(57 ) BOSNIA TWENTY YEARS LATER A STORY FROM BOSANSKA KRUPA

(BOSANSKA KRUPA)

1) Do you remember where were you when you realized the war was imminent? What town and what location in the town?

 I was in school. My parents ignored all the advices from our neighbors and friends believing that the war will not begin and that their neighbors would never do anything to harm them. Bosanska Krupa, elementary school at that time called “Djuro Pucar Stari”.

 2) Do you remember where you were when the war broke out, specifically?

 I was picked up from school, my father decided to stay and he sent my mom and us kids to go and visit our aunt that lived in nearby village, because he still did not want to accept the reality around us.

3) Where were you when the war came to your town? Were you at home, relatives, friends, work?

 On April 21 1992, when the war started in my hometown I was in school together with a handful of other students that had the parents that refused to believe war was inevitable.

4) The most memorable event of the war for you was?

it is hard to pick between so many.....funerals, running from school when the attack starts, all the media coverage about the massacres in our country...really hard to choose only one – they are all unforgettable.

5) What made you hopeless during the war?

Never knowing if you are going to see your father, uncles and other family members the next day, constantly waiting to get the word about the death of your friends and family.

6) What gave you hope during the war?

I guess it was easier for me to be hopeful being a kid. Adults kept saying that it cannot last forever; it has to be over at some point and even though they did not believe in that, we did.

7) Did you lose anyone close to you during the war?

Friends, acquaintances, teachers, however I did not lose any immediate family members.

Were you wounded during the war? Where were you wounded? Anyone close to you wounded?

 I was not wounded; My grandmother, grandfather, and two uncles were wounded.

9) Your biggest loss during the war was?

My friends and people I knew that died during the war.

10) What was the hardest part about the war?

Not knowing what tomorrow brings, if you will have to run again, if you will learn that your family members died.

11) Did you leave the country during the war?

No.

12) 20 years later, what do you think of what happened?

As with every war, politicians and people in power played a game with little people. Manipulated those that were too stupid to think about the consequences of their actions and clearly heartless enough to follow the plan that was presented to them. Those in power bounced back again, and the stupid little people are still trying to recover from years of hatred, unemployment and painful memories.

13) Are things better or worse than what you expected 20 years later?

I would say worse. I was hoping to see some change, it’s been 20 years after all, but it seems that we are still standing still, waiting for a miracle that will bring us all together so we can be one country with one president and people that are trying to improve that country not undermine it whenever there is a chance for that. We have three groups of people pulling in three different directions.

14) Do you think war will return to BiH?

I was refusing to say that for the longest time, but i am not sure anymore. There are still schools that are segregated, three different languages that are thought in schools, people calling themselves members of different countries even though they still live in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I don’t know what to think.

15) What do you think the future of BiH will be?

 I am trying to be positive, and believe that we can bounce back eventually. One the regular Joe sees that politicians are idiots trying to still fuel the hatred and undermine the country; maybe we will have the chance. We are at a point where we have nothing to lose, no job, no prosperity no hope of a better future. We need different representatives on the top, those that will work for better of every religious community, not just one and those that will try to improve the country and its infrastructure, not just their personal bank accounts.