Mostar, Bosnia i Hercegovina

In Mostar I stayed at a man named Miran’s household. He was 14 when the war reached Mostar. He was very happy to share his experiences and opinions with anyone who would listen.
During the war he and his uncle made a documentary film of their experience. In the film the dire situation of the Bosnian Muslims was portrayed. The Croats had shelled nearly the entire east side of the city of Mostar, which resulted in complete destruction. To this day, much of the city remains destroyed. After the video I tried to get Miran to focus more on the present day and his mindset and that of those around him. He was reluctant to leave the past behind. This has developed into something of a theme for many of the non-academics that I have spoken to. Miran told me that “every 30 to 40 years there is a war here” and that because of this each generation remembers. “My grandfather killed his grandfather, so now he must kill me, for example,” he said. During the documentary he showed a tall bearded man. “This man was my fathers best friend. He is a Croat. He was captured by the Bosnian army and treated as a prisoner of war. I saw him in the prison. I went back to my father and said ‘Dad, Zoran is in prison!’ My father gave me a pack of cigarettes and told me to deliver them to his friend. I asked him why he couldn’t and he said that he could not look Zoran in the face. I went to the window of the prison and called Zoran over. ‘Why do you try to kill me, Zoran,’ I said. 'Do not ask me this Miran. Do not ask me,’ was his response. No one has ever been able to explain this to me. Why the Croats turned on the Bosnians, or why the Serbs try to kill all the Croats and Bosnians.”
Miran took a group from the house on a tour around Mostar. Every step of the way it was evident that the war is not forgotten. One of the young men staying at the hostel asked whether the Croats come to the east side often. “No,” said Miran. “They are afraid of us. They think we are barbarians. And we are not welcome over there [he points across the river] either.” This succinctly sums up the situation in Mostar, and perhaps in Bosnia in general. The people cannot forget that their neighbors once had guns pointed at in their direction, and as Miran said, it happens every 30 to 40 years, so it is in everyone’s mind.
Mostar has been my favorite city to date, and the Bosnian Muslims that I met in Mostar have been some of my favorite people I have ever met. I left this morning at about 10 to go wait for my bus at the bus station. My bus wasn’t leaving until 1:30 so a couple of the guys that worked at the hostel waited with me. Their job is to wait at the bus station and shepherd people to the hostel but the company was excellent. As I was about to board the bus for Banja Luka Mrki, Miran’s younger brother ran to catch me at the steps and gave me a drawing of old bridge that he had done. He usually charges people for them, and I didn’t even know that he drew, but it’s quite brilliant. I’ll post a picture of it later. Like I said, I have never met more accepting, generous and just generally nice people in my life. It’s amazing given what they’ve been through.