“An unprovoked minor entered the Police Station in Bosanska Krupa and stabbed one policeman to death, wounding another.
A minor used a firearm in the yard of a high school, injuring another minor.
A female student committed suicide by jumping from the building of the Student Dormitory in Pale.
A parent of a student attacked a female professor in Bijeljina. He rushed into the teachers’ lounge and slapped her twice.
A teenager sent seven false bomb threats to schools in Sarajevo; another minor sent as many as 49.
A girl jumped from the fifth floor of a building in Doboj.” RTVBN
Is this a picture of the society we live in? What are these news reports telling us? Are we paying the price for alienation from reality, poverty, hopelessness, and the permanent tension in which we live? Or are these the consequences of bad family relations, a broken school system, a disorganized state, a lack of rule of law, and a distorted value system?! We would say these are the consequences of all of the above combined. We cannot help but wonder if this is the youth’s response to the silence, inertia, lack of courage, and our acceptance of corruption, theft, lies, and the fog in which truth, justice, and respect for the law have been lost.
Are these cries from minors not a sign for us to start solving the burning problems we are closing our eyes to, unwilling to admit our helplessness and lack of courage to fundamentally change things?
We resort to one of the most inadequate forms of behavior, and by running away from personal responsibility, we shift it to others (the family blames the school and vice versa, social networks, the media, peers, etc., are to blame). We always see responsibility in someone else, completely unaware that we are all in the same cycle and that we all bear our share of the responsibility. We recognize these tragic events as a warning, a plea, and a cry from the most vulnerable to ask ourselves how heartless we are as a society, obsessed with material possessions, titles, and academic degrees.
How much are we relaxing in our alienation from reality? And the reality is that the mental health of our children is threatened, that we are not ensuring they have a happy childhood, and that we are not good role models.
Let’s reflect a little on the value system we live in and how, whether we want to admit it or not, we tacitly accept it. Let’s evaluate the institutional and non-institutional efforts, as well as the sincere will and desire of every individual, every group, and organization to contribute to a happy childhood and adequate and adapted education and upbringing.
These efforts will clear the paths and show young people the fairytale called life, and they will show every new person who is a child today that courage, dignity, clear goals, and honest intentions lead new generations to a healthy and happy society. That new happy society must not be built on the foundations of lies, egoism, fear, isolation, and hypocrisy. It seems to us that young people, at the threshold of their lives, have seen through all our deceptions and are revealing our true faces. They are showing us the voids and holes we crawl through like mice, powerless to admit our stupidity, illusions, delusions, mistakes, unfulfilled ambitions, and disappointments. We lack the courage to admit that we have gone from being young rebels to being corrupted, petty, and adjusted to something we should never have adjusted to.
Let’s recall the wonderful thoughts, feelings, and experiences of those we love the most—our children.
Perhaps you have forgotten that
“One sees clearly only with the heart.” “It is much more difficult to judge oneself than to judge others.” “Adults love numbers. When you tell them about a new friend, they never ask you about what is essential. They never ask you, ‘What is the color of his voice? What are his favorite games? Does he collect butterflies?’ But they ask you, ‘How old is he? How much money does his father make?'” “Children must be very tolerant toward grown-up people.” “I shall have to put up with two or three caterpillars if I want to get to know the butterflies.” The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
“I really feel wonderful today. How good it is to believe in people and live with them in peace.” “You will receive as much love as you give.” Heidi, Johanna Spyri
“Old Chekhov was right. The gun that hangs on the wall in the first act must fire in the last.” Ana’s Diary (Dnevnik jedne Ane), Momo Kapor
And finally, children are always a picture or a caricature of their parents, but they are also a mirror of the society in which they live.
Your Genesis Project!