Interview with a peacemaker: Dasha Gajic

Sanaullah Abro
Dasha Gajic A peacemaker

Introduction: Dasha Gajic

Miss Dasha Gajic was born in 1988 in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina. She holds a BA in Political Science and two MA degrees; she works as an Activist/Peacemaker to promote peace. Nowadays, she is promoting peace in her hometown (Bosnia-Herzegovina), which was on the ethnically rooted war in 1992-95.

Moreover, Miss Dasha Gajic promotes peace with the help of her NGO – Udruženje za kulturu, afirmaciju i savjetovanje, the main aim of this NGO is to create a world to become a happier and more beautiful place to live and create peace. This NGO promotes peace by helping disable women and children, providing free education and different monthly campaigns to create peace.

She has also audited a graduate-level course “Gender Equality in the Nordic Countries” at University of Oslo, Norway. Apart from being an Activist/Peacemaker, She is a great photographer too. Miss Dasha Gajic won the first award at the “Student Photo Competition” at the University of Oslo. Her book “Street Style Banja Luka by Dasha Gajic” is the first published book which dedicates to street style photography. She is interested in documentary and socially engaged photography by which she talks about women’s history, rights, gender-based violence etc. Have a look below at the Q/A session with Miss. Dasha Gajic, This is what she said:

  1. What is “Peace”?

Miss. Dasha Gajic defined her definition of peace as “Peace is an essential part of life, without peace there is nothing.”
Her answer really changed my view about Peace; I used to think that Peace is the freedom that gives the people to live their own way. Miss. Dasha defined the definition of Peace in every effective manner, her words really inspired me.

  1. How Dasha Gajic started her Journey?

She was a student in high school when she was 17 years old; she applied for a fellowship in “Youth leadership program” in New York City and DC Washington. During her fellowship, she saw what human rights really are and its importance. I always wanted to be a doctor and study medicine related field. Looking at the importance of Human rights, I realized that this is not what I want to become so I returned back to my home. I started studying a political science degree and engaged myself in community activities and started working for human rights. This is my journey of becoming an Activist/Peacemaker.

  1. Activities she is involved in for making peace?

Miss. Dasha Gajic is involved in different activities to create peace. She told that in her hometown she has built many “Peace Cafes” where she teaches the women about non-violence and peace. She founded an academy for a new generation of deaf peace activists where deaf peace activists are trained to become active and how to actively engage them in peacemaking activities. Later on, she talked about several programs about gender-based violence. The main focus is on gender-based violence too which tries to connect gender, disabilities, and peace into one.

Talking about gender-violence, She said that her book “Banjaluka” which is written to tell the world about gender inequality. Her book contains stories about 50 women belonging to Banja Luka, who were the first doctors, first professor, and first women’s in different areas and was forgotten.  She added that our society doesn’t treat women as men, whenever a woman achieves she doesn’t get an appreciation as men do. This is a very major issue in our society which really needs attention. She is motivated by researching the data of these women and finding their interesting stories.

While talking about gender-violence she added that:
“Peace is my number one priority, I truly believe in it and in the people, who are working and are inspired to make peace for everyone around the world. People should be treated as equals”.
Moreover, She said to end these problems, we all peacemakers should become “One Force” that can fight against these problems and create a better world.

 4. What sustains her in her work?

In every organization, there are almost the same goals and the same vision. We believe getting the best output by putting our 100% efforts in work. The most important key-factor is a strength is what we all people from different backgrounds with so much understanding and respect for different everything. Having open dialogue is what we encourage each other being members of the same organization creates a real difference by better communication.

  1. Her Vision of Future?

Miss. Dasha Gajic defined her vision for the future as “More respect for the entire humanity with different tools and knowledge to create awareness and spread our work worldwide”. She again repeated her point that peace activists have to stay united on a global level and become one powerful force. Nowadays, we are living in great conditions in terms of technology where we can easily connect with each other. Thanks to social media which is an easier source to spread your work. Social media is a platform where activists can connect with people and encourage other people to be more open and active.

  1. What peace actions can we students take to support the work inspired by Miss Dasha Gajic?

Miss. Dasha Gajic believes that youngsters should learn and educate themselves. Because these youngsters are the next future generation who will be a great asset to this world. There are many people to misguide you and lead you towards the wrong path, but you should stay determined and confident with your decisions, Stay in your right lane and never stop believing in yourself. They need to be open to new ideas and respect other people and themselves.
She advised the students that “Be honest, open and vocal about your vision of peace and future”
You are the ones who need to take a step forward to create a better world and make the world a better place. Always stay united and strong.

Moreover, she added that when she sees this gender inequality issues, she gets disappointed. Every person needs to be treated as an equal. In the US, a lot of improvements have been made in gender equality issues but still, there are improvements to be made. We should not take anything for granted and work as a stronger force together. Gender equality is the main issue that needs attention and addressed in a proper way.

  1. Her Advice for students?

She thinks “Student is the one who is educated to create a difference in the society”. She said that stop overthinking and start your journey of creating peace as soon as possible. We have to understand the importance of peace, saving one life can create a difference. We should adopt the qualities of successful leaders, be tolerable, proactive and patient. Start your journey by taking a good non-violent action. Stay confident and believe that you can do it, Raise your voices because if you don’t you are doing a bad action by staying quiet. After advising students, she added that Black communities deserve the right to be treated as equals; we have to conduct different movements and create awareness as much as possible.

Analysis of Interview with Dasha Gajic

After the interview, I believe that Miss. Dasha Gajic is a very determined and hardworking Activist/Peacemaker. She aims to bring more people who can work for their societies and communities and create a better peaceful world. She has seen a lot of scenarios and realized the importance of peace and humanity; this is why she is now trying to promote peace in her own hometown. Being an activist, she wants to create a difference by spreading her work through social media and blogs and engage more activists who can work on a global level.

I think Miss. Dasha Gajic wants to work on a global level; this is why she is promoting peace through her NGO and academy which is working for creating peace through non-violent actions. I really liked her statement when she advised the students that “People will misguide you, But you have to stay confident and determined”, She has seen a lot in this world and now her experience speaks the truth.  I totally agree with her positive words that had a hidden meaning and signs for us to follow. Currently, she is working in her hometown where she really needs to think about those people, who were affected by the war and have no shelter, food to survive.

Her story makes it clear; Non-violence is the key which can create a real difference. She was open in sharing her thoughts and her past experiences, she wants us to listen to others and work for peace so that we can share our stories with someone else too and inspire others. We have to take actions with our words to convince others to join the peaceful revolution. The way she is motivated and determined to work for creating peace in the world, her story is the clear sign of inspiration for us. I think adopting her vision and spreading it is the perfect choice to make.