Before being asked if I wanted to go to Bosnia, I did not know about the country whatsoever, it was a very eye-opening experience. It is a beautiful country, with masses of greenery, breathtaking views, and buildings which look like they belong in a fairy tale with all this came great sadness when I slowly learnt more about the war, Bosnia had one of the worse genocides between 1992-1995.
Enes, our tour guide for