sun drenched Snipper Alley

After a pleasant bus journey through the southern Serbian states and leafy (almost American like picket fence areas) northern Bosnia and Herzegovnia (B&H) I returned to Sarajevo at 11.30pm and despite knowingly getting ripped off on a taxi made for the central city and the Travellers Home Hostel where we had an entire floor to ourselves. After dropping our bags we headed straight to the Turkish quarter to have a refreshment bumping into my Montenegro-Sarajevo bus crew which made for a fun night.

The following morning after a slow start we made our way to the National Museum which set to close at 1pm, we negotiated 1/2 price entry (at 12.45pm!) and whipped around the exhibits in record time. I had mistakenly thought this was the home of the siege exhibition so had a sad feeling that we had missed the one museum I wanted to see. Alas we rounded the corner and in an overgrown modernist bullet riddled cube we found the Bosnian Historical Museum. This museum offers a fascinating insight into the 4 year seige of the city of Sarajevo. 

Apartment block on Sniper Alley

For those of you who don't know or can't remember the details of the siege I hope the following may help. B&H is landlocked with neighbouring Serbia to the north and Croatia to the west and south and Montenegro to the East (most maps still have Serbia and Montenegro as one nation - like my 2005 LP! - so I haven't included an image for those visual'ites). In 1992 the Serbian Army decided to take over the capital city of B&H to increase their land ownership. The population of Sarajevons was made up of mostly Serbs or Croats - heavens its the middle of the two countries its hardly surprising. B&H prides itself on being a European epicentre for Muslims, Roman Catholics and Orthodox Catholics and this of course caused more problems with the Serbs being Orthodox and Croats being Roman the remaining Muslim were the dividing religious majority. From the understanding I gained during my visit to B&H the Serbs initially attacked Croatia in the beautiful port town of Dubrovnik - which will be covered in another post - and the Croats surrended seeing advantage in working with their northern neighbours to divide the state of B&H. As such the Serbs attacked the northern capital Sarajevo whilst the Croats took to the southern gem Mostar (again another post). Again I will say this is all in my understanding as the information on this war is so fresh and told through the tales of people I have met, tourist information from B&H and in the museums. All of which deals with raw emotion and is consumed by victims and perpetrators alike.

So in light of this I was in the northern city of Sarajevo  where over the course of 1992 - 1995, the capital was under seige from their northern neighbours. And by seige I mean snipers on the hills of the deep valley taking constant pot shots at their human targets. From 2km away with Swarovski crystal technology weapons and tanks. Usain Bolt would be challenged to beat even a pensioner in Sarajevo in the sprint for relative protection from the tourist rebels. Walking to work was an impossibility - or so it seems to me at least, yet Sarajevons had to survive during these years. It goes back to primitive survival -  food and secure shelter. Curiously it was 1990 in Europe so many houses had modern technologies envied by rural folk like me and modern life - these were not primative people which you or I could identify with. Now by Sarajevons they could have been Bosnian Serbs, Bosnian Croats or Bosnian Muslims. But together they were Bosnian (Herzegovnia is in the south and there is a slight divide here but they proudly band together as a nation) and their homes and livelihoods were under attack. Blitz culture taking on a much greater modern meaning. 

The Bosnian Historical Museum offered us an insight into the lives of those who lived in the city. The daily rations from the UN who had come into the city (in a reputably delayed fashion) were from the Vietnam war. THIS WAS 1993 BY THE TIME THEY WERE HANDED OUT!!!! Even Nellie's bottom cupboard has been rided of Davidson's Discount tins. Not to say they aren't from Woolworths of course! Sorry for the screaming but this just infuriates me. It also showed images of people walking across the street behind UN tankers to protect them from the snipers. And images of death at the local market just metres from the hostel we were staying in. It is believed 10,000 people were killed during the 4 years and 1500 of which were children.

As we left the museum we realised we were on what was refered to as Sniper Alley and this made us double check and question every step. The  broad four lane street was lined with large communist style apartment blocks, hotels and office blocks. The road was the main link to the UN held airport so it was an obvious target to cut off for the Serb offensive. Bullet holes could be seen on every building, in every wall and reconstruction, fresh plastering or open wounds could be noted on every building on the street. Nothing was safe. It was a beautiful summer day in Sarajevo and the realisation that such days existed during this dark time seemed unfathomable. It also made every step of my visit one I counted very lucky. This is a beautiful city. Not just its cultural depth as a meeting point of religion and its historical significance (the assassination of Franz Ferdinand on the Latin Bridge was the catalyst to the beginning of WWI) but the setting. The hills are immense and you could just imagine a happy life here in the sunny summer and the snow capped winter. 

