Dobro došli U Bosnu i Hercegovinu!
Alhamdulillah, thanks to the Almighty, being in Bosnia and Herzegovina few weeks ago was a dream come true. It was a childhood dream of mine to come over to Bosnia. Since i was little, i watched through the television screen Bosnia war that happened there, and now its 20 years after the war, how life would be like in Bosnia? How do you go on after living through hell? This was the question i asked myself again and again. Bosnia, particularly its capital city, Sarajevo, was heavily destroyed during the 1990s. Constant bombings, lack of food, water and electricity, and being surrounded by the Serbian forces led to a violent isolation.
But, how about now? is Sarajevo safe?
We entered the Border of Bosnia by bus from Metkovic. Basically me and Farhana missed the early express bus in Dubrovnik that we've already booked earlier. But it was a blessing in disguise, the bus ticket fare was way cheaper, and we could see the board that signify the border of Bosnia even closer. My heart couldn't pump any harder because i'm too excited, alhamdulillah, here i am, i'm here! in Bosnia!
Bosnia and Herzegovina by location
Briefly about Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the Balkan Penninsula, Bosnia and Herzegovina is bordered by Croatia (to the North, South and West), Serbia (to the East) and Montenegro (to the Southeast). It is prevented from being landlocked by its 26km of Adriatic coastline, of which Neum is the principal town. Although there are flatlands to the North, most of the country is mountainous, and the capital Sarajevo is set amongst the Dinaric Mountain Range.
Sarajevo today as what people said, bears few scars of its war-torn past. Yes, that couldn't have been less true, there are scars everywhere you look, half-destroyed buildings, bullet holes, a devastated landscape. Husband of Pn Asmah, drove us around the city, past bullet-strewn buildings and piles of garbage heaps, i kept thinking of how different Sarajevo was from Croatia- huge different it really is!
However, not all of Sarajevo is like that. There are modern parts, beautiful ones, like the cool
Baščaršija area, with lots of cafe and restaurants and high-end shops.
Bosnia's history in a nutshell
i) History before 1992 Bosnia War
The city has a long history, a troubled ones. Bosnia has always been a region perched between east and west. In early Christian times, it was located about half-way between the important cities of Rome and Constantinople. During that time, religious affliations had many effects beyond spiritual. European Christendom was split into 2 parts based on those two cities. To the north of Bosnia, the Croats belonged firmly to the sphere of Catholic Christianity in Rome, and to the South, the Serbs and Bulgarians were firmly Orthodox Christian and looked toward Constantinople (now its Istanbul) for their religious, political and cultural models.
Being in the middle, plus the rugged nature of the countryside (Bosnia is blessed with its beautiful mountains and hills), meant that Bosnia was never firmly colonized or integrated into either the Catholic or Orthodox. Around 1200, there was even an independent Bosnian Kingdom, with population was nominally Christian but multiethnic, its borders were constantly shifting and its social structure remained very simple. Thus, the isolated region of Bosnia was ripe for succumbing to the pressure and blandishments of Ottoman rule, under which were many rewards, as well as exemption from certain kind of discrimination for converting to Islam. The Ottomans conquered the region in 15th century, and certainly it is not true that Bosnian Muslims today is substantially due to massive forcible conversions by the Ottomans. Some historians also attribute the Bosnian's embrace of Islam to their earlier adherence to an obscure, heretical sect of Christianity known as Bogomilism** has been exaggerated. None of the religions in preIslamic times was firmly established over the whole region in Bosnia.
The number of Muslims in Bosnia grew over the centuries, to some extent on account of Turkish immigration into the cities but mostly due to the style of conversion discussed above. The beautiful city of Sarajevo grew to prominence as administrative center for Ottoman Turks, even though they consisted of a bewildering variety of increasingly restless subjects.
But as nationalism grew among the Sultan's Slavic people, it became even more apparent that Bosnia was a very mixed region. In addition to the Muslims, there were large Serbian and Croatian population grops. In the 19th century, questions arised and the answer remain unclear; what would happen to Bosnia after the Turks left, would it be annexed by newly independent Serbia to the east or would the multinational Habsburg Empire, next door to the north be able to occupy it? Just how long would the Turks be able to maintain their grip on Bosnia?
