July 23

Our first morning in Sarajevo, we visited the Church of Saint Michael the Archangel, the oldest Orthodox church in Sarajevo. There we talked to a friend of Mladen’s, also named Dragan, who is a native of Sarajevo and served in the Serb forces during the war.  He told a heart-wrenching tale of the transition of life in Sarajevo, beginning its celebrated pre-war multiculturalism.  Dragan’s best friend was Muslim, and their friendship survived the early stages of the war, despite the ethnic hostilities that were pulling the city apart.  Dragan aided his friend’s family, as well as other Muslims from his neighborhood into moving to the Muslim-controlled area of town.  Eventually his friend succumbed to the fanaticism of the war, calling Dragan a “chetnik” (term from WWII, fighters for the restoration of Serbian monarchy), and beat him.  There was no contact between the two friends until after 9/11, when Dragan’s friend’s father called Dragan to tell him his friend had been killed in Afghanistan.  His wish was that Dragan be called because he was the best friend he had ever had.  A month later, the friend’s father killed himself.  Dragan maintains a good relationship with his friend’s mother, as well as other Muslim friends, even sharing in religious celebrations, but things aren’t the same as they were before the war.

Despite the heavy morning, our group was able to bounce back at night, walking around the old town and enjoying the partying associated with the Sarajevo Film Festival this weekend.  The highlight of the night (for me) was when we came across the corner where nationalist Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914, beginning the First World War.  Talk about a history geek-asm.


(Our internet in Sarajevo is pretty weak, so uploading pictures is a problem. Rest assured, more will come later)