Ambassador’s
note -- Today’s guest blogger is Embassy Political Section Chief Tamir Waser, an
Eagle Scout and longtime participant in scouting activities in the United
States, who had the honor of helping open the “Simply Scouting” camp last week
at Borocko Jezero.
 |
| Tamir Waser, an Eagle Scout |
Boy Scout
summer camp was an important event in my yearly calendar when growing up in the
US. The week we spent there each summer was an opportunity to make new
friends, work on scout skills, and enjoy the outdoors. When we drove into
the scout camp near Borocko Jezero a few days ago, all those memories came
flooding back. There was the flag pole and assembly area, canvas tents,
activity areas and dining spaces that could just as easily have been at Camp
Chawanakee in the Sierra Nevada mountains in California. And
when they handed me the camp neckerchief, I was amazed at how natural it seemed
to roll it in proper fashion and tie a square knot to hold it in place.
Scouts
from Prnjavor, Prijedor and Zenica in BiH and from Bajna Basta and Prijepolje
in Serbia had come together for a program called “Simply Scouting,” an
interethnic camp that the Embassy was proud to sponsor through our interethnic
grant funds. As I spoke with this diverse group of young people, I was
struck by how their hopes for the camp sounded like what my friends and I would
have said at our camps. They wanted to meet new people, work on scout
skills, and spend a week enjoying the outdoors. I talked with these
scouts about the lessons I learned as scout – how to be a leader, how to plan,
and most importantly, how to find the value that each person can bring to the
group. Scouting exposed me to people of different religions, ethnicities
and color and helped me realize that differences can be strengths. It was
great to see these scouts coming from different ethnic groups, cities, entities
and countries working together and building friendships. I am confident
that they will look back fondly on their ten days in the “Simply
Scouting” program in future years and use the lessons and friendships
from there to build a better future for this country and region.
Comments
Post a Comment