Into Pieces

It was a grey winter day in early 1989. I was on a 30+-hour train ride (those only the young and penniless take) from Vienna to Athens and at about 2 am, we reached Yugoslavia. The border officer told me that I needed a visa even though I was only in transit so I got the undecipherable stamp on my passport. I could, however, make out 2 dates: Jan. 29, 1989 and Feb. 6, 1989. In Athens, I happened to come across the Yugoslavian embassy so I went in and asked if I'd need another visa on the way back since the one I had appeared to be valid until the 6th. "You're fine", I was told. On my way back to Western Europe in the afternoon of February 4, the Yugoslavian border officer told me that I needed a visa so I showed him the stamp from the week before. "No good, you need visa". "Wait, your embassy in Athens told me I could use this one to go back". "You need visa!" For $5, I didn't think it was worth the argument, so I got another stamp, all the time thinking "Can't these people get their act together?"

No, they wouldn't be able to keep it together. I didn't know at the time but tensions were already brewing in Yugoslavia, a federation that encompassed 6 republics and 2 autonomous provinces. After the fall of communism, ethnic tensions that had grown throughout the 80's rose even more, stoked by a stark contrast between the Serbian goal of more centralization and the other republics' desire for greater autonomy. As republics proclaimed their independence, ethnic Serbs who lived within their borders and wanted to remain with the Yugoslav federation initiated armed resistance with the aid of the Yugoslav People's Army. Nowhere was the conflict bloodier than in Bosnia & Herzegovina, a country that housed 3 ethnicities: Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs. The latter placed Sarajevo under siege from April 1992 to February 1996, the longest of a capital city in modern history, ending with over 11,000 civilians killed and 56,000 wounded.

The end of the war came with the Dayton Agreement that created a unique government system of two entities, each with roughly half the country’s territory and its own constitution: the Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina controlled by Bosniaks and Croats, and the Serb Republic. Presidency of the country has 3 members (one Bosniak, one Croat and one Serb) elected for a 4-year term, one of whom is the chairman and head of state. Chairmanship is rotated among the 3 members every 8 months.

I confess that I was a bit apprehensive as the plane neared Sarajevo. Not for any security concern – Sarajevo is as safe as any other European capital -, but I wondered what I was going to find in a place that suffered so much physical and psychological damage a couple decades ago. It had snowed the night before I arrived so the white blanket made the city look peaceful. Scars from the war, however, are still seen everywhere: new graveyards, bullet-riddled or crumbling buildings especially on the stretch of road around the Holiday Inn known as sniper alley during the war. Despite that, Sarajevo is a city that makes you feel at ease very soon: not too big, uncrowded, easily navigable, friendly people. The best part of Sarajevo is undoubtedly Baščaršija (pronounced Bash-charshiya), the bazaar in the heart of the old town filled with small shops where you can catch artisans at work, particularly in the metal engraving area. After the end of the conflict, artisans started using war objects as raw materials and you can find odd souvenirs such as fruit baskets made of army helmets or pens made of bullet shells. Shopkeepers are not pushy so you can browse comfortably.

Radiating from Baščaršija, the Ottoman influence fades and the hand of the Austro-Hungarian empire becomes evident as streets widen and classical-style buildings appear. Sarajevo’s architecture in fact reflects the country’s history as the boundary between the Islamic and Christian worlds: it is a blend of Ottoman and classical with a dash of communist concrete and a growing post-war contemporary element. Varied and visually interesting.

A short flight from Sarajevo is Belgrade (really short…25 minutes). Capital of Serbia and another major player in the Yugoslavian independence wars, Belgrade has had its share of destruction: it was battled over in 115 wars and destroyed over 40 times, the last during WWII. As a result, the center of Belgrade reflects its more recent past, a mix of grandiose neoclassical buildings and Soviet-style concrete. And even though the city was bombed by NATO during the 1990’s independence wars, the attacks were directed at specific targets and didn’t cause widespread devastation, something that locals seem to appreciate in a twisted way.

But more than history and architecture, it was the people who made me wonder. In both countries, they were friendly, warm and seemed genuinely interested in making me feel welcome. Yet I couldn't help but think that, should there be another war, many of those same people wouldn't hesitate to kill another person even if the only reason was a divergence of opinion/ideas. Of course this is not exclusive to Bosnians and Serbs; it happens everywhere in the world. Strange creatures, we humans.