And several years after war and peasant rebellion in the Balkans, Bosnia did fall to Habsburg Empire (Austria-Hungary) in 1878. They occupied Bosnia until 1908, when it was fully annexed and incorporated into the Empire. So, Bosnia turned into effective administration by the Austrians, and they succeeded somewhat in industrializing it, but the occupation was controversial. The powerful Hungarian parties in the Empire resented the presence of more Slavic minorities, and neighboring Serbian very much wished to annex the region itself. But Emperor Franz Josef made his country easier to defend against attacks from the south, since the Bosnia and Herzegovina was the hinterland to the Habsburg-controlled strip of Adriatic coast known as Dalmatia. Also the annexation came at a time of great expansionistic on other part of major European powers. Britain, France, Italy and Germany were engaged in significant imperialism in Africa, while The Habsburg Empire was unable to join in the free-for-all on other continents, but it could expand in Balkans. The main reasons were to prevent the region from falling into Serbian hands and to stop the peasant uprisings from spreading into Slavic areas under Habsburg control.
This occupational was a fateful move because in 1914 friction over Bosnia provided the spark that ignite World War 1. A group of Bosnian Serb nationalists, supported by the neighboring Serbian government assassinated the heir to the Habsburg throne in protest of the Austrian occupation. The death of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophia, Duchess of Hohenberg occured in June 28, 1914, a date significant to Serbs as the anniversary of the medieval battle of Kosovo, up to 1918.
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| near Latin Bridge in the middle of town, on June 28, 1914, is where the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophia , Duchess of Hohenberg; ignites the First World War (WWI) |
Event : Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophia assassination
A Serbian terrorist group, called The Black Hand, had planned this assassination since Franz Ferdinand decided to visit Sarajevo to make an inspection of the Austro-Hungarian troops which was scheduled for 28th June 1914. It was planned that Franz Ferdinand with his wife would met at the station and taken by car to the City Hall where they would have lunch before going to inspect the troops.
There were 7 young men who had been trained in bomb throwing and marksmanship were stationed along the route that Franz Ferdinand's car , and would follow from the City Hall to the inspection.
The first two terrorist were unable to throw their grenades because the streets were too crowded and the car was travelling quite fast. The third terrorist, a young man named Cabrinovic, threw a grenade which exploded under the car following that of the Archduke. The Archduke and his wife were unhurt, some of his attendants were injured and had to be taken to hospital.
Later after lunch, at the City Hall, Franz Ferdinand insisted on visiting the injured attendants in hospital. However, on the way to the hospital the driver took a wrong turn. Realising it was a wrong turn, he stopped the car and reversed. Another terrorist, named Gavrilo Princip took this chance and stepped forward and fired two shots. The first hit his wife, the pregnant Sophia on the stomach, and she died almost instantly. The second shot hit the Archduke in the neck, he died a short while later.
The assassination of Franz- Ferdinand and Sophia set off a rapid chain of events, Austria-Hungary, like many countries around the world, blamed the Serbian government for the attack and hoped to use the incident as justification for settling the question of Slav nationalism once and for all. As Russian supported Serbia, an Austro-Hungarian declaration of war was delayed until its leaders received assurance from Germany would support their cause in the event of a Russian intervention-which would likely involve Russia's ally, France and possibly Britain as well. On July 28, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, and the tenuous peace between Europe's great powers collapsed. Within a week, Russia, Belgium, France, Britain and Serbia lined up against Austria-Hungary and Germany, and World War I had begun. This long and disastrous war would see the total collapse of both the Ottoman empires, and in 1918 Bosnia became part of the new country of Yugoslavia.
ii) Bosnia War 1992-1995
Eighty years later the bullets were flying again. In 1992, the city of Sarajevo was under siege from Serbian
forces four devastating years after Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence from Yugoslavia. Serbian troops had surrounded the capital of Sarajevo, it sits in the bottom of a valley surrounded by hills. When the referendum was passed and independence was declared, the Serbians began to fire on and bomb the city. Nearly 12,000 innocent civilians died as basic services were cut off, shells and machine gun fire rained down from the hills and snipers picked off civilians from afar.
Post-war ; Life after 20 years of war
The damage was is still obvious now, a scant twenty years later, site of Europe's worst genocide since World War II, the echoes of the conflicts still haunt the country's land. Although most of the downtown buildings have been rebuilt, bullet holes are everywhere. White gravestones scar the surrounding hillsides, far more than there should be for a city this size.
Bosnia's resilient citizens are still slowly rebuilding their infrastructure with remainders of the war all around. The remains of massacred Bosnian Muslims are found daily and buried in the Srebrenica-Potočari Memorial and Cemetery. Most victims were males, Bosnian Muslims and Croats, over 500 bodies were found and buried in 2012 alone.
