Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

These next few blogs are about my very brief five days in Bosnia and Herzegovina (July 6-11)…and my impressions during that time. Keep in mind that I am went to Bosnia after being in Beograd and Serbia for several weeks. In Beograd I have recognized only three or four buildings that were obviously bombed by NATO – which are virtually the only visual remnants of those three months of bombing there in 1999. Two of these buildings are in a section on the edge of the city center; while the other two buildings are barely noticeable, in other sections of the city. When the NATO bombings are referred to in Serbia, it is with a general sense of indignation, lack of context, and/or self-sympathy. Of course, was a traumatic three months for everyone here, including the pets - some of whom, to this day, have PTSD symptoms. Many buildings that were very symbolic for the people in Beograd were destroyed or almost destroyed.

However, in places like Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina - where there siege lasting about 3 YEARS; the damage and continued effect has been a tad more extreme. After being in Sarajevo, I began to understand better what the people at IAN were talking about. The energy of the city when I entered it was remarkable to me. The best way I can describe it is visually: Sarajevo reminded me of a woman whose body is completely underground, her head and face are barely above the surface, face bent forward and down and her eyes closed. Deep within her, far under the surface, is a well of emotion - intensely angry and bitter emotion. The emotion is subdued, but ready to be awakened. Outwardly, her scars are evident - but these scars run far deeper than what the surface can show.

It has been twelve years since the war, but in the areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina - around Sarajevo, Visegrad, and Srebrenica (where I was), it feels like it was not so long ago.

Brief Impressions of Sarajevo

Although I was only in Sarajevo for about two days, I was able to gain a deeper understanding of what S., D., and K. were talking about.

Sarajevo seemed very under populated and had a small-town feel to it (as opposed to Beograd, which is considerably larger city than Sarajevo, but still feels overpopulated). The ravages of war are present ALL around Sarajevo...in nearly every building there are bullet holes and or mortar holes...many of which have either not been repaired at all, or have just been patched but not painted over. SO many LARGE buildings are bombed-out and burned-out beyond repair...imagine empty shells buildings with trees growing through them scattered all around the city. I was amazed at how apparent the destruction still was. From what I was told, Sarajevo used to consist of: 1/3 Muslims, 1/3 Orthodox, and 1/3 Catholics – while now it is 89% Muslim. And now, apparently, around 75% of those who are now living in Sarajevo are actually from the country-side or small towns.

Throughout my time in Sarajevo, we walked around and had some wonderful, authentic Bosnian food. I have heard that the ćevapčići in Sarajevo is the best, and I would have to agree. The gibanica (pie-pita), and various deserts were also fabulous. We met some great people at the conference, some of which were poets and artists. One poet/writer would go around to each of the people I was with, at various times during our conversation, and say something he had perceived about the person. Surprisingly, he was pretty right-on in his insights about them. When he got to me, he said I was like a blueberry. (My mind immediately went to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and I imagined myself turning blue, expanding-out like a blueberry and being rolled away to be de-juiced.) Thankfully, he went on to say that I was like a blueberry because I am 'healing'…much better than my initial thought.

The Genocide Conference

I went to three days of the “Seventh Bianual Meeting of the International Association of Genocide Scholars” while in Sarajevo. Part of why I wanted to go to the conference was in order to learn more about genocide, what research is being done, past research, possible preventative measures, et cetera. (Another reason was to see Sarajevo and to get a better feel for what went on there. I have read about the war between Croatia and Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, but it is different to actually go and see the places for myself.) The conference was very interesting, and quite thought provoking. I met some very interesting people, and heard a variety of perspectives. A surprise to me was that one of the three presidents of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zeljko Komsic, spoke at the conference briefly. I was surprised that a politician was speaking at the conference, let alone one of the three presidents’ of the country! He mainly spoke about how a genocide had, in fact, been carried out towards the Bosnians and that those men who were still at large needed to be brought to justice…

Later, Carla Del Ponte, the Chief Prosecutor of International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) came to speak. Because she was late, on of the prosecuting attorneys under her, Norm, spoke briefly about the difficulties of prosecuting someone under the term ‘genocide’, because there were very specific guidelines and requirements for this. There is a real difference to be tried for genocide as opposed to crimes against humanity. Both Carla and Norm were barraged by pretty intense questions about their lack of convictions so far. They both explained later that the reason certain Serbians that had gone to trial did not get convicted was because the courts had not allowed the evidence that the prosecutors had brought forth. She spoke about how the prosecuting attorneys can only prosecute from a specific list, and people from these lists must be extradited from the countries they are in. The talk was very informative, but not very encouraging...