The dramatic events in Sarajevo and the Balkans in the 20th century raise a question that Minister Andrea Riccardi poses at the opening of the conference “Living Together is the Future”, organized by the Community of Sant’Egidio: “How is it possible to living together after such dramatic events?” This is not a problem limited to these lands, it is a serious interrogative in many places. “I felt it inside – Riccardi recalled – when I left the Memorial in Kigali of the massacres in Ruanda: how could they live together after what happened?” Here in Sarajevo several religious and political leaders are search for answers from the complexity of their respective positions. The history of the Balkan wars is in the background of every reflection. Because, Riccardi recalled, “it’s not easy to live together when we are different from each other”, and it is especially not easy when the wounds of the past are so deep and so recent. A question of hope for the future is raised from the large hall of the Skenderjia sports palace in Sarajevo together with the conviction that living together is everyone’s destiny. Minister Riccardi is convinced: “religiously and ethnically diverse men will continue to live together. Borders will not stop history’s profound movement, accentuated so much in the age of globalization: diverse people move closer and start living together”. |