Siege of Sarajevo
This post comes with a warning. If you are looking for a light read this isn't it.
From 1992 to 1996, Sarajevo endured the longest siege in modern history, during the Bosnian War, leaving a long-lasting impact on its residents.
We met with a lovely 38-year-old lady, Samra, who toured us around the city sharing heart breaking stories along the way. She is a Bosnian War survivor.
In 1984 Sarajevo proudly hosted the winter Olympics where the country united with the world. Just eight years later, the country lay in ruins.
In 1992, the Bosnian conflict began, and lasted longer than the torture of Stalingrad, killing some 11,000 people in the city, including more than 1,500 children, before NATO air strikes finally ended this horror.
Now years after the Dayton Peace Agreement of 1995 ended the war, the city has rebuilt but many scars still remain.
On our way to the Tunnel of Hope, we travel along sniper alley, the most dangerous spot in the city during the siege. Sarajevo sits in a valley surrounded by mountains.
Back then they randomly shot grenades and fired assault rifles into the houses, and at people, who had no way out. Snipers who perched under protective cover of the mountains had easy sightlines to car and pedestrian traffic. Bullet and shell holes can still be seen in many of the buildings.
The entrance to The Tunnel of Hope is instantly a visual of a damaged home full of holes.
Citizens of Sarajevo were unable to receive food and supplies because Serb forces were controlling the majority of the city lines. There were two neighbourhoods on either side of the airport that were free zones. A secret tunnel could join these two free zones.
Amazingly, it took only four months to build the 800-meter-long tunnel with bare hands, shovles, picks and wheelbarrows.
The tunnel was the only way to supply the city with essential groceries, water, fuel, newspapers weapons and humanitarian aid.
We learned of the significance of the tunnel via a video, photos, explanations and a walk through a slightly larger version of what the tunnel was like. It was a somber experience.
Samra's story as a war survivor made it even more real. She was a young girl living on the 17th floor of a highrise with her parents, and recalls her mother strapping jugs of water to her waist, shoulders and hands and having to carry them up 17 flights as there was no power to run the elevators.
Sadly, her father went missing, and her mother eventually connected with a friend who helped them escape. They snuck through the tunnel and once on the otherside were driven up and out of the mountains to safety. She vividly remembers the fear of driving on a dark mountain road without headlights on.
When they left, her mother vowed to never return, yet after the war they did return to the same apartment complex they escaped from and still live in today. This is the home they love.
After a morning of somber conversations we lightened things up by visiting the Sarajevo Olympic Bobsleigh and Luge Track built for the 1984 Olympics on Trebević mountain overlooking the City of Sarajevo.
It is now a canvas for graffiti art where tourists can visit to walk up the track to a beautiful viewpoint of the city.
Later in the day we visited the Gallery 11/7/95. I thought the morning visit to the tunnel was tough but this gallery visit was difficult.
Gallery visits can be transformative experiences, but my visit to Gallery 7/11/95 was very emotional. The gallery, bearing the date of the Srebrenica massacre, serves as a haunting reminder of the brutality of the Bosnian War. The exhibition provides documentary scenes of what was left of Srebrenica in the wake of this genocide that killed 8372 people between approximately July 11 and 19 1995. As I walked through the exhibits, I was immersed in powerful and heart-wrenching images that told the stories of the victims, their families, and the profound loss suffered. The emotional weight in the room was strong , leaving me and those I was with, with a profound sense of empathy for those who endured such atrocities. I often reflect back to my life in the early nineties and cannot image having lived through this hell. The art on display a long with the stories behind them, is a somber reflection of human suffering, reminding me of the importance of never forgetting history's darkest moments and working towards a more peaceful and just world.
The impact of this exhibit is unlike anything else I have experienced. After hearing first-hand stories from our guide Samra, and hearing of what is going on right now in places, such as Israel and the Ukraine, my emotions run high. How and why can mankind be so cruel?
I did not have the focus to work on my blog at night. There is so much going on in my head that it would be 20 pages long with; to be continued at the end .
Despite it's emotional toll on my Pshycy, I believe I am walking away from this experience a better person, with a slightly better knowledge of what took place less than 30 years ago.
