(48) Bosnia twenty years later a story of a child from Buzim

(Buzim)

1) Do you remember were you were when you realized the war was imminent?

- I can't remember the moment because I was a child.

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

- I was in Bužim with my parents. Bužim is a small town in west Bosnia and Herzegovinia, near Bihać, located just on the border with Croatia.

3) Where were you when the war came to your town?

 As I said in my last question I was in my hometown with my family.

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

- Definitely when my father returned from battle, he was so happy he started to shoot in air. But I didn’t saw him, so I run away and hide under my bed. I was scared that aggressor came to my house.

5) What made you hopeless during the war?

- I never lost hope; I was a small child, so I didn’t realized what’s going on.

6) What gave you hope during the war?

- My grandmother, she was old, but every day she prayed for my father and whole country, once she said to me: ‘’My God I hope that this madness will come to end and we will live, like we lived before this war’’.

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

- My uncle lost his wife and few months old daughter. I don’t remember when that happened; later my father told me what happened.

8) Were you wounded during the war? Were you shot at or attacked?

No.

9) Your biggest loss during the war was?

My childhood, the best time of my life I have spent in constant fear for my life. My first toy was a red teddy bear, when I got I was the happiest kid on the planet. My father gave it to me.

10) What was the hardest part about the war?

I didn’t had time to play, my life was priority, when missiles start to ‘’pour’’ I didn’t think about playing I was scared. No electricity, that means no cartoons.

11) Did you leave the country during the war?

No.

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

I think it was possible to avoid the war. NATO and Europe instead of watching, they should stop it.

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

To be honest I can’t answer to this question. Like 20 years ago we are divided except we don’t kill ourselves. Our government is something we can’t be proud of, they work for their own good and they try to destroy this country by spreading nationalism.

14) Do you think war will return to BiH?

I hope it won’t. Even though it could burst if Republica Srpska tries to separate from BiH. I’m against war; I don’t want that any child survives my childhood, without cartons and lack of freedom.

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

Wow that’s quite hard to say, my dream is to see one country without entities, cantons and districts, with one nation, one fair government, people working together, we will find money to invest into education, economy, infrastructure and I hope it will become reality one day.