A watercolor competition among Kosovo Serbian children aged 7 to 11 was organized by the Serbo-Russian Friendship Society of Belgrade, chaired by Ms Ivana Zigon. The press group Vecernje Novosti (evening news) has published a volume of fifty out of the 2,500 entries. With Ms Zigon’s authorization, we have spent over a year organizing a public exhibit of the selected watercolors, under the title: "Visions of war, through children’s eyes" (Visions de guerre, regards d’enfants).
Our association Vérité et Justice (Truth and Justice), established under French law, believes that such an exhibit might be able to stir public opinion, which is sensitive to children. Nothing could reflect the present situation in Kosovo more powerfully. The pictures imagined by children show only bombings, fires, explosions, looting, barbed wire enclosures, and weapons of all sorts. They show the traumatism undergone by an entire generation marked permanently by war and ethnic hatred. The exhibit would include several elements that are either already available or whose preparation is in an advanced stage: • The framed watercolors and drawings. • Photos of destruction taken by reporters for the magazine B.I. • A high quality brochure reproducing the exhibited works, with a short history of Kosovo events. • Panels explaining the competition, its results and its significance. • A set of postcards representing the exhibited works. Today, we have the opportunity, thanks to a local correspondent, to organize the exhibit during the month of March 2008 at the University of Cleveland in the United States, and eventually in other American cities -- that is, in the very country where spreading awareness of the Kosovo reality really matters. The exhibit promises to be appropriately publicized in local media. It would be disheartening to miss such a rare opportunity. But to succeed in this operation, we need to collect around 15,000 euros to cover costs, of which we have only a small part. This budget covers framing the watercolors, drawings and photos; the composition and printing of the brochure and the panels; and travel expenses for two of our representatives to launch the organization and take part in promotion in the United States. It is to collect this budget that we are appealing to you. You can help us in three ways: • By making a donation to the association Vérité et Justice • By forwarding this appeal to persons who might like to contribute. • By sending us the names and addresses of persons to whom it would be useful to send this appeal. Let us not miss this opportunity. We thank you in advance for whatever you can do to help us seize it. Louis DALMAS.
