Deanna Palić’s feature article on Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina (March ’12, pg. 52), brought back memories of a devastated city.
Several years after the Bosnian War (1992-1995), my wife, Lorelyn, and I volunteered for a relief organization, Global Operations & Development (Buena Park, CA; 714/523-4454). GO&D sent 40-foot containers of food, clothing and medical supplies to Sarajevo and developed microbusinesses in Sarajevo and, about 45 miles north, Zenica.
When we first went (2003), Sarajevo’s streets were clear of rubble, but most of downtown was littered with burned-out buildings. Unemployment stood at a staggering 80%. Over 35 months, we made five trips to Sarajevo and Zenica.
Merchants in Old Town collected artillery shells of every caliber and carved the brass casings into beautiful pieces of art. Smaller-caliber shells were converted into pens. Most ingenious was converting shells into coffee grinders.
Sarajevo is surrounded by mountains, which had made it an easy target for the Serbs lobbing mortars. The city is shaped like a figure “8,” with the majority living in the “upper loop” of the “8.” The Sarajevo International Airport runway occupies the “pinch” between the upper and lower parts of the “8.”
The Serbs allowed the UN to fly in supplies for the main city area, but those in the lower “loop” were left to starve. In response, the more than 2,500-foot-long Sarajevo tunnel was dug, crossing beneath the runway. Up to 20 tons of food and ammunition passed through the tunnel each night.
At the time of the war, a family named Kolar lived in a house that had the southern entrance of the tunnel in its cellar. The house is now the Tunnel of Hope Museum (Tuneli 1, Donji Kotorac 34, Ilidza; phone +387 61 213 760). Open 9-4, the museum shows an 18-minute film about the tunnel’s construction. About 60 feet of the tunnel remains that guests can walk through.
FRED KOEHLER
Orange, CA