--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't think Bosnia is ready for…" description: "\"I don't think Bosnia is ready for reconciliation, but I do think it is ready for truth.\" — Paddy Ashdown" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e88/paddy-ashdown-17120_bosnia_i-don-t-think-bosnia-is-ready-for-reconc_494952.png" --- # I don't think Bosnia is ready for reconciliation, but I do… ![“I don't think Bosnia is ready for reconciliation, but I do think it is ready for truth.” quote by Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e88/paddy-ashdown-17120_bosnia_i-don-t-think-bosnia-is-ready-for-reconc_494952.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e88/paddy-ashdown-17120_bosnia_i-don-t-think-bosnia-is-ready-for-reconc_494952.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e88/paddy-ashdown-17120_bosnia_i-don-t-think-bosnia-is-ready-for-reconc_494952.png) > “I don't think Bosnia is ready for reconciliation, but I do think it is ready for truth.” [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Bosnia may not be ready for reconciliation, yet truth-telling is a necessary first step toward healing. **In simple terms:** Truth precedes reconciliation in Bosnia. Key Takeaway Promote truth-telling to pave the way for reconciliation. Themes post-conflict truth reconciliation Mood hopeful serious Type political inspirational When to use this quote - peacebuilding workshops - historical documentation - public forums - education programs Key Concepts political science transitional justice Questions to Reflect On - How can truth be effectively shared? - What steps follow truth for genuine reconciliation? A Different Perspective Truth alone may not heal deep wounds. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bosnia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bosnia/) [Peacebuilding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peacebuilding/) [Reconciliation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reconciliation/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [Truth and reconciliation' are always combined, but I would split them: I don't think Bosnia is ready for reconciliation, but I do think it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/truth-and-reconciliation-are-always-combined-but-i-would-split-them-i/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [Be ready for reconciliation after quarrels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cleobulus/be-ready-for-reconciliation-after-quarrels/) [Cleobulus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cleobulus/) > [Bosnia is under my skin. It's the place you cannot leave behind. I was obsessed by the nightmare of it all; there was this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/bosnia-is-under-my-skin-it-s-the-place-you-cannot-leave-behind-i-was/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [My second job has been to try to use my power to create institutions of a modern state that could enter the European Union,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/my-second-job-has-been-to-try-to-use-my-power-to-create-institutions/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [Checking in to see how it's going in Bosnia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zuckerberg/checking-in-to-see-how-it-s-going-in-bosnia/) [Mark Zuckerberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zuckerberg/) > [I think no one could have made peace in Bosnia besides Holbrooke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/i-think-no-one-could-have-made-peace-in-bosnia-besides-holbrooke/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [It depends on the situation. I mean, on one hand there's the argument that people should be left alone on the other hand, there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jello-biafra/it-depends-on-the-situation-i-mean-on-one-hand-there-s-the-argument/) [Jello Biafra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jello-biafra/) > [Our inability to relate to one another is very, very, very important. When we don't have it, we get situations like Bosnia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-james-olmos/our-inability-to-relate-to-one-another-is-very-very-very-important/) [Edward James Olmos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-james-olmos/) > [Neither the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina nor the international community will accept such blackmail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-petritsch/neither-the-citizens-of-bosnia-and-herzegovina-nor-the-international/) Wolfgang Petritsch > [I've taken clowns into the war in Bosnia, the refugee camps of Kosovo, and none of those are any more important than clowning in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patch-adams/i-ve-taken-clowns-into-the-war-in-bosnia-the-refugee-camps-of-kosovo/) [Patch Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patch-adams/) > [During the war, a battle was fought here, not only for the creation of a new Yugoslavia, but also a battle for Bosnia and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josip-broz-tito/during-the-war-a-battle-was-fought-here-not-only-for-the-creation-of/) [Josip Broz Tito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josip-broz-tito/) > [I just went off for two months traveling around Europe on a motorcycle and pretty much turned my phone off. I did 5,000 miles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-fassbender/i-just-went-off-for-two-months-traveling-around-europe-on-a/) [Michael Fassbender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-fassbender/) > [My view is that the time has come for the international community to act on Zimbabwe in the way that it did in Bosnia.