The Backstory:
The Balkans
A Solejourn is designed to be immersive and educational.
To help you make the most of your experience, we recommend engaging with a few thoughtfully selected pieces of media before departure.
The history of the Balkans is very complex and confusing. The focus of these viewings/readings is on the Balkans conflict in the 1990’s. You can pick and choose or work your way through from start to finish. Please note that some of the suggested films include disturbing war scenes and should be vetted by parents.
Suggested Reading
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The Cellist of Sarajevo
Steven Galloway
This is a haunting and beautifully written work of fiction based on real characters who survived the siege of Sarajevo. The Cellist played first chair in the Sarajevo symphony orchestra before the conflict. During the siege he risked sniper fire to play, almost daily, in mortar craters and at clandestine funerals. Unbeknownst to him he was being protected at each performance by a friendly female sniper. The story explores the difficulty of maintaining one’s humanity in barbarous times as well as the effect of music on our emotional endurance.
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To End a War
Richard Holbrook
The memoir of the U.S. Special Negotiator who worked tirelessly with leaders of the former Yugoslav republics, the Clinton Administration, NATO, and Russia to finally bring the brutal Balkan conflict to an end.
This is a phenomenal window into the complexities of international diplomacy. What would it be like to sit knee-knee with a notorious person like Slobadan Milosovic; to sort through his truths and lies; to narrow his options and convince him to make concessions, to get more noble leaders to accept compromise with despicable ones? This is your window.
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Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Sarajevo
Zlata Filipovic
Zlata was aged 11-13 during the Siege of Sarajevo. She faithfully and poignantly journaled the experience day by day. She has been called the Anne Frank of Bosnia. The bewilderment of a child living through senseless violence shines through. This is a quick read an a good option to read out loud if you have children
Suggested Viewing
The Death of Yugoslavia
1995 Documentary
This is a lengthy BBC documentary about the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991. It will introduce you to the geopolitics and major characters (Milosovic, Trudgman, Karadžić, Mladic, Mladić, Izetbegović). Three of these ultimately were convicted of genocide and other war crimes. The story is fascinating and an excellent example of the dangers of nationalism especially when combined with religious dogma.
The major characters tell the story in their own words while it was still fresh and before the war crimes trials. This is the very best way to absorb the whole narrative of the terrible conflict in the 1990s.
SARAJEVO ‘84
The Best Olympic Winter Games Ever
1984 Documentary
During the 1984 games, the world fell in love with beautiful Sarajevo. Some of the most iconic performances in Olympic History including Torville and Dean’s gold medal skate, Bill Johnson’s hair raising downhill gold, Katerina Witt’s first skating gold, and U.S. brothers Phil and Steve Mahre winning gold and silver in the slalom.
This was the first Olympic Games to be held in a communist country. At the time, nobody could imagine this gorgeous multi-cultural city being destroyed by war.
Eight years later, heartbreakingly, it was mostly ruble.
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Sarajevo Roses
2016 Documentary
This is fantastic documentary featuring 3 young people who lived through the siege of Sarajevo. One, the actual Cellist of Sarajevo. Two, a young Psychiatrist who was pressed into trauma care that was swamped with sniper and mortar victims. Three, a teenage girl caught in an iconic Life Magazine photo in full sprint trying dodge snipers while moving through the city.
All three return to Sarajevo years later and tell their story. This is well worth your time.
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Welcome to Sarajevo
1997
This is a feature length movie starring Woody Harrelson and Marisa Tomei. An offbeat band of war journalists dodge snipers and point their cameras at unthinkable tragedies.
One of them risks his life, stepping out of his profession, to attempt to smuggle an orphaned girl out of the war zone.
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As If I Am Not There
2010
This is a devastating movie about the brutality of Serbian Concentration Camps and the systematic rape of women. It is the story of a young school teacher that was on a temporary assignment in a small Bosnian village when the war began. Since she is a Bozniak Muslim she is swept up by Serbian soldiers and passes through the the horrors of the camps. It is a story of bravery and survival. There are disturbing scenes in this movie.
