definitely be reformed in some major way. You feel that the religious dimension should not affect political decisions, and ought to be a private matter for the home and family. In contrast, the various group rivalries, Croats vs. Bosniaks and Christians vs. Muslims, are a part of your daily life. For this reason you consider these issues of national and ethnic identity to be crucial to the discussion. Although you wish for your children to be tolerant towards other ethnic groups, you believe that complete integration of the schools is currently not possible, and would in fact be dangerous. You want your children to interact as much as possible – within the limits of the given situation – with children of other ethnic backgrounds and to share classes. However, in your opinion there is a large difference between Muslim Bosniaks and Catholic Croats; therefore, these groups should be in different classes for language, religion, geography and history. At the same time, you consider it reasonable for children to be taught by the same teachers and eat and play together during the breaks, as well as take part in contests together. You are open to discussions with representatives of other groups. Moreover, given what you consider to be a large difference between Bosniaks and Croats, the relevant school curriculum should be different as well. Since your main priority is the safety of your children, you might consider switching your position to a more anti-integration position – if persuaded by the arguments presented in the meeting.



3.4 Role Card: Representative(s) of the Civic Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina You are the representatives of one of the main parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This party was founded upon the ideology of the League of Communists of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a group that existed in the former Yugoslavia. The Civic Democratic Party strongly promotes the idea of multi-ethnicity and secularity. You focus on the common civic and national bonds shared by Croats and Bosniaks, while acknowledging their different religions. Differences in ethnicity hold little importance; here, your view is inspired by an idealized memory of Yugoslavia under Tito. By holding Yugoslavia together, Tito showed definitively that Yugoslavia could exist as an ideal, and that the groups within it could coexist harmoniously. The structure of the educational system during this Yugoslavian period, to you represents powerful evidence that integration is possible. Anything less than civic unity amongst the peoples of former Yugoslavia, and an abandonment of divisive ethnic and religious identities and confrontations between them, would only result in more violence. However, you do acknowledge that hatred exists and that it must be dealt with in a pragmatic way. Only two of your representatives were appointed to Dever's local government, which effectively makes you the opposition party. You are firmly opposed to the national segregation of schools, and argue that the educational program should be implemented without regards to national, ethnic and religious differences. Furthermore, you believe in a separation between church and state. The current educational system as you see it represents a typical example of inefficiency and a corrupt government that is using these unfortunate circumstances for its own political and economic purposes. Children are intentionally segregated in order to promote existing nationalistic sentiment and prejudice, which in turn represents one of the main obstacles to the country's development and acceptance by the EU. Segregation amounts to a violation of human rights and therefore must end. Both Croats and Bosniaks in Bosnia-Herzegovina to you are ultimately Bosnian-Herzegovinian. The integration of “two schools under one roof” should be enforced as soon as possible; you are not willing to make large compromises. Your suggested solution is complete integration, except in the case of religion classes. However, even these classes should still teach about other religions and ethics, giving every child freedom to choose the religion and worldview that he/she wants to study.



3.5 Role Card: Coalition of the Democratic Croat Party and the Democratic Bosniak Party

3.5.1 Representative(s) of the Democratic Croat Party You have a two-fold profile – a public profile and your “real interests”, which you would not voice publically. The Democratic Croat Party is a center-right political party in Croatia, where it is a member of a small coalition that governs the country. In Bosnia-Herzegovina, this party takes a much more right-wing position and is a proponent of Christian conservatism and Croat nationalism. You represent the Croat population in Dever, where they enjoy a two-thirds majority in schools. You view Croat-dominated areas of Bosnia, no matter how disconnected, as being historically a part of the Croat motherland. Therefore, even as Bosnian citizens, you feel your political call is to represent and serve Croatia. Public Profile You explicitly aim to preserve the status quo and leave the school in Dever unchanged. You are in a coalition with the Democratic Bosniak Party on this issue. The collapse of Yugoslavia and the ensuing war in your view is a clear example of the centuries of conflict between Bosniaks and Croats. You believe that the hatred that these two groups experience for each other is irreconcilable, and they must be kept separate as much as reasonably possible. “Two schools under one roof” is a metaphor for the notion of two ethnicities in one country, which you feel is as it should be. However, while you secretely favor a policy of further segregation, you wish to avoid any accusations that you are racist or feeding violent sentiment. Ultimately, you would prefer one of the other groups at this meeting – preferably the representative of the Muslim or if necessary even the Catholic community -– to do the “dirty work” of fighting integration. However, you would support the school’s moving up the ladder of integration if this is clearly in your best interest politically (i.e., reflects the views of your constituency). “Real” Interests You identify with the Croat/Christian groups, and will defend them if you feel they are being unfairly attacked for those affiliations. You assume Bosniak/Muslim groups to be anti-Christian and, especially, anti-Croat. This includes even your own coalition partner, the Democratic Bosnian Party.