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raila-odinga/my-view-is-that-the-time-has-come-for-the-international-community-to/) [Raila Odinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raila-odinga/) > [We must not forget; but we must forgive. Suffering often such compassion from the Jewish community. It was Jewish groups in the US who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/we-must-not-forget-but-we-must-forgive-suffering-often-such/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [In Bosnia, little children shot in the head by a guy who thinks it's okay to aim his gun at a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christiane-amanpour/in-bosnia-little-children-shot-in-the-head-by-a-guy-who-thinks-it-s/) [Christiane Amanpour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christiane-amanpour/) ## More by Paddy Ashdown > [I am formally accountable to the steering board of the PIC, and I meet with nine ambassadors from the PIC every week. I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/i-am-formally-accountable-to-the-steering-board-of-the-pic-and-i-meet/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [We have invented a new human right here - the right to return home after a war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/we-have-invented-a-new-human-right-here-the-right-to-return-home/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [It works both ways: there are victims of tragedy who come to me who have experienced grief of such magnitude that they cannot reconcile.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/it-works-both-ways-there-are-victims-of-tragedy-who-come-to-me-who/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [I am here because I think it was a terrible sin of the west to allow those years of war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/i-am-here-because-i-think-it-was-a-terrible-sin-of-the-west-to-allow/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [The multinational corporations now developing budgets often bigger than medium-sized countries — these live in a global space which is largely unregulated, not subject…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/the-multinational-corporations-now-developing-budgets-often-bigger/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [Now we are intimately locked together. You get swine flu in Mexico; it’s a problem for Charles de Gaulle Airport 24 hours later. Lehman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/now-we-are-intimately-locked-together-you-get-swine-flu-in-mexico-it/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [Politics is about putting yourself in a state of grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/politics-is-about-putting-yourself-in-a-state-of-grace/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [I can create institutions, but I can't rewrite the chips in people's heads.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/i-can-create-institutions-but-i-can-t-rewrite-the-chips-in-people-s/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [One of the great barriers to peace in the Middle East is that both sides, both Israel and the Palestinians, do not understand that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/one-of-the-great-barriers-to-peace-in-the-middle-east-is-that-both/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [It's not my job to be popular. I'm goal-driven; my job is to get results.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/it-s-not-my-job-to-be-popular-i-m-goal-driven-my-job-is-to-get-results/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [I was told there would be riots in the streets, but there were no riots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/i-was-told-there-would-be-riots-in-the-streets-but-there-were-no-riots/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [We who came here saw what was happening. This was far more than a war in a faraway place. This was a moral imperative,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/we-who-came-here-saw-what-was-happening-this-was-far-more-than-a-war/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [We have to make their livelihoods viable, get them the proper prices for their produce, try and make them stay rather than sell their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/we-have-to-make-their-livelihoods-viable-get-them-the-proper-prices/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [My second job has been to try to use my power to create institutions of a modern state that could enter the European Union,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/my-second-job-has-been-to-try-to-use-my-power-to-create-institutions/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) > [Coalition will come sooner or later, I'm certain of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/coalition-will-come-sooner-or-later-i-m-certain-of-that/) [Paddy Ashdown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) [Explore all 38 Paddy Ashdown quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/) ## More Bosnia quotes > [In Bosnia, little children shot in the head by a guy who thinks it's okay to aim his gun at a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christiane-amanpour/in-bosnia-little-children-shot-in-the-head-by-a-guy-who-thinks-it-s/) [Christiane Amanpour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christiane-amanpour/) > [We must not forget; but we must forgive. Suffering often such compassion from the Jewish community. It was Jewish groups in the US who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/we-must-not-forget-but-we-must-forgive-suffering-often-such/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [My view is that the time has come for the international community to act on Zimbabwe in the way that it did in Bosnia.