Love each other

by Kassidy Woods (Canada)

The last thing I expected Canada

‘Volite se ljudožderi’, in English means “Love each other, cannibals.” I saw this phrase a number of times graffitied on walls and buildings across Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Many buildings and walls were covered in either graffiti or artists attempts to cover up the graffiti. A tour guide a few days earlier had mentioned that some of the graffiti dates back to the early 90’s and were either ethnically insensitive phrases or anti-war sentiments. Although some of the graffiti was creatively incorporated into art pieces and murals, some tags remained, as if seething scars serving as haunting reminders of more turbulent times.The result was an eclectic and eccentric fusion of miscellaneous figures and Croatian phrases. Sam and I were en-route to Prijedor in Bosnia and Herzegovina, for my childhood friends wedding. We had spent a good deal of our trip so far on our phones, booking hotels, keeping in contact with friends and family and mapping out our drive to Prijedor before he came across articles on the Bosnian War, detailing the violence against the Muslim Bosniaks. I never felt like people treated us differently as an inter-ethnic couple. Sam, a first generation Muslim- Canadian whose family came to Canada from India and Africa, seemed quick to pick up on negative or hostile glances, comments and tones of those less ‘open-minded’. Myself, being a second generation Canadian with Scottish and Dutch heritage, was raised relatively ignorant of the discrimination he would have faced growing up and bought heavily into the whole “Canadian Multi-Ethnic Mosaic” allegory. I was often accused of being insensitive when I assumed he was falsely picking up on hostility. Were people going to be friendly? Or Cold? Welcoming and inviting or spiteful and dismissive? I hadn’t thought to mention the ethnicity of the date I was bringing to the bride and groom. I wouldn’t have thought twice about it if I was in Canada, why would I in Europe? Was I ignorant? Naive? Comfortable? Or just Canadian? The drive itself was eventful enough to make us forget those concerns. Our GPS died, our phones and google maps were unable to find our location, we bought a map that we couldn't read and yet we somehow made it to Prijedor. As we drove through the dishevelled town centre, we noticed several mosques, gleaming in the sunshine. We didn't know where we were going. We drove slowly past a group of old men who waved, smiling toothily, as if welcoming us into their town.