While the grown-ups on the Balkans struggle to find a common language, the kids found one in Ohrid. In the city they call the „Balkan Jerusalem", an eight-day Orthodox children's camp brought together 65 kids from Macedonia, Serbia, Kosovo and Metohija, and Republika Srpska - together, under one roof, with one purpose.

The camp, which ran until June 29, was organized by the „Peace, Unity, Stability" association from Skopje. The children visited Ohrid's most important shrines - the church of St. Clement of Ohrid, the St. Naum monastery, St. John the Theologian at Kaneo, and St. Panteleimon at Plaošnik - while the program also included workshops on pottery, art, and folk customs.

The camp was blessed by Georgij, the Metropolitan of Debar and Kičevo, who stressed that „there's no better place than Ohrid" for young people to grow in their faith. The association's president, Maja Denkovska, explained the mission: „we work on connecting peoples through their spiritual values, through faith and Orthodoxy", forging friendships across regional borders.

In a region where politics most often splits people along lines of nation and border, a scene like this looks almost like an exception. Kids from four different backgrounds hang out with nobody teaching them who's supposed to be whose enemy. Maybe that's the biggest lesson of all - that the divisions adults carry aren't inborn, they're learned. And whatever is learned can also be unlearned.