At a time when a teacher was a symbol of respect and moral authority in every community, the name of Izeta HandanagicCurtovic in Cazin, both then and now, is spoken with special respect.
She spent almost four decades in education, raising and teaching generations of students, and although she has been retired for twenty years, the spirit of a teacher in her does not fade.
“A teacher used to be everything – a pedagogue, a psychologist, and a janitor. A teacher who does not love children and their job should not work in a school,” says Izeta Handanagic Curtovic in an interview, recalling a time when schools were equally devoted to education and upbringing.
“The difference between education then and now is like heaven and earth. Back then, people knew what respect, order, and responsibility meant; today, there is less and less of that,” begins this diligent retired educator.
She remembers her working years by the dozens of generations who passed through her teaching, as well as by the invaluable experience she gained and shared. However, when the war reached Krajina, she replaced the classroom with humanitarian work. She actively joined the “Women’s Front” association, which in Cazin brought together many women ready to help those on the front lines of defense.
“We washed wool, knitted socks for the fighters at my house. That was our everyday life,” recalls Izeta.
The association, with the help of the wife of the then NATO Secretary General Manfred Worner, received 10.000 BAM, which they distributed to children without parents in the Bihac district.
“Women were then the link connecting the army and the people. We did everything with heart and conviction. Today, unfortunately, little is done with such passion,” she believes.
In the war years, she recalls, it was not easy. The days passed in caring for children, helping the wounded, and striving, despite everything, to maintain the spirit of unity and solidarity. Women were then the quiet but strong force behind the front – those who fed, clothed, and encouraged others when it was hardest.
“We did everything with heart; we didn’t care who was who – what mattered to us was to help a person in need,” emphasizes Izeta Handanagic Curtovic.
Today, in the peace and quiet of her home, surrounded by old photographs and awards, Izeta Handanagic Curtovic reflects on the years behind her, filled with pride and gratitude.
“My greatest personal success is that I managed to raise and bring up my children without scandals, and I am even more proud of my 40 years of work and the generations I have educated and raised,” said Izeta.
She regrets, she adds, that there are no longer associations like the “Women’s Front” or places where women of her generation could gather and recall the unity that carried Krajina through its most difficult times.
In the end, with a gentle smile and a gaze lingering on an old photograph of her with her students, she sends a message to the young people – the same one she used to tell her students: “Return to what you were taught in school, love your homeland and your family. There is only one homeland, only one mother, and the homeland is like a mother.”
