Yesterday was a really long day spent driving—first from Kotor back to Podgorica and then on the bus to Sarajevo. It was an easy trip and a beautiful trip. I slept, I read, I watched a movie and listened to music and I watched the world through my window. I shared a taxi with a French documentary filmmaker from the out-of-town bus station and got a great tour all the way to my apartment. My apartment is in a fantastic location so I put my stuff away and went out to find groceries and to explore the neighbourhood.

Today started with the birds and a cup of coffee on the balcony.,

My first tour of the day was around Sarajevo with local guide, Adis. It was great to learn about the history and it is always great to learn and hear from a local. We walked, we explored, Adis made us laugh and I took pictures.

One of the things that stuck with me was when he talked about the shells that were launched during the siege. He told us that they were being collected and turned into vases—what once took life, now holds life.

We learned the traditional craft of copper smithing, how to make a Bosnian coffee (not the same as a Turkish coffee), how to drink a Bosnian coffee (no espresso here—they take 15-30 minutes to drink what we would drink standing at the bar in Italy), what constitutes traditional Bosnian baklava and where to get the best cevapi.

In the afternoon I went on a tour called War Scars and Sarajevo today with Neno

From visitsarajevo.ba: On 6 April, the day Sarajevo was liberated in the II World War, the city came under siege, exactly 47 years later. It was the longest siege in modern history–1425 days; it began on April 5, 1992 and ended on February 29, 1996.

Neno was a child when Sarajevo came under siege and remembers the sounds of the shelling. He said that to this day he can still hear the sounds of the siege. He was young but there are things, even fireworks, that bring back the feelings and memories.

We saw the marks on the buildings from the bullets and shells, went to the front line and saw how far away/close by the snipers were and watched videos (taken by the Associated Press for international news) of civilians running as shots were being fired.

When I was in the classroom teaching, I used to love to read novels to my students. I tried to read novels that would generate discussion, challenge their thinking, make them think, and question things. One of the novels that I read in my last years was The Blue Helmet by William Bell. In the novel, one of the characters talks about the Blue Helmets during the 1992-1995 siege. The discussions I had with my grade 7 and 8 students still resonate with me. Their questions, their thoughts, their wonderings.

Going on the tour today and listening to Neno’s first hand account of the siege brought me back to reading that book.

He talked about how it sometimes hurts to talk about but how important it is to not forget. And to make sure their story is still heard and kept alive. They talk about the aggression. The genocide. The Bosnian Serbs talk about defending their homeland. He wondered if we’ll ever learn. One can’t help but think about the current state of the world.

Neno talked about how sometimes the version of history you’ll get when you talk to a Bosnian will depend on how old that Bosnian is. I was reminded of Yvetta, our tour guide in Moscow and the stories she shared with Mum and me.

One of the last things Neno showed us was the canned beef monument.

Information about the most ironic monument in Bosnia:

The Serbian siege of Sarajevo led to what would become the longest running humanitarian airlift in history. Running between July 3rd, 1993 and January 9th, 1996 it even surpassed the two years of the 1948-49 Berlin airlift. 12,000 flights brought 160,000 tons of food and medicine to the people of Sarajevo but it was not always appreciated.

The ICAR canned beef soon became a symbol for the shortcomings of the humanitarian help. According to eyewitness reports collected by writer David Charles, sometimes the food was leftovers from the Vietnam war that expired 20 years earlier, and sometimes it was pork, an egregious oversight when half of the population receiving the aid were Muslims.

Even cats and dogs were said not to eat it. After the war the “Grateful Citizens of Sarajevo” thanked the international community through this golden, meter tall can of ICAR beef.

The proposal was to put the monument in a prominent place but it was seen as too provocative so it was granted space where it is currently located. Funnily enough, two years after it was installed a UN building was built right behind it.

This was a good day. I am heading to bed with a head full of thoughts and questions. My heart is heavy from all I saw and heard today but at the same time there is hope and some light. I am grateful that Adis and Neno shared their stories with us.