www.euforbih.org/forum/004/p19a/tefp19a.htm The war in Former Yugoslavia did not just cause the loss of numerous human lives, but also broke down friendships and even brotherhoods, turning them into hostilities. A child lost his father, a wife lost her husband, a mother lost her child…they are gone… people cried for them. But what about those who are alive and are trying to rebuild their life somewhere else far away from the “ashes” that remained from these “fires”. Sometimes, instead of friendship in their hearts, they feel hate even for their friends with whom they grew up!As Katarina Rejger and Eric van den Broek, two Dutch filmmakers, discovered, “During our earlier filming in the region we noticed that there was an invisible barrier between the people from the different communities. One-time friends hated each other, were angry, felt betrayed, abandoned and very afraid. Instead of telling their friends how they felt, they told us.” Rejger and Van den Broek decided it was not enough to know what was going on, but wanted people to take action to change the situation, “We wanted to force them to break the silence, to go beyond the rumours and the lies and to address their one-time friends directly so they would not live on hating each other.” Their way to try to bring those separated friends together was to give them the possibility to contact each other by exchanging video letters. The two of them built up this five-year project as a tool to reconnect people who have not spoken to each other since or because of the war. At 7 April 2005, a unique documentary series started to broadcast in TV in all countries of the Former Yugoslavia, showing people expressing sadness or anger, some confessing their guilt, some putting an end to rumours, fears or suspicions. After this exchange most of the people met face to face again, often for the first time since the war. Their project is large and includes special busses equipped with Internet connections and web cams as well as permanent Internet counters which will be set crisscross Former Yugoslavia to allow the people to make their own video letters for a lost friend, and all will be free of charge. Included in this project is also a special Internet site and special help line for people who wish to talk about emotions or traumas after seeing the video letters, as well as talk shows and debates that will be broadcast on radio and TV. Katarina Rejger and Eric van den Broek at the official launch of Videoletters on 2 April 2005.
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