It's been just over two years since we
moved from Mostar to Jajce. Mostar is not short of internationals
living there; there are governmental agencies, non-governmental
agencies and the United World College that between them draw people
from the four corners of the globe. Jajce is different. There are
very few foreigners who live in the town and while many of the young
people we work with seem to have cousins or aunts or uncles scattered
across Europe, or in the States, we found ourselves with a lot of
explaining to do. “Where are you from?” “England.” What's
that?” is, believe it or not, an accurate translation of an early
conversation. At least one young person was convinced London and
America were basically the same thing. Another stated categorically
that soon the US would be part of Europe, because eventually everyone
was going to be part of Europe. This had to be true: their teacher
had told them!
But all this happened before One
Direction. In the last year they have done more for British brand
recognition in central Bosnia than anything or anyone else. Forget
the Queen. Forget London 2012. What the girls we know will remember
about this year is the day they met a woman whose daughter had kissed
a member of One Direction at a party in his pre-fame days. Yes, tears
were shed over this discovery. I don't know if they know that the
Union Jack is, in fact, the British flag and not something One
Directions design team dreamed up. Either way, it too elicits the
same kind of clutching, gasping, beating-heart response that a
picture of those five beautiful boys would. It's like Cool Britannia
all over again.
And so we owe them a debt of thanks.
Thank you One Direction for making Great Britain exist for the young
people of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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