Welcome to Sarajevo

Two casualties so far — my rockin’ Osprey bag has some major rips in it (what’s up with Lufthansa’s baggage handlers, anyway — there are rips in parts where there was nothin’ to rip!!) and my sunglasses got lost somewhere in Munich or Sarajevo — gotta replace.

Bosnia Herzegovina is about the size of West Virginia; Sarajevo is a beautiful European city of roughly 450,000 people, with tremendous history dating back from Ottoman rule, and much has been reconstructed post-war. In 1992, Bosnian Croats and Muslims voted in favor of independence and the Yugoslavia/Serbia of Slobodan Milosevic; and declared independence, with recognition or the State of Bosnia and Herzegovnia from the European Union and the United Nations.

Unbeknownst to the people of Sarajevo, the Yugoslav People’s Army and the Serbian paramilitaries had surrounded the city of Sarajevo; and attacked. By the end of 1992 over 70% of Bosnia and Herzegovina was occupied by Serbian forces and over a million Bosnian Mulims and Croats had fled the country; as the Milosevic had begun a program of “ethnic cleansing”, eradicating non-Serbians. When the Croat-Muslim conflict ended, some populations in BiH were able to get aid; but Sarajevo remained under siege by Serbian forces. Sarajevans used a tunnel that ran under the UN-controlled airport as their primary lifeline, under constant sniper and artillery fire for over 1200 days. Even though the city was under UN “protection”, 10,000 civilians including 1500 children were killed during the siege.

After the massacre in the Srebrenica safe zone, where over 7000 Bosnians were massacred under the “protection” of the United Nations Protection Force (after having been disarmed by the UN, at the Serbs’ insistence), and further rifts between NATO and the UN, America and Russia put increasing pressure on the groups involved to resolve the situation, and on December 14, 1995, the Dayton Peace Accords were signed. Serbs, Croats, and Bosnians now, seemingly, peacefully coexist, and the military has been disbanded (there’s a president from each group; they work together to govern the republic. Just imagine John McCain, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, governing, together.

Sarajevo is, according to the guidebooks, the place in continental Europe that best symbolizes the crossroads between east and west, between the Byzantine and Ottoman empires from the east and empires of Rome, Venice, and Vienna from the west. (Tim Clancy’s Bradt Guide “Bosnia & Herzegovina”). There’s an Orthodox church, and Catholic church, a mosque and synagogue all in the same square.

Doing a walking tour this afternoon. Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, Venetian, mosques, parks, rivers, coffee places, bars — you know. Rough start given the 6 am call (after going to sleep 1:30 am BiH time) regarding the Lakers, and a Bosnian beer with cevapi (small meat sausages of lamb and/or beef mix with pita bread and onions) and Bosnian cheese & warm pita (am not sure what kind of cheese — like cream cheese — maybe the kajmak) at midnite. The tomatoes (our “salad” of tomatos and onions) were amazing; ripe, red and juicy. Thanks Ms. Mussack, for letting me know that a) my cell phone works here and b) I judged right not buying that $30 purple and gold T-shirt in LAX to wear proud in the BiH. Darn.

~ by mimi on June 18, 2008.