I Was There: Bosnia Herzegovina

"The greater our knowledge increases the more

our ignorance unfolds."

 - John F. Kennedy

There are only a few historical events that occurred when I was a kid that I can recall with clarity exactly where I was when I heard about them. I was in class watching television with my classmates when the Challenger exploded. I remember that vividly. The Berlin Wall, Rodney King, Tiananmen Square, and OJ in the white Ford, amongst other things, are all events that come roaring back to mind. Unfortunately, for me, the Bosnian War wasn’t one of those things. I knew that Yugoslavia use to be a country and I knew that the gist of the Bosnian war centered on Bosnia’s independence, but that was about it.

Performing Arts School/Center

Unfortunately, my lack of knowledge didn’t shock me. I understand my nature; more willing to laugh than cry, choosing a movie with Steven Siegal over Steven Biko any day of the week. I also understand that there are events happening all over the world that I do not have direct knowledge of. However, it seems inconceivable that I missed over 100,000 people being killed and over 8,000 men in Srebrenica being executed in the 90’s!   Even now, I’m not sure if my lack of knowledge was due to my age, if I chose to tune it out, or if it just wasn’t discussed much in the U.S news coverage. Whatever the case, as soon as I made it to Bosnia I became glaringly aware of my ignorance. Where was I when this happened?

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Neno on the far left leading our tour group

Sarajevo is one of those places that could easily be a tourist’s haven: well-planned city layout, deep historical roots, great shopping, nightlife, opera, theatre, and skiing really close. However, the city is still pulling itself out of the mire of the war, so they have yet to garner the tourist’s dollars their economy desperately needs. As such, they take what they can get and what they get are tourists, like myself, who come wanting to know more about the Bosnian War. Like Hanoi, like Phnom Penh and a number of other cities, Sarajevo’s tourist industry is now largely centered on war. As a result of this, I found myself surrounded by other tourists, mostly European and Australian, who easily conversed about the war and consequences of it. Not one to feel comfortable in situations where I’m out of my depth, I made it a point to use my time in Sarajevo as a history lesson.

Sniper's Alley

In order to get the most of my history lesson, I did two things. First, I read Black Soul by Ahmet M. Rahmanovic. Black Soul is an award winning, fictional book, based on true events and peppered with real statistics, historical quotes and news headline, about the Bosnian war. Although fiction, the story is a first-hand account of the war from a Bosniak Muslim’s point of view and it is amazing and captivating. I highly recommend it for those who can’t really sit down with a history book, but want to know more about the war while reading a storyline that hits you in the gut.  The second thing I did was sign up for a 4 hour walking tour with Neno from Sarajevo Free Walking Tours. Neno is highly recommended on Trip Advisor and I was lucky enough to get a tour on his first day back from vacation. He is not only well educated on the historical and political aspects surrounding the war, but he’s willing to discuss personal facets of it as well. This tour was worth the exercise!

 Names of the children who died from mortar attacks during the war.

Neno showed us Sniper’s Alley, Sarajevo Roses, the children’s memorial, and the Latin Bridge. More importantly he talked about growing up during the war and told stories of his mother burning flip flops to cook his school lunch on a makeshift stove. Neno also delved into a lot of the subjects discussed in Black Soul, including the genocide in Srebrenica, the systematic rape of Bosniak women, and the black market selling of food in Sarajevo, as well as, the selling of war victim’s treasures and organs in other parts of the world. The tour was also a look into the rich history of Bosnia before the war. While pointing out architectural features from the Ottoman Empire to the Austro-Hungarian times and sites built for the Winter Olympics in 1984, you can see that there is far more to Bosnia than war.

Latin Bridge: look up the history. Very interesting!

Interestingly enough, before traveling, I was a strong advocate for U.S non-intervention in international issues. I felt that countries should be able to handle their own disputes and that the American tax payers shouldn’t have to take on the “burden” of being the world’s police. Yet, as I shuffled through the atrocities that occurred in the Bosnian War, I wasn’t quite sure that this issue was as black and white as I had initially thought. The reality of the situation is that this wasn’t a war at all. More like soldiers taking on local firemen, teachers, writers and grocers who were learning how to be soldiers in defense of their country. This was slaughter by many accounts and my mind screams, “Where was I? Where were we? How did we as a nation, as a world, let this happen for so long before stepping in and squashing the whole thing?”

"Enough!" Spray painted throughout the city

Now, I’m sitting in a hostel in Croatia reading the news about a terrorist attack on the U.S embassy in Sarajevo and the answer is so simple. Just like the 90’s, things are happening in the world and I’m right here, you’re right here, reading about it from the safety of somewhere far away. For me, the difference is that I’ve been there. I know what that embassy looks like because I walked by it several times. Instead of the news fading in the background like someone else’s concern, I now feel incredible empathy for a country of people who were beginning to see the light and have now been pulled back into the muck of negative press.

This is one of the benefits of travel; international news becomes relevant because the world feels much smaller. I’m just saddened that I can’t see the entire world. This means that, for me, ignorance or indifference will still persist on many levels. Years from now, I’ll probably visit Sudan, see the effects of modern day genocide in Darfur and ask the same questions: “Where was I when this was happening?” or more importantly, “Where were we?”

Sarajevo Rose: After the war the city filled in the  bomb craters , where people were killed, with red paint.

Sarcastic monument to the international community. Basically, thanks for the largely inedible food provided during the war. I read that many countries shipped spoiled goods and/or medicines that weren't useful because it was cheaper than destroying it in their home countries. SMH...

Children's monument

National Theatre

Hand knitted scarves?

Or perhaps a pen made out of bullet casings?

Bullet holes are still seen on the facades of some of the buildings

Before and After: the picture in the lower left hand corner is what this area looked like during the war.