I am ashamed to say that I remain quite ignorant about conflict in different parts of the world. And one conflict-ridden region that, growing up, unfortunately registered but at the same time didnt really register on my radar was the Balkans. In my early teenage years, I remember vaguely hearing about some sort of war in Bosnia. Later on, towards the end of high school, I met the first Bosnian in my life in [Muslim] Sunday school in Maryland, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl recently arrived in the US. She was on her way the following year to a tennis scholarship to UMaryland College Park. Cool, I thought, I wish I had skills in a sport like that. I didnt know enough to ask, and be educated about, what shed recently lived through. I didnt know there was something to know - let alone ask - about. Fast forward a dozen years or so to last month. Where my father, planning his Eid holidays and ever interested in exploring different Muslim-majority countries, asked if wed be interested in meeting up with him and my mother. Some last-minute shifting of work schedules, hours on kayak, lonelyplanet and booking, and 3 dozen emails later, we were all set to embark on our 7 day journey and road-trip: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Montenegro. I arrived in Sarajevo, Bosnia last week, where I slowly learned that there was a lot I should have known about. . . . But first, some context. Sarajevo is a city where its inhabitants have lived through a war in every generation for the last 100 years. Its famous Ottoman-build Latin Bridge is where Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, starting WWI and effectively ending the rule of three great empires: the Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian and the Hapsburg Empires. Sarajevo is also the city that has lived through liberation in different ways: its Eternal Flame 1946 memorial commemorates its liberation from Nazi Germany, and its 1984 Olympic stadium is a reminder of the celebrations of the first (and only) winter olympics to be held in a Communist country. For its beautiful topography as a valley surrounded by mountains lent itself to a location well-suited for a celebration of the worlds winter sports. There is a local tale of how there was no snow that winter, worrying residents as to whether the Winter Games would even be able to take place. They went to sleep and awoke the next morning to a winter wonderland; a true Olympic miracle. Its topography, unfortunately, also lent itself to a siege not even a decade later. It was a siege that lasted almost four years from April 1992 to December 1995 - one of the longest sieges recorded in the history of modern warfare. 1,825 days to be precise, our tour guide told us. He listed exact numbers off, never rounding them off. 11,541 that died in Sarajevo alone, of which 1600 were children. He was a child himself during the war, a 6 year old, and spoke earnestly and passionately, recounting his own personal history of what it meant for him as a Bosniak that his father had previously served in the Yugoslavian army (which fought on the side of the Serbs). Besieged residents cannot survive that long without a way out. The Tunnel of Hope that saved Sarajevo remains a stark reminder at about 1.5m in height and 1m in width of how 400,000+ inhabitants were fed and clothed during the 4 year siege. The story goes that the Serbians knew of the tunnel but left it alone, thinking that the Bosnians would use it to leave Sarajevo and make it easier to invade; counter-intuitively the tunnel was used to bring supplies in and strengthen the position of the people who would rather die than leave their home. Ethnic cleansing of Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats ultimately killed over 100,000 people in the country, while over 2.2 million were displaced. The old Ottoman graves in Sarajevo, marked by a marbled turban, are surrounded by 100s of those killed in this act of ethnic cleansing - the latter dotting different patches of the hills surrounding the city; rows of white on a green, green countryside. . . . It was my first time in a country that has lived through war in the recent past. The bizarre thing is, that given the context, youd think wed want to exercise caution in visiting such a place. That coupled with its history of almost every individual either having lived through this latest war in the country, or as a refugee in another, sorrow would be the all-encompassing and only emotion felt at every corner. This is not the case. Sarajevo is magical. It is vibrant, rich with culture, emotions and stories. The walking tours bring the city not only to life - in a way that no Lonely Planet book has done for us when visiting different parts of Europe - and reflects hope as seen through the eyes of those we interacted with. Friends visiting from out of town, local Bosnians working as environmental consultants, our hosts at the local bed-and-breakfast: they shared their stories over cevapi - small Bosnian kebabs - and Bosnian coffee, over criticisms of current politicians to stories of their every day lives. It is a city with a powerful history, where you can find Ottoman-era mosques, Roman Catholic churches, Greek Orthodox churches and Jewish synagogues all built from the 16th century onwards, and within blocks of each other. You can take a Jewish tour of the city to understand how Bosnia was one of the only territories in Europe to welcome Jews after their expulsion from Spain, visit the museum that houses old Quranic manuscripts, reflect in the vastly different churches and observe (and participate in) the prayers in the beautifully designed mosques; its 1532 mosque holds the title of first mosque in the world to have electricity in 1898. It is a city in a country that is breathtakingly beautiful. With a deep green and geographically diverse landscape, mist occasionally shrouds the surrounding hills, always teasing you with glimpses of their full size. With imposing limestone mountains against streams greenish-blue with copper, ravines for adventure rafting, bridges and streets built by the Ottomans, old markets filled with traditional copper household items giving way to the latest European styles in clothes and posters advertising an upcoming and happening film festival (supported by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie). Finally, it is clean as it is peaceful. I had never thought about this relationship before - the interconnection of how clean surroundings bring sukoon - peace - to ones heart. From the slippers provided at every single wudu (ablution) spot to the sparkling clear spring water gushing from drinking fountains located at varying points throughout the city, my heart felt at peace. The dhikr sessions after maghrib and ishaa congregational prayers are hidden moments of peace that were never listed by any tour guide but are not to be missed. . . . I returned to Frankfurt, more aware, iA, than in the past. Filled with stories and images that are hard to describe in words. Yesterday, we noticed a Bosnian restaurant a block from our home that had never registered on our radar before; apparently there is a vibrant Bosnian community and even a Bosnian masjid right here in Frankfurt. Its what travel does to you - it connects you in a way to a place and its history in an emotionally powerful way. But it also reinforces something else: the inability of humans to learn from recent history. My FB newsfeed is filled with reports of similarly terrible and senseless killings this past week: from the Yazidis, Shiite Muslims and Christians in Iraq, to the Palestinians in Gaza to the Ahmedis in Pakistan. After visiting Bosnia, and witnessing first-hand the struggles its habitants had to live through after being persecuted, my heart grieves and words fail me. My only prayer is that peace, tolerance and recovery is brought to these and other regions. That we remember, and we learn from the mistakes we make in being unaware and ignorant of injustices, and that we have the courage to speak out against them. That we embrace tolerance and treat others - those different from us and similar to us - with respect. For Bosnia, and particularly Sarajevo, reflects how courage and tolerance can conquer all. #Bosnia #Sarajevo #momentsofreflection
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 19:08:06 +0000
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