CONFLICT RESOLUTION AND THE AOL PROGRAM IN KOSOVO
- FLORA BROVINA Parliament Delegate and Director of Center for Mothers and Children
“The AOL Program has great potential to reduce conflict throughout the world and within our society as well. Based on the positive experiences of the number of multi-ethnic courses conducted by AOL in Kosovo, Macedonia and other countries, AOL program has proven its ability to reduce conflict in the most stressful conditions. By healing emotional wounds, AOL promotes reconciliation and peace, while reopening channels of communication. I encourage all those working in the field of conflict resolution to explore the use of AOL Program in any conflict resolution setting.”
Empowerment of Women
«I find the Art of Living Program a unique program, especially for the women in Kosovo. AOL Program has a great potential to promote healing from post-traumatic stress syndrome and to promote a practical approach toward moving beyond negative emotions such as fear, hate, anger and misery, that prevent healing and the peaceful resolution of disputes. As a result, women are empowered to rebuild their own lives as well as those of their families and communities and are better prepared to play an active role in building a future for themselves and their children that ends the cycle of violence and supports human rights.
Many women who are war- and trauma survivors experience a sense of alienation from those who have not shared the traumatic experience. Mental trauma of Kosovo rape victims in particular, is difficult to treat. Accounts from actual victims are nearly impossible to find. The shame that keeps rape victims silent even in the West is especially acute among Muslim families.»
«The Art of Living program has helped women to alleviate the shame, guilt, numbness, disorientation, sense of isolation, distrust and disconnection. The AOL program provides survivors with a method of treatment and intervention that is self contained, personal, private and learned as a like group of traumatized individuals.»
«Based on my personal experience and the experience of other women who took the Art of Living training, I find the Art of Living Program a unique program, especially for the women in Kosovo. AOL Program has a great potential to promote healing from post-traumatic stress syndrome and to promote a practical approach toward moving beyond negative emotions such as fear, hate, anger and misery, that prevent healing and the peaceful resolution of disputes. As a result, women are empowered to rebuild their own lives as well as those of their families and communities and are better prepared to play an active role in building a future for themselves and their children that ends the cycle of violence and supports human rights.»
