Inter Campus Bosnia and Herzegovina, between past and present

Domanovici – For seven years now, we’ve been working in Domanovici, Herzegovina, close to the Croatian border and about 30 kilometres from Mostar, the city with the famous Stari Most bridge which the 1992 war divided into East and West.

And today, we are witnessing a series of training sessions held by our instructors Davide Lubes and Silvio Guareschi along with four local coaches called Josip, Goran, Zlatko and Ivan. Out on the pitch, there are about 100 children, the majority of whom attend segregated schools which follow a policy of “Two schools under one roof”, a phenomenon which can be attributed to the war. Most of the children are also of Croatian origin and Catholic faith, and they play together with Bosnian-Muslim and Serbian-Orthodox minorities. Thanks to Faris, our interpreter, we’re able to make friends with the parents of the children from the sidelines. They let us in on their stories, which are often very difficult to tell. Arman, father of two Bosnian-Muslim children involved in the project, lived with his family in Mostar when the war broke out. He remembers the devastation in the city, something which is still visible on many buildings today.

With its project in Domanovici, Inter Campus aims to help promote friendship and peaceful coexistence through football and dialogue.