I spent June through August in Sarajevo, the capital of the recently declared state of Bosnia-Herzegovina. I could not possibly have had a more interesting summer. In the report below, I will first give a description of Sarajevo, because being in the city was an enormous part of my experience. Sarajevo Sarajevo is an incredible place.
Destruction is everywhere, the result of a four-year siege.
Until about one year ago, the Bosnia Serbs surrounded the city, terrorizing civilians with sniper fire and sending incendiary shells toward major cultural sites. The tall buildings that Tito built are mere husks, their windows shattered and their skeletal structure exposed. Almost every house bears marks from gunfire or shelling. But in great contrast to this destruction is the life resurgent within the city. Sarajevo is a swirl of people and colors and life.