(Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina)

I went on a guided tour today that was based on “The Siege of Sarajevo”.  The city was besieged for almost 4 years in the early 1990s, until an internationally-facilitated peace accord finally stopped the hostilities throughout the new nation of Bosnia & Herzegovina.

I am really trying to avoid taking sides or politicizing this blog.   However, I should provide at least a little bit of non-contentious, factual background to help contextualize what I’ll be seeing on this trip.  There are many stories arising from the Bosnian conflict of 1992-1995; today, I’ll just focus on the Siege of Sarajevo.  I also won’t speculate on the causes, the blame, or any of the external issues that affected the conflict.

Bosnia & Herzegovina was one of the independent nations that emerged from the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991-2.  While there is at least one exception (Kosovo was part of Serbia when Yugoslavia was still united), each independent nation that exists today was originally a republic within Yugoslavia prior to its breakup.  Bosnia & Herzegovina was somewhat different, though, as it contained significant populations of three major religious groups:  Bosnian Croats (Catholic), Bosnian Serbs (Orthodox), and Bosniaks (Muslims).  Ethnically and linguistically, these groups are basically identical.  They have also lived together for many hundreds of years with very few disputes.  However, from 1992-1995, these groups were in conflict.

During the Siege, Sarajevo was virtually surrounded by Bosnian Serb forces.  Life in Sarajevo during the Siege was very hard and there was no real connection to the outside world.  Imagine not taking a bath or shower for 3 years because there was no running water (or electricity, for that matter) and no access to the rivers…but there were much more serious dangers.

Our guide talked extensively about the snipers positioned throughout the mountains surrounding Sarajevo.  Because the mountains are so close (the city is actually located on the lower slopes), venturing outside one’s home raised the very real possibility of death or grievous injury from sniper fire.  You basically lived in your basement and hoped to survive until tomorrow.  Our guide was a teenager at the time and lost both his grandmother and uncle, as well as numerous cousins, to such sniper fire.  His childhood best friend was killed by a grenade.   Over 11,500 Sarajevans, of all “groups”, died during the Siege.

As the war went on, the besieged city eventually became tenuously connected to the outside world through the daring construction of an 800 metre long tunnel under the UN-controlled airport.  We walked through a small portion of the narrow tunnel (1.0 by 1.6 metres) – it was hard enough without carrying 70 kg of supplies or dealing with the deep water that flooded the tunnel.  However, even if you could get to the tunnel entrance and then make it through the tunnel itself, you still needed to cross a further kilometre of extremely dangerous land before reaching an area that could be considered “safe”.

After viewing the tunnel, we went back into the mountains where snipers were based…and where the 1984 Winter Olympic bobsled and luge events were held.  It was startling to see the sports facilities lying in such desolation.  They haven’t been used since the war started, nor have they been maintained.  The mountain lifts, hotels and restaurants were shattered concrete shells that were being swallowed up by the encroaching weeds and forest (the photo at the top of this post is actually the top station of a cable car).  Our guide took us to a place where we could safely walk down the crumbling bobsled track for about 15 minutes.   Instead of being invigorating, however, it felt dangerous…almost like the war was still going on.  The mountain was silent, abandoned, and shrouded by wild vegetation and a thick mist.  It was impossible to conceive of this spot being the site of a joyous Olympic celebration.

We saw and heard much more.  We began to lose track of the cemeteries, explosion sites and “former buildings”.  Yet this was only one location:  similar stories, with different parties and roles, occurred throughout the dissolving Yugoslavia.  It was hard to reconcile this with the safe and comfortable feeling I had yesterday in downtown Sarajevo.

Looking for some balance, I treated myself to a nice dinner afterwards.  I can’t imagine facing the reminders of this conflict on a daily basis…but, despite ongoing reconstruction efforts, that is precisely what many residents of Bosnia & Herzegovina still do.

(Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina)

I will admit that my decision to visit Bosnia & Herzegovina (“BiH” for short, as they write it here) elicited some surprised looks, for those who knew about my travel plans.  It’s not a place that has a high tourism profile in Canada.  I will also admit that upon arrival my first impressions were lukewarm at best:  the weather was rainy, the airport was dark and the ride downtown from the airport was uninspiring.  I saw lots of crumbling buildings from the communist era and even my (nice) hotel didn’t inspire a lot of confidence from the outside.   I decided to take a nap, as I really hadn’t slept on the overnight flight to Vienna.

However, once I woke up, walking one block from my hotel made me feel a whole lot better.   After making my way through “Pigeon Square” (pictured above), I saw a completely different Sarajevo.  The old town is a compelling mix of  Ottoman and Central European influences.  At times, I felt like I was in Istanbul, while at others I could have been in Austria or northern Italy.   One key difference is that Sarajevo is markedly cheaper than any of those other places.  One can live and eat very well here, on a Canadian budget.  I had a very nice meal in a rustic old town restaurant that would have cost at least twice as much (if not more) in Rome.

After dinner, even though the sun was long gone, it seemed like the whole town was out for a walk in the (very large) pedestrian district.  I heard many different languages and saw many different styles of dress.  I felt completely safe and it was very peaceful in the soft light and soft rain.

Of course, there is a flip side.  BiH has unemployment that, depending on your source, could be approaching 40%.  The unemployed young people seem to be somewhat restless.  The history and cultural diversity that makes it such a fascinating place to visit can also make it vulnerable…as we saw during the tragic events of the 1990s.

I’m glad that I had a pleasant evening here and saw how BiH could work well.  Tomorrow, I am going on a guided tour concerning the Siege of Sarajevo and will undoubtedly hear some different perspectives on BiH’s recent history.