one woman's memories of the siege of Sarajevo
In a recent thread on MetaFilter about the arrest of Radovan Karadžić, MeFi user Dee Xtrovert wrote about her experience as a teenaged girl during the siege of Sarajevo. Her comments are not easy reading, but well worth it.Karadžić is responsible for so much of what happened to me....
It's widely known that he's been sheltered by factions within the Serbian government, and especially by some members of the Serbian Orthodox Church, which (as an institution) was a big promoter of the actions of the Serbs during the whole war....
...I'm happy they caught him. I'm proud that my people (those who believe in decency and basic rights) will treat him according to a standard he never lived up to himself....
...it's disheartening to see one's own life, and the lives of thousands of others, undergo such massive upheaval and for it to seem like the rest of the world didn't notice....
...In Sarajevo, scars from shells and bullets are everywhere. When munitions hit pavement, the deep marks they left were filled with a red-colored glass, and these "roses," as they're called, are uncountable....
...The truly "honorable" thing to do, in the case of Karadžić, and by the tenets of Balkan culture, would be to admit his actions fully and stand proud. But he won't have the balls for that. That's why I would like Karadžić to stay alive.
It's widely known that he's been sheltered by factions within the Serbian government, and especially by some members of the Serbian Orthodox Church, which (as an institution) was a big promoter of the actions of the Serbs during the whole war....
...I'm happy they caught him. I'm proud that my people (those who believe in decency and basic rights) will treat him according to a standard he never lived up to himself....
...it's disheartening to see one's own life, and the lives of thousands of others, undergo such massive upheaval and for it to seem like the rest of the world didn't notice....
...In Sarajevo, scars from shells and bullets are everywhere. When munitions hit pavement, the deep marks they left were filled with a red-colored glass, and these "roses," as they're called, are uncountable....
...The truly "honorable" thing to do, in the case of Karadžić, and by the tenets of Balkan culture, would be to admit his actions fully and stand proud. But he won't have the balls for that. That's why I would like Karadžić to stay alive.