The war largely succeeded in separating the country's three main people; Serbs, Croats and Bosniak (Muslims) and the peace accords cemented those division into law. Today, Bosnia's children are growing up more isolated from neighboring ethnic groups than their parents were. The majority of Bosnian schools have been segregated according to ethnicity. The country itself operates under the guidance of three different presidents, each representing the three different ethinicities ; Croats, Bosniaks and Serbs.
## a good reflection for us Malaysian, what if this happens in Malaysia?
People may forgive, but it must be damn near impossible to forget. And yet the city is moving on, opening its arms to visitors.
Tunnel of Hope
Tunnel of Hope or Tunel Spasa, is definitely one of the must-to-go places if you come to Bosnia! Uncle Ramlan brought us to this place by car after we had Borak and cevapi for breakfast.
During the siege of Sarajevo during Bosnian War 92'-95', this tunnel was used to move food, weapon, and humanitarian aid to come to the city, and people to get out. This tunnel enables linkage and communication between the city of Sarajevo and to the area near the airport,which was entirely cut-off by the Serbian forces. The construction was built in secret on March 1st ,1993 by Nedzad Brankovic, a Bosnian civil engineer, created the plans for the tunnel's construction. Together with the besieged citizens of Sarajevo, they volunteered digging in 8 hours shift, starting from Jan 93' and was completed in mid 93'. The construction took time though, owing to a lack of skilled manpower, tools and materials to complete the task. Consequently, the tunnel was dug around the clock by hand, with a shovel and pick, and wheelbarrow. These diggers work for long hours, digging from opposite ends and would be paid for their efforts in cigarettes rather than money. Cigarettes went on to become the most common form of currency during the seige.
The tunnel was 1.5m in height, about 1m in width and ran for approximately 960m in length. It was told that, during the time it was used, it is estimated that 20million tons of food entered the city and 1 million people passed in and out of it, in that small underground room. Subhanallah!
The tunnel had a few problems throughout the course of its life, the main big one was being excess underground water. The water had to be bailed out by hand. But even with excess water in the tunnel, over time electricity cables and an oil pipe were also laid through the tunnel.
and thanks to the Sida Kolar, she is the superwoman of Bosnian war. She risked her life everyday to provide water to each person exiting the tunnel. This tunnel is actually located under the house of Sida Kolar. Kolar lived in Butmir, 800m away from Sarajevo airport. In war time, Sida Kolar stayed at home instead of going to a safe place. May Allah bless her soul! She took care of the wounded soldiers, cooked for them, and sent them meals to the soldiers in front. She risked her own neck for the national liberation!
And it was remarkable, whilst the Serb forces never knew the exact location of the tunnel entrances, they did come mightily close to finding it with a mortar shell. Kuasa Allah! they never succeeded in finding this tunnel until the war ended.
I felt welcome in Sarajevo, and quickly fell for the winding streets and remarkable cultural and religious melting pot of the city. Mosques are almost everywhere, cathedrals and synagogues lay within eyeshot of each other, east meeting west in a swirling mass of colours, sounds, smells and culture.
The call to prayer rang out five times a day, subhanallah, its been long i haven't hear the beautiful azan prayer calling.
Shisha smoke wafted from darkened cafes as teenagers walked past with gelato in hand. We didn't miss out having our must-eat-gelato-icecream too!
The food was plentiful and excellent, the people were warm and generous. There was plenty to see and do, in a compact, easily walkable area. But those things, important as they are, can be found in a lot of places. They are often necessary for me to love a new city, but they usually aren’t sufficient.
Sarajevo was more than that. It was beautiful in its own, war-damaged way. It was safe, but with a gritty undertone that kept things interesting. Most importantly for me, it was very different to both anywhere I had been before and my expectations.
How could i forget the moment of kissing a beautiful Bosniak little baby. She stared at me from afar and her sister brought her to me, and let me kiss this adorable girl.
I just didn’t expect so much diversity in a city of under half a million people. I didn’t expect so much history in a place ravaged by war. I didn’t expect so much friendliness to outsiders when the local population has been through so much. I really didn’t expect to love Sarajevo at all.
Surprisingly, wonderfully, I did!
so, the answer to the question above, Sarajevo is definitely a safe place to visit and you should put in your must-to-go list people!
