where are all the activists?

Sat around last night, drinking wine, and talking with a few girlfriends who all volunteer for an organization called Balkan Sunflowers. Their mission is to contribute towards the building of a society that supports local activist initiatives. They also try to find and support young activists within local communities – i.e. kids who have an interest in changing the status quo and making a difference, but maybe don’t have the knowledge, skills, or resources to get more involved. That sounds fairly basic, right? Really, it's a huge challenge: Where are all the activists?

I went for a walk earlier (oh smoggy Pristina!) with one of the girls, and she asked about my time in Israel. Specifically, she knows so many people who have visited the country and have fallen absolutely in love, and she wanted to know whether I had that same reaction? I though for a minute, and then realized one of the major reasons that I found Israeli society so appealing is because life there is constantly engaging... You are immersed within a society that has this amazing energy, and where most people have the will to change the world around them for the better. Israelis -- and especially Israeli youth -- are active and vocal about what they think and what they want. Life is politics. Everyone is involved in something.

Israel must cope with many of the similar problems that plague the Balkans. For example, minority communities that face persecution and unequal treatment, environmental disaster, and hatred between ethnic or national groups that seems to be always simmering below the surface. But in Israel, I always felt hopeful that things will change because you can *see* people trying to bring about that change.

Here, you have to squint.

I think widespread indifference and apathy might be the worst consequences of Communism...