The report of the OSCE Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) shows that in primary schools, the wartime 1990s are viewed as years of personal sacrifice and suffering, where empathy is promoted only towards one’s own people, while others are almost always portrayed as perpetrators of crimes.
In all analyzed textbooks in which the period from 1992 to 1995 in BiH was presented, a one-sided presentation was observed in which there are three exclusive histories, the report shows.
Namely, the OSCE mission in BiH issued five recommendations related to the improvement and mutual understanding, in order to strengthen reconciliation and promote sustainable peace in BiH, among which is the development of special curricula that would be ‘relieved’ of the previous teaching of history.
The second recommendation refers to the orientation towards the recognition of victims from all three sides. Then, to create a curriculum in which the perpetrators of crimes from their own community would be ‘recognised’, and the development of students’ ability to critically examine opposing narratives and recognize their political instrumentalization in the past and present in order to learn how historical narratives are created and see that they can have political purpose in the present.
The last recommendation refers to the teaching of teachers who teach History, given that it is a sensitive period.
“Our goal is for educational institutions to adopt approaches that encourage critical thinking, introduce multiperspectives and promote better mutual understanding. This would have a huge impact on youth and ultimately on society as a whole,” statedAmbassador Brian Aggeler, Head of the OSCE Mission to BiH.
Back in 1998, the international community in BiH initiated the process of textbook reform, and two years later the Parliament of BiH was supposed to adopt a moratorium on teaching about the war in BiH in order to enable historians from all communities to build a common approach.
That still hasn’t happened, although the textbooks in the period after that were somewhat more advanced. The teaching of history in BiH is still used today to promote one-sided narratives that emphasized differences and deepened divisions in society, say the OSCE report, which, among others, is signed by author Heike Karge.
It is important to mention that the OSCE Mission, the United States (U.S.) Embassy and the Agency for Pre-Primary, Primary and Secondary Education developed the Common Core History Curriculum eight years ago. But, despite that, in many areas, even after that, it focuses on strengthening its own ideologies and achieving broader political goals, it was said.
The authors of the report say that such a worrying development could undermine achievements in the learning and teaching of history and reinforce divisions in BiH society, Radio Sarajevo reports.