Why the UN and other international forces and aid weren't coming into B&H to help defend (not occupy) is beyond me....or infact it isn't. There were European Muslims amongst those defending their home of hundreds of years being slaughtered as they try to cross the street. This had to be about religion. Irradication of Islam in Europe was my assumption of the motivation of the inaction. Because low and behold we (the western world) have all poured money into help rebuild it Sarajevo once it was settled to try and sate our guilt. 

My blood is starting to boil. Joanne. Breathe. 

Sarajevo Seige map 1992-95

After returning to the central city we crossed the Latin bridge (of which curiously I never took a single photo of!) and met the Tunnel tour. This gave as a speed tour of the city including discovering that the Bosnian National Library was burned to the ground with 90% of all the books lost. Book burning sends me into a rage fit for a straight jacket. The tunnel itself was under the UN held airport in suburban Sarajevo. The map may help explain the significance (the airport is to the left of the words Serbian Forces..ie its the narrowest part in white) but essentially the Sarajevons were at the mercy of what the UN could provide (when they finally arrived) and what they could get on the black market. To get to the black market though was one of the most deadly activities known to man in the 1990's. The idea of a tunnel meant arms and goods could be bought into help defend the city. In 1993 it took 6 months and spanned about 1km. Water was a huge issue for them and large amounts were pumped out to ensure it was passable along with a train line which helped with the transportation of goods, machinery and weapons. Homes on either side of the airport offered entry and exit points. Of the side we visited the 90 year old women still lives in the house which houses the museum and lives happily off the profits of their hardship (they profited during the war taking a usage tax from tunnel travellers). We only walked maybe 8-10m in the tunnel but it was enough to understand the claustrophobic conditions.

A central city building shows what
90% of Sarajevo looked like in 1996

We were exhausted after the tales of the day. The emotional toll it took was pretty incredible. I saw this on the news every night through out intermediate and the early years of high school. I didn't understand it. But I do have an image of lovers trying to meet shot dead - the international media called them Romeo and Juliet. It seared in my youthful brain as all kinds of wrong for two people with a happy future ahead of them. But as a little girl I didn't know the ineffectiveness of the UN forces in this bloody siege. The two victims younger than I am today had their lives taken for what?

That evening due to a lack of Rugby on a seemingly sport mad cable selection, we watched on my little netbook the AB's beaten by South Africa which didn't brighten my mood and I enjoyed the delicious local pie dish with Spinach (which is really silver beat -Yum!) in a wheel of filo pastry called zelijanica. Later we met up with our bus from Belgrade buddies Bosnian Serb and Russian Americans noting that all the locals only drink soft drinks, reminding us we were in Muslim Europe. 

Sarajevo changed me a little bit more. It showed me a war of my time. The hardships of people in my generation. A lost generation. Children unable to play in the streets, living in fear for their lives. Children used to grief and hardship beyond my understanding. Children who look like me. They are white European. How did this happen I asked.

All I could say was how sorry I was that my little country didn't come and gun down the big bad bullies from the North. And I will try and ensure this never happens in future. There is your challenge readers, name the conflicts happening in the world today. Why are they happening and what interest do you have in their plights of the innocent victims of these wars?

I kept singing a line from a song I run to "Inaction is a weapon of Mass destruction" and it can't be more true than in B&H in the 90's. 

For those of you interested in visiting the city. YOU ABSOLUTELY SHOULD. Its safe and friendly and despite the bullet holes its a very resilient place. The people all have stories and for the most part excellent English. I really hope to go back and enjoy more of the new future of Sarajevo, where people live together in seeming harmony and the sense of community is strong. Also I am keen to note the new trend for expatriate returning to their once war ravaged city. Somehow this seems to make the city seem more cosmopolitan and developed. When you visit be prepared for your heart to break a little and to enjoy some delicious pies and baklava Turkishesque. And don't feel like you can't listen to some Back to Bedlam as well - James Blunt wrote a few tunes from his album whilst serving for the UN.