Bosnia-Herzegovina

This past weekend I was in Bosnia-Herzegovina in Sarajevo and Mostar and I learned so much! For those who don't know, from 1992-1995, Bosnia-Herzegovina was being attacked by the Serbian Army, I'll go into more detail later on. We took a tour of Sarajevo for most of Friday and our guide was really amazing.  She lived in Sarajevo during the whole war except for the last 5 months when she experienced psychological trauma to the extent where she could no longer walk.  It was really amazing to hear her own stories. Most of what she remembers is staying in basements. Each neighborhood had their own school so the kids didn't have to go too far. She would run to school and back each day. She talked about one time when a bomb hit close to the school and the teacher hid under the desk before checking on the kids.  It's something she can laugh about now. But she also remembers one time when instead of one of her class mates coming to class there was a red rose on his desk. Most kids were kept in basements for safety.  One time in the winter a group of 6-7 yr olds were allowed outside to play in the snow and a bomb hit the yard they were in.

The war started after many countries started leaving Yugoslavia.  The Yugoslav army decided that Sarajevo would be a good place to practice war techniques because it is in a valley surrounded by large hills and they started to siege the city.  This violated some type of agreement, I don't remember, so to get out of the responsibility they changed their name to the Serbian Army. Our guide talked about how the war was started by politicians. They went to Serbian cities and convinced the people that the Turks had wronged them 500 yrs ago when the Turks had occupied the area and that the Serbs needed to take revenge by attacking Bosnia-Herzegovina.  Our guide said that many Bosnians don't blame the Serbs because they were uneducated and tricked by the politicians. They do, however, have a lot more tension with the Serbs who lived in Sarajevo and joined the army in the hills.  There were times when when two Serbian brothers would have different ideas about the situation, one would go to the hills and the other would stay and they would meet each other while fighting.

When the war started, Bosnia had no organized army because it had just left Yugoslavia.  Yet the people of Sarajevo fought back with whatever they could find.  Some had guns, some made their own fire arms and bombs, and sometimes they would fight back with only a knife in their hand.  Fortunately the Serbs had a hard time using their tanks because of the hills.  It's amazing that the people of Sarajevo were able to protect the city for the entire war.

The Serbian Army was surrounding the city all around except for the airport.  They had an agreement with the United Nations that the UN could use it as long as no Bosnian stepped foot on it.  This was a problem because on the other side of the airport was a war free area that had more food and weapons.  Sometimes Bosnians would risk the run across the airport but they would hardly ever be able to avoid the snipers.  To get rid of this dangerous trek, the Bosnians built a tunnel under the airport.  It was 800 meters long, 1 meter wide, and 1.6 meters high.  Only soldiers or those with special permission were allowed to pass through.  Most people that were given special permission were sick or wounded, like our tour guide, who passed through it when she experienced psychological trauma. The doctors in Sarajevo said that she needed to have surgery or else she would die but they did not have the tools for it so she had to leave the country.  Fortunately she had an Aunt living in Turkey so she went to stay with her.  When the doctors there looked at her they realized it was from stress and all she needed was from fresh air and exercise, which turned out to do the trick.

 

 

Map of Sarajevo during the war.  The pink is where the Serbs were and the gap is the airport.

Walking a short way through the tunnel.

Our tour guide said that many people experience some kind of post-traumatic disorder after the war.  Many people don't talk about what they experienced in the war but she thinks that will change as people realize it can be healing to share.

Another story she told was of Sarajevo's Romeo and Juliet.  They were a young couple in love, one Bosnian, one Serbian. They wanted to leave Sarajevo to get married so they asked for safe passage from both sides.  Both sides knew the couple and agreed.  But as they stared their trip someone shot.  They boy died first and the girl crawled over to him and died in his arms.  Their bodies stayed where they were for three days before someone dared to retrieve them.  Neither side knows who shot.

The war ended in 1995 but I still don't understand quite how it happened.  A treaty was signed but I want to know why it only happened then and what kept it from happening earlier.

Our tour guide gave us a really great commentary of what the people of Sarajevo are like.  Sarajevo is a really old city made of 3 sections: the Ottoman section, the Austo-Hungarian section, and the Communist section, each built when these different powers were occupying the city.  Our guide said that people don't resent the cultures that came to the city but they welcome them and enjoy taking small parts from each culture. They also have 4 main religions: Jewish, Muslim, Catholic, and Orthodox.  Each religion lived intermingled and in peace.  Sarajevo is the only city to have 4 main buildings of worship within 300 square meters.

Another really important part of their culture is coffee.  They drink Turkish coffee, which is really strong and they drink it in small amounts. They have coffee sets with small cups and special containers for the coffee and a sugar bowl.  These sets are made of metal, often silver or copper.  Many of them have intricate designs and they are usually hand made.  Apparently the unemployment rate is around 50% but people somehow find the money to have coffee possibly 2-3 times a day.  It is a very social part of life, you never drink coffee alone.

The main street where copper products are sold, including the coffee sets.

There is still a lot of corruption that goes on unfortunately. A lot of money was given to Sarajevo to rebuild buildings that were destroyed but the money ends up in politicians pockets.  Sarajevo has a rule that any building that is restored must be restored exactly as it was before so that also prolongs the process. Also, they have 3 Presidents. One Croat, one Bosnian, and one Serb.  They rotate being President every 8 months and the others act as Vice Presidents.  They are supposed to agree on every decision but that rarely happens so it is hard to make progress.

Another thing that brought a lot of frustration is the role that the United Nations played in the war. They were present during the entire thing but rarely intervened. I realize it is a complex situation and I don't fully understand it but I can also understand the anger that the Bosnians feel for having the UN soldiers just watch what went on.

One of the worst situations happened in a city called Sebrenica.  This was the location of a UN camp and a war free area.  That meant that both sides were told to give up their weapons.  The Bosnians did but the Serbs did not.  In 1995 the Serbs took the city.  In 5 days over 7'000 men disappeared.  They were unarmed because the UN would not return the weapons they gave up.

I want to recognize that the information I heard and and posting here is one side of a complex story and is not the whole thing.  Some of you may have heard other opinions.  I just want to share what one woman in Sarajevo experienced and shared with me.

I think what hits me the hardest is how recent this all happened.  Our tour guide is Taryn's (my sister) age and she remembers what went on.  Justin (my brother) would have been the same age as those kids that were playing in the snow.  That could have been my family.  I don't know how the people of Bosnia-Herzegovina live day to day having experienced so much pain and rage that is still with them.  I guess we do what we have to.

Cemetery and hills of Sarajevo

Mostar, another city we visited that is in Herzegovina