These are notes I took during the trip to Bosnia with Soroptomist President Joan Cromer and Women for Women International in November 2002. I have done my best to capture the exact words as interpreted to me. This is not much of a travelogue as the most important part of this trip was the program and the people. I have edited a bit, but kept the stories as told to me. I will underline the speaker's names as I understood them but know that many are misspelled because I do not yet have the sound of the alphabet in my mind. It was an incredible experience to be part of this program and I wouldn't change any of what we were exposed to.

December 2002:

I just finished typing my notes, which was truly a labor of love. It took me back to the many rooms and places that we visited. These memories are not one bit faded. It is a very odd experience to be in a room where you don't understand one word of the language being spoken. Our interpreters, Aida, Aysa, Saida, Sadzida, Tamara were awesome. They gave us unlimited time and so much of their heart and minds. Raza- who didn't speak English, was always there communicating and sharing and giving us insights we could not have seen. We got to the place in our relationship that week where our interpreters became our sisters and so we started speaking quickly and used American Slang and jargon . . . sorry dears. The sound of the responses in the rooms when war and the women's role in the war swirled around me and I felt to be in the midst of a symphony. I watched the faces, looked at eyes, read the pain, felt the connection woman to woman. I needed to understand even if the words weren't my language. The hard questions caused a swell of emotion and raised pitches. It was a chorus; it was a solo of pain. It was a spontaneous laugh and many, many, many tears. The war will always live on in their very fiber. I am privileged to be part of the healing with Women for Women International and Soroptomist International in union.

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