3.5 Role Card: Coalition of the Democratic Croat Party and the Democratic Bosniak Party

3.5.2 Representative(s) of the Democratic Bosniak Party You have a two-fold profile – a public profile and your “real interests”, which you would not voice publically. You represent the Bosniak nationalist party in the Bosnian government. You are in a coalition with the Democratic Croat Party on this issue only. You are a right-wing conservative party, and represent the majority of Bosniaks not only in present-day Bosnia-Herzegovina, but throughout the countries of former Yugoslavia. In this particular district, however, you hold a minority of the seats. Only around one third of the town’s inhabitants are Bosniak Muslims. You view the various groups in terms of ethnicity and, especially, against the background of your Bosnian nationalism for Bosniaks. Your ideal vision for the nation excludes Croats. Religion, in itself, is less an issue. Your practice of Islam is rather nominal. Public Profile You explicitly aim to preserve the status quo and leave the school in Dever unchanged. You are in a coalition with the Democratic Croat Party on this issue. The collapse of Yugoslavia and the ensuing war is in your view a clear example of the centuries of conflict between Bosniaks and Croats. You believe that the hatred that these two groups experience for each other is irreconcilable, and they must be kept separate as much as reasonably possible. “Two schools under one roof” is a metaphor for the notion of two ethnicities in one country, which you feel is as it should be. However, while you privately favor a policy of further segregation, you wish to avoid any accusations that you are racist or feeding violent sentiment. Ultimately, you would prefer one of the other groups at this meeting – preferably the representative of the Catholic or if necessary even the Muslim community – to do the “dirty work” of fighting integration. However, you would support the school’s moving up the ladder of integration if this reflects the views of your constituency. You believe and are outspoken about the “fact” that the two ethnic groups are violently opposed to one another, but also that they must eventually learn to get along. “Real” interests You identify with the Bosniak/Muslim groups and will defend them if you feel they are being unfairly attacked on those terms. You assume Croat/Christian groups to be anti-Muslim and, especially, anti-Bosniak. This includes even your own coalition partner, the Democratic Croat Party.



3.6 Representative(s) of the Local Roman Catholic Community You have a two-fold profile – – a public profile and your “real interests”, which you would not voice publically. Public profile You are a Roman Catholic bishop representing Catholic Croats, who comprise the majority in your city. You condemn the position of certain religious groups that support school segregation, which in your opinion can only lead to intolerance and mutual hatred. You are also very much disappointed about what you perceive as the cooperation of some of the religious representatives with political parties, and their use of religion as a tool for manipulation. You support the idea of reconciliation, and the necessity of bringing together children of all ethnic backgrounds in one school. However, you also believe that under the current circumstances complete integration is impossible. Your solution is to create Catholic schools that would bring students of different ethnic backgrounds together in shared classes, while lessons in areas such as religion, language, history and geography would continue to be taught separately to each ethnic/religious group. Aware of the fact that Muslim parents may feel uncomfortable sending their children to a Catholic school, you are willing to agree not to use crucifixes and portraits of the Virgin Mary in classrooms, teach Christian songs in music lessons, and have students draw churches in art classes. However, you will still push them in this direction to some degree, given that the majority of the school and surrounding town are Christian Croats. While the question of Croat identity and its separate geography, language and history is not of great importance to you, when it comes to religious identity, you cannot agree with the human rights groups who support secularization. You believe that religious classes are important for all children and that these cannot be replaced by ethics classes. “Real” interests In your opinion, schools should integrate but students should not have to participate in the same classes. You support having the children interact during lunch breaks, recess and certain common school activities. You also believe that both groups of children should have the same teachers and classes for subjects like math, science and art, but joint language, history and geography classes are off the table for discussion. This is where you will not



compromise as you believe that a Croat vital national interest must be preserved for the strengthening of the otherwise “repressed” Croat identity. You also believe that attending a Catholic school would be a good means of assimilation for children of mixed marriages. You can identify only with the opinions given by the Democratic Croat Party, not those of the Democratic Bosniak Party, and consider yourself a representative for Croats in the country of Bosnia-Herzegovina.



3.8 Role Card: Representative(s) of the Non-Profit Organization “Dever Dialogue Center” You are a recently established non-profit organization which believes in a unified Bosnia-Herzegovina, and envisions a wholly integrated society offering equal opportunities for everyone regardless of their nationality, religious orientation, ethnicity, race or gender. Politically, you tend to the left but try to be non-partisan, because one main principle of your NGO is to be independent from political parties and public spending. You are working towards your ideal of a secular, unified country that will respect everyone’s political and religious views. You are for an immediate and fundamental shift in society, but do not condone violence of any kind. Having witnessed how religion can be a powerful agent to serve political interests, you believe in the complete integration and secularization of society, and do not tolerate the use of religion or ethnicity for personal gain and public manipulation. Consequently, you are very suspicious of the various religious and political groups that exploit people’s religious and ethnic identities for ulterior motives. As part of your activities, you are addressing the issue of “two schools under one roof”. You believe that some kind of “shock therapy” will be necessary in order to successfully initiate a shift in society. The only way of achieving this is to completely integrate crucial social groups; in this case, the school system. Given your group’s previous failures at promoting tolerance within a segregated society due to partial solutions and unsatisfying compromises, you privately regard any compromise as an outright failure and injustice but will obviously take what you can get.



3.7 Role Card: Representative(s) of the Local Muslim Community “Brothers of Friendship of Dever” You have a two-fold profile – – a public profile and your “real interests”, which you would not voice publically. Your Public Profile You are representing the Muslim organization “Brothers of Friendship of Dever”. The organization has been playing an important role within the community since the end of the war, working on many projects to increase the standard of living among Muslim Bosniaks, ranging from helping students obtain scholarships to Islamic universities abroad, to repairing the war-torn homes of poor families. As a leader of such a powerful community organization, you have a respected position in the city and expect to be treated as such. Even among some of the Croats, you have earned a certain amount of respect. You are going to explicitly argue that the Bosniak and Croat children need separate religious and cultural education, and that the schools should be located in separate areas. You consider the present situation preposterous, adding nothing in the way of a solution. The different groups are at odds with each other, and that is simply how it is. Real” interests Education in your view is the most important component of religious and national identity. As such, the Bosniaks, i.e. Muslims need to be in charge of their own religious and cultural education. You will not stand for any kind of cultural or religious integration. Ultimately, you believe that national identity is defined by religion.

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