Europe 2005 Sarajevo Hills Tourist

Sarajevo is one of my favorite cities in the whole world. The city is quite charming in an eerie sort of way. It’s quite provincial and very historic. But, perhaps the reason why I find it so alluring is what happened during the Siege of Sarajevo, which is understood to be the longest siege in the history of modern warfare, lasting from April, 1992 to February, 1996. This occurred during the Bosnian War for independence from Yugoslavia. During that time the population of the city declined and estimated 36% due to the artillery shelling and sniper fire from the hills where I am standing. The story of Sarajevo is the story of the abandonment of a people by the rest of the world. The story of Sarajevo is a testament to the inhumanity of one group of people to another. I think it’s a story that everyone should not only hear and try to understand the implications of the atrocity that occurred in Sarajevo, but to understand that such stories are still occurring. 11/2005