Sunday, August 4th: On a bus to Belgrade, I leave Sarajevo, Bosnia/ Herzegovina with a strong conflict of emotions unmatched in any city or country I have ever visited with the exception of Germany. The fuse in Europe's powder keg grew to become one of the most unique cities I have ever visited: infused with diversity, great food, vibrant art and culture, lively shops, cobblestone streets, and absolutely breathtaking geography that surrounds the valley. Here is really where East meets West in Europe, as the city boasts large Muslim, Greek-orthodox, and Roman Catholic communities and also has a fair number of Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews. It is cheap; it is fun; it is BEAUTIFUL!
With that being said, this is still very much a city recovering by an aggressive siege undertaken by Serbia and Montenegro from 1991-1995 as part of a Pan- Serb movement led by former Serb dictator/ nationalist Slobodan Milosevic. It is a city that played host to one of the top-five historical events in the 20th Century: the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by Gavrilo Principe in June 1914, thus sparking the first world war. It is a city that heroically tried to resist against Hitler, thus delaying his invasion against Russia and changing the course of World War II. It is a city that proudly hosted the 1984 Winter Olympics and proudly still longs for the reign of dictator Josip Tito. See the mix here?
So, I really only spent little more than a day here and that was enough for me to really grasp all that I explained above. I started yesterday by going and seeing the exact spot where Principe assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie. After teaching World War I for seven of my nine years as an educator, I thought that was the most important place for me to visit here and, as you can see from my first picture, I was pretty incredibly excited!
At 11 yesterday, I took a tour of sites related to the siege of Sarajevo that took place from 1991 to 1995 by the former Yugoslav army made up mostly of Serbs and Montenegrans who wanted to ethnically cleanse Sarajevo of anyone not Serb or Montenegran. Here, I felt saddened and angry as we visited hilltops that the Serbs used to kill thousands of innocent civilians. I saw Bosnian - Muslim gravesites as well as Serb - Christians who heroically died trying to defend Sarajevo from Milosevic's aggression. I visited a memorial dedicated to innocent children who died during the shelling of the city. It is the picture of the green statue thst symbolizes a mother doing everything she can to protect her child. Two particularly disturbing places I saw yesterday were a maternity hospital right next to the Olympic stadium that was deliberately bombed and then "sniper alley", a wide road that goes from the airport to downtown that the Serb army used to shoot down civilians. What they would do is shoot one in the leg to draw others out to help and then have wide open head shots against other civilians. I became sick and saddened learning all of this.
Finally, we visited a tunnel by the airport that was dug by the Bosnian army to bring humanitarian aid in and sneak women and children out. There, I saw weapons and various military artifacts as well as evidence of UN aid. It was emblematic of the stoicism showcased by Sarajevans during the siege.
After what proved to be a long, emotionally draining afternoon, I cleared my head by going for a run in the 90 plus degree heat here and then getting one final feel for Sarajevo by walking its many lively streets, observing how its Muslims break fast each night during Ramadan, and eating some amazing Bosnian minced meat on pita bread. THIS is how I want to remember Sarajevo for and my hope is that it continues to move forward over the next 20 years. Sarajevo today is how I picture Berlin might have been 24 years ago, right after the fall of the Wall. It is rebuilding but still structurally flawed; it is exciting; it has a TON of potential; and it is a lot of fun and has a great deal of character. People here are also incredibly friendly and proud and are grateful that, as a tourist, I took an interest in the city and its past. It is for all of those reasons that Sarajevo has become one of my favorite places I have ever been, and I really look forward to returning in the next 5-10 years!
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