The Perspectives of Reconciliation and Healing Among Young People in Vukovar (Croatia) (Report‪)‬

Introduction Most of people in conflict areas found themselves trapped in inter-group conflict against their will. They go through the hell of the conflict for years (e.g., Northern Ireland, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina), and develop a psychological repertoire of beliefs, attitudes, and emotions about the causes of the conflict and its course. Inter-group conflicts deeply involve society members; many of them are victims and have lost some of family members, friends, or their properties, whereas others are perpetrators of wrong doings and have killed others or even committed atrocities. All these who survive inter-group conflict, must deal with psychological wounds, and they leave a legacy of polarization, anger, and hatred that are difficult to dissolve. Children and the youth living in post-conflict areas grow up in an environment marked by a culture of negative attitudes, prejudices, and hatred (e.g., Volkan, Ast, & Greer, 2002). Some young people have had little if any direct personal experience of the conflict, but almost all have had intimate knowledge of how their 'community', or older relatives, parents, grandparents, and other family members had in the past suffered and been affected. Young people face many problems, as reported in a survey conducted in 2005 by Dr. Nikola Drobnjak (1) (see also Stanivuk & Tauber, 2008). Many of them suffer depression, passivity, apathy, and embedded drink culture and aggressive behavior. The periodic aggression associated either directly with traumatic stress or with its side effects (misuse of alcohol, drugs) contributes to incidents that may rip open old sores in this war-affected area and, thus, spark further tensions.