Ferguson: Surely we can do better than the graffiti “When the army returns to Kosovo”

Great Britain’s ambassador to Serbia Edward Ferguson said that his embassy works intensively with minority communities in Serbia and that the goal is to build a community based on unity for all citizens.

– My embassy works intensively with minority communities throughout Serbia – Bosniaks, Roma and Albanians, and we often bring them to Belgrade for workshops and courses. But some of them told me that because of certain graffiti they see in the city, they feel unsafe and uncomfortable. Can you imagine how you feel as a young Albanian living in Serbia who comes to his capital for the first time and sees insults at the national level or graffiti on the walls with the inscription: “When the army returns to Kosovo”. We can certainly do better – said Ferguson.

He added that, “if we want to build communities based on unity for all our citizens, we need to ensure that the next generation has the appropriate critical thinking skills to be able to deal with prejudice or discrimination that they may have inherited from their parents.”

– We have all attended countless conferences and sometimes we can’t help but wonder what kind of change they can bring. I would say that especially in this digital world, conferences like this one are important, because it is important to sit down, talk and listen to each other, build human connections and connections, share ideas. Conferences like this are an opportunity to stop, think and ask ourselves how we can do better. Although they may not be able to immediately lead to changes, events like this can inspire us to put ideas into action – emphasized Ferguson.