Report

Being in Serbia during the summer, in the beautiful capital city of a country that is at the crossroads of Western European, Eastern European, Middle Eastern, and Asiatic cultures, was one of the greatest experiences of my life!  I collaborated with capable institutions, doing what I love most--having genuine and challenging personal encounters.                  

The International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) has an intense background of humanitarian assistance in the whole of ex-Yugoslavia.  In order to fulfill my interest in understanding the psychological experiences of victims of forced migration, I collaborated with IOCC in the programs that targeted refugees, returnees, and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).  IOCC’s programs included helping refugees move their belongings back to their home country once they decided to return, providing returnees with the material support to re-build their houses and gain a certain degree of sustainability, organizing the local NGOs, offering psycho-educational activities, and collaborating with local schools where government funding is not available.

Meeting with members of collective centers, returnees’ villages, refugee organizations, and the local and international humanitarian organizations was a unique opportunity to get firsthand information about experiences of war victims.  I had a clear goal of genuinely encountering these people.  I felt curious and humble when faced with the human drama endured by these humble people.  My meetings with the beneficiaries of IOCC programs were deep and extensive, sometimes even four hours long.  I wanted to transmit the message that we care for them, that they can communicate and be understood, and that they are not alone.

When I was in Belgrade, my main task was to offer counseling at the Pastoral Counseling Center, a local organization partially supported by IOCC, which provides free psychological and psychiatric counseling.  It was very interesting and personally challenging to learn from my clients about worldviews, values, and social dynamics that are so different from the US culture where I am receiving my training.  I was lucky to have met some wonderful people.  These people were my clients and my colleagues at the counseling center, some of which became good and caring friends.  After seeing for myself the effects that war has on people, on the social order and structure of a community, and on nature, I became even more aware of the necessity to avoid every sort of war.  Sensitivity, humane understanding, silence, respect, pacifism, and pro-activity are the gifts I am proudly taking home from the Balkans!

Photo Gallery