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raila-odinga/my-view-is-that-the-time-has-come-for-the-international-community-to/) [Raila Odinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raila-odinga/) > [I just went off for two months traveling around Europe on a motorcycle and pretty much turned my phone off. I did 5,000 miles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-fassbender/i-just-went-off-for-two-months-traveling-around-europe-on-a/) [Michael Fassbender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-fassbender/) > [During the war, a battle was fought here, not only for the creation of a new Yugoslavia, but also a battle for Bosnia and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josip-broz-tito/during-the-war-a-battle-was-fought-here-not-only-for-the-creation-of/) [Josip Broz Tito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josip-broz-tito/) > [I've taken clowns into the war in Bosnia, the refugee camps of Kosovo, and none of those are any more important than clowning in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patch-adams/i-ve-taken-clowns-into-the-war-in-bosnia-the-refugee-camps-of-kosovo/) [Patch Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patch-adams/) > [Neither the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina nor the international community will accept such blackmail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-petritsch/neither-the-citizens-of-bosnia-and-herzegovina-nor-the-international/) Wolfgang Petritsch > [Our inability to relate to one another is very, very, very important. When we don't have it, we get situations like Bosnia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-james-olmos/our-inability-to-relate-to-one-another-is-very-very-very-important/) [Edward James Olmos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-james-olmos/) > [It depends on the situation. I mean, on one hand there's the argument that people should be left alone on the other hand, there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jello-biafra/it-depends-on-the-situation-i-mean-on-one-hand-there-s-the-argument/) [Jello Biafra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jello-biafra/) > [I think no one could have made peace in Bosnia besides Holbrooke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/i-think-no-one-could-have-made-peace-in-bosnia-besides-holbrooke/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [Checking in to see how it's going in Bosnia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zuckerberg/checking-in-to-see-how-it-s-going-in-bosnia/) [Mark Zuckerberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zuckerberg/) > [...in the eyes of her oldest friends and colleagues and extended family, she wasn't a painfully thin seventy-five-year-old gray haired woman dying of cancer-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-schwalbe/in-the-eyes-of-her-oldest-friends-and-colleagues-and-extended-family/) [Will Schwalbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-schwalbe/) > [In Bosnia and Herzegovina, a country of few but nonetheless good films, it is almost impossible to produce a film without access to various…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danis-tanovic/in-bosnia-and-herzegovina-a-country-of-few-but-nonetheless-good-films/) [Danis Tanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danis-tanovic/) > [Bosnia is a complicated country: three religions, three nations and those "others". Nationalism is strong in all three nations; in two of them there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alija-izetbegovic/bosnia-is-a-complicated-country-three-religions-three-nations-and/) [Alija Izetbegovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alija-izetbegovic/) > [In just one year in Bosnia, thirty of my colleagues died. There is a little Somme waiting for all innocent journalists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fisk/in-just-one-year-in-bosnia-thirty-of-my-colleagues-died-there-is-a/) [Robert Fisk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fisk/) [Browse all 114 Bosnia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bosnia/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't think Bosnia is ready for reconciliation, but I do think it is ready for truth.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paddy Ashdown" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/i-don-t-think-bosnia-is-ready-for-reconciliation-but-i-do-think-it-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bosnia" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/i-don-t-think-bosnia-is-ready-for-reconciliation-but-i-do-think-it-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e88/paddy-ashdown-17120_bosnia_i-don-t-think-bosnia-is-ready-for-reconc_494952.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e88/paddy-ashdown-17120_bosnia_i-don-t-think-bosnia-is-ready-for-reconc_494952.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e88/paddy-ashdown-17120_bosnia_i-don-t-think-bosnia-is-ready-for-reconc_494952.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I don't think Bosnia is ready for reconciliation, but I do think it is ready for truth.” — Paddy Ashdown", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Paddy Ashdown", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paddy-ashdown/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I don't think Bosnia is ready...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/i-don-t-think-bosnia-is-ready-for-reconciliation-but-i-do-think-it-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paddy-ashdown/i-don-t-think-bosnia-is-ready-for-reconciliation-but-i-do-think-it-is/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```