“War does not determine who is right — only who is left.” ― Anonymous

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This is the story of war, loss, separation and hope. One of the bloodiest wars in the history of Europe after World War II, which was named as a civil war initially and was allowed to drag for four years, till the world finally decided to intervene and save the leftover lives!

 

Goodbye Sarajevo is the true story of hope and resilience. Every time I see a movie or read a book about devastation of a nation and annihilation of human lives, my heart sinks. But the protagonists of this story gave me assurance that all is not lost.

We, residing within the secure boundaries of our peaceful homes and nations, can only read and imagine, but may never fully comprehend how challenging circumstances do not always diminish the inner sanctity and strength of individuals.

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“Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime.” ― Ernest Hemingway

 

Hana and Atka, the two sisters get separated as the story begins. Amidst the frenzy of fleeing the madness that had gripped everyone’s beloved Sarajevo, families get separated, children are put in buses that were leaving for safer destinations and were left out to manage alone, with the hope that they will at least 'live'.

 

The mayhem continues and this one family is split up into four parts, younger sisters in Croatia, mother along with another sister in Vienna, brother fleeing the army and hiding in Serbia, and Atka along with her grandmother, father and rest of the family wait their fate in Sarajevo, for days, months and years.

 

The story is narrated by Atka and Hana. They share their own predicament seen through their eyes. It’s heart breaking but still assuring. Atka sees her friends and family losing their lives due to the daily shelling. She sees her father’s unrelenting resolve to inform the world, to convince them to intervene and stop this carnage. She sees her grandmother’s zest for life and hope for living. She sees her mother’s endless struggle to reach home to her own family. She sees her sisters’ determination to survive on their own. And she sees how her little siblings are always happy and playful, unaware of their fate. Only that they sometimes insisted for meat along with rice.

 

Sometimes I feel she is just there, standing still, and the world around her is in motion.

 

“Listen up - there's no war that will end all wars.” ― Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore

 

But Atka finds her purpose even in the middle of this chaos when she joins a team of international reporters as a translator. And what I am going to tell you next is what stayed with me.

 

I was amazed to see the courage and grit of the reporters, who not only remained stationed in Sarajevo till the conclusion of the war but also ventured into war zones in the most perilous regions of the country. Salute to these reporters, who not caring for their own lives entered such dangerous zones to know and understand the realities, and to share the true stories of real lives to the world. They were doing their job definitely but they also had some expectations, that their stories will move the world and force the world leaders to act.

 

The story concludes on a hopeful note. After enduring many arduous months, the separated family not only reunites at last but also successfully flees Bosnia for good. It marks the culmination of two years of unrelenting devastation and loss. Little did they realize then that the turmoil would persist for another two years.

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I understand the willingness of soldiers to sacrifice their lives in defense of their nation. However, what truly astonished me is the resilience of reporters from around the world. Despite witnessing death up close and all around them, they remained undeterred in their mission to tell the true stories of real people—individuals who yearned endlessly to reclaim their former lives.

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Hope always floats.

 

“Tomorrow hopes we have learned something from yesterday” - John Wayne

 

Have we?