Adina and I spent a gorgeous afternoon on the beach on the island of Brac, off the coast of Split, Croatia. On the ferry back to the mainland (left), there was an old episode of Beverly Hills: 90210 on tv (with Croatian subtitles, of course). Suddenly, it hit Adina that this particular episode had aired (and she had watched it) in 1991, when Croatia was in the midst of a brutal war.
In Croatia, the evidence of the war had been almost fully erased. But in Bosnia, it's everywhere. Whether pock marks on facades from sniper fire, shells of buildings, or endless headstones, it's fully integrated into the restored cities. It's clear that, in many cases, they've made a deliberate effort not to whitewash
their history.Within the first 15 minutes of talking to a Bosnian, they would usually tell us exactly where they were during the war or the Siege of Sarajevo. Our hosts in Mostar, Majda, Bata and their parents, got visas to Sweden and Norway.
Tarik, from our hostel in Sarajevo, didn't think the war would last more than a few months, and by the time he wanted to get out, it was too late.We heard a similar story from the security guard at a gallery of Jewish art. He told us, in Hebrew, that he'd also thought the war would be over in six months, and when he realized he was mistaken, he and his children were able to get visas to Israel when no one else could leave the country. His children are still there. Whatever our politics about Israel and the right of return, we had to admit, it probably saved his life.
No comments:
Post a Comment