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Published: February 28th 2007
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After leaving the flatness of Serbia, it is impossible to overlook the natural beauty of Bosnia. After a brief border crossing, the bus curved around beautiful emerald lakes and wound around rocky crags into Sarajevo. It was a city that I had associated with terrible violence in the 90s, but didnt know much more about. My mission was to stay in the city until I fully understood the conflict. I had no idea it would take hold of me and not let go for 5 days.
One of my first experiences, unfortunately, was having my wallet stolen on the tram. It deferred my exploration but has not tarnished my view of the city. It is a city full of welcoming, hospitable people with the exception of a few, needy individuals who are desperate enough to steal from others. I inquired about the justification of theft and was told that the incredibly high unemployment rate since the war has created even higher drug usage. My Couchsurfing host imparted some psychological facts: Ten percent of Sarajevo residents suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and many had a strong feeling of depression after the war ended. "AFTER the war ENDED? Wouldnt
they be happier once it was over?," I asked. He told me that during the war, they were so consumed with just surviving the day, once the war had ended, they looked around to see a fragmented city, no jobs, and no real gain from three years of conflict.
The locals are incredibly proud of their first claim to fame: hosting the 1984 Winter Olympics. They even conjure up the hope that they might host another winter Olympics. I had the opportunity to ski on these ex-Olympic slopes for a day. On the mountains surrounding Sarajevo, the view is incredible. My guide book warns travelers to always stay on the path and never venture into ruined buildings because of the prevalence of land mines. Much of the cities have been cleared, but there is still danger off the beaten path. The ski runs have been recently cleared, so I skiied worry-free (except for a fear of falling and twisting an ankle).
Sarajevo holds its stake as a nest of conflict, even since 1914. While riding in an open-air car, the archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sofie, heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire, were assassinated on a
Burned out library.
After the siege of Sarajevo from 1992 until 1995, this building was completely destroyed, taking with it an incredible volume of priceless books and history. bridge in Sarajevo, causing Austria-Hungary to decalare war on Serbia, and through a series of alliances, eventually sparked the beginning of World War I.
Areas like Kosovo and Sarajevo generally conjure images of violence and danger-even today. Before arriving, I received a head full of warnings about this part of the world. I arrived with the intention of realizing the validity of these warnings, and deciphering the truth. As with most major conflicts, they generally stem from deeply rooted tension between groups and this conflict is no different. It is impossible to summarize generations of history in a single paragraph, but I will try to impart my recently acquired knowledge summarily:
The area we now refer to as "Eastern Europe", or The Balkans, was once the region of Yugoslavia. It was a Communist country after World War II that was run by Prime Minister Marshall Tito, until he died in 1980. Without Titos strong influence, Yugoslavia entities declared independence and split into 6 different republics: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, and Slovenia. This ignited war between different ethnic groups living within these new boundaries. The breakdown is basically Croatians, Serbians, and Muslims. These three groups are
essentially homogeneous, but segregate themselves as having a different language, nationality and even race. Since Bosnia in particular was incredibly diverse, each of the three entities wanted a claim for themselves. Each group wanted a part of Bosnia and the resulting war has been described to me from a Bosnian Muslim as, "A war about land and about hatred". The result was an ethnic cleansing of Muslims, 11,000 dead and 50,000 wounded in Sarajevo alone, and billions of dollars worth of structural damage.
This is a huge conflict, and I will mainly focus on the events in Sarajevo specifically. Between 1992 and 1995, Bosnian Serbs surrounded the city of Sarajevo, shelling it almost daily with gunfire from the surrounding hills. The pockmarked buildings are a testament to those three bloody years. It is known as the "Siege of Sarajevo" and residents couldnt leave or enter the city during this time. The only way in or out for people or supplies was through a secret tunnel that ran under the airport runway. I took a tour of this "Tunnel that saved Sarajevo" and watched a video composed of amateur clips that depicted snipers gunning down citizens of the city.
Water, food, and medical aid were all rationed and in short supply. While in the tunnel museum, I noticed food supplies that had been shipped over from the United States. The only working hotel at the time was the egg-colored Holiday Inn, which hosted international journalists. It sat on the main street into town, known as "Sniper Alley". Driving down the street today, the building facades are unmistakably shaken.
The warring finally ended with the Dayton Agreement in 1995 that was forged in Ohio under President Clinton's request. The goal was to seperate the territory within Bosnia into 49% Bosnian Serb territory (Serbian Republic) and 51% Muslim-Croat territory (Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina). Since then, NATO peacekeepers have remained in Sarajevo, monitoring the situation. Today, there is an invisible but recognized line between Bosnian Sarajevo and Serb Sarajevo. There are seperate police forces, individual armies, and street signs are in Cyrillic before and in Bosnian after you cross that line. The ultimate goal is for peace and harmony betwen Serbs and Muslims within Sarajevo, but a resident described the situation as, "having a long way to go. The peacekeepers cant leave anytime soon."
Learning that Bill Clinton initiated
This IS the best place in Sarajevo.
Buybook-the greatest bookstore ever. the end to the fighting in Sarajevo made me realize that some conflicts need a third party, or a mediator that can step in and yell "STOP". Before this trip, I had the mentality that war should be avoided at all costs, and peace is always the answer. But I have realized that, for one reason or another, some people just cant live with each other. In these cases, someone powerful needs to speak up and step in. Sometimes that is hard to do; being both financially and physically expensive, but it is necessary. In this case, the United States stepped in and halted the violence in Bosnia. It made me proud to be a citizen of the United States of America, knowing that the decisions our president made put an end to the violence in Eastern Europe. This place I knew so little about, but now I am glad to have realized so much.
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Ann
non-member comment
Wow
That's really interesting! I'm so glad you are experiencing all this (except for having your wallet stolen!) Love you!