Perched on a hill with mountain views seems like an ideal setting for any school. But at the front entrance of the Dzemaludin Cauševic school in Sarajevo, the war-torn capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, pupils and visitors pass a wall of 50 plaques c
ommemorating children who died during three years of conflict.
The deaths were the curse of having a school situated in the densely populated Novi Grad estates within view of several mounts controlled by Serbs.
Now staff and pupils at Dzemaludin Cauševic are trying to elevate it above the city's pervasive sectarian hatreds
"Don't hate; love," says deputy director Selma Dzemidzic, delighted to be able to show off her school, and in particular its drive for a child-centred education. Inclusion of 70 Roma children among 618 pupils provides proof of that aim.
Ms Dzemidzic explains why their inclusion is important: "The Roma population, as with a lot of other groups, such as refugees or families where the father died in the war – are marginalised.
"First of all, because of prejudice. People say, 'they're dirty, stealing, they don't have knowledge, and their behaviour is not according to our rules.' But what are our rules?
"The Roma are marginalised because they have no possibility to have an education."
The school now awards scholarships for the best Roma pupil, and, out of the 90 free lunches provided across the entire local municipality of Novi Grad, 70 are given to the Roma children at Dzemaludin Cauševic.
The school – which gets stationary supplies and gifts from the Edinburgh Direct Aid charity – has one of the highest Roma pupil ratios in Sarajevo. In addition, local parents are helped by the school in partnership with Unicef, with some illiterate mothers, mostly Roma, being helped with reading.
On 8 April, the school celebrated International Day of Roma, and recorded a traditional lullaby for the school to learn.
Although times are challenging, Ms Dzemidzic seems to be one of the few in Sarajevo who doesn't view the education in the pre-war Yugoslavian regime of socialist president Josip Broz Tito, with rose-tinted glasses.
"Education was built on competition," she says. "Pupils were sitting like sardines, one behind the other. They had not the possibility to interact, to talk, to look each other in the face. Children in that system did not have the possibility to learn about culture, traditions, holidays.
Ms Dzemidzic believes that this rigidity was a factor in the problems that followed: "If you don't know your friends, and if your family has engrained attitudes, they will grow up with those prejudices" she says.
To illustrate the point, Sarajevo has three mobile phone networks, one for each ethnic group, the Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats. Bosnia and Herzegovina duplicates this division with three presidents.
International influence is significant at Dzemaludin Cauševic. Aside from the Danish Refugee Council restoring its brightly painted gold building in 1996, the universities of Oslo, Sarajevo and Tuzla in Finland all help the school by providing training and advice for teachers.
The arrival of school director Haša Albinovic in 2000 changed the school's very foundations.
"I grew up in a multi-ethnic environment and it was always an adventure. It was not a barrier in my life," explains Ms Albinovic. "In the future there will be more schools like us. The groups are already living together, and the time is coming when we will have more respect and understanding for others. Other schools – everyone – will follow."
With a staff of 40, the school, currently teaches ages six to fifteen, but is in the process of expanding to teach older pupils.
The number of children at Dzemaludin Cauševic is constantly in flux, with families forced to move around because of employment and problems with housing stock since the war. Just 10 per cent of pupils have both parents working.
"We have a population who are living in very hard conditions," says Ms Dzemidzic. "Our social picture is not okay."
Poverty is the main issue, but alcohol and drug abuse are also confronted by the school.
Ms Dzemidzic continues: "Now the school is the first place where parents ask for help; for example if they cannot pay for electricity or need to ensure they have money for food and clothes.
"May and June is the time for excursions and half our pupils cannot pay. We are trying to find the money to pay for Roma children to go on excursions – they are very good pupils."
Despite the problems it faces, the school is hopeful for the future, especially with the help of their international friends.
"We take care of our children, building a positive, welcoming atmosphere and in each aspect, building trust," says Ms Dzemidzic.
We are professionals. We have to implement love, care, respect, tolerance. We want to escape conflict and problems.
"In Bosnia and Herzegovina we are unique. We are celebrating our differences."
The full article contains 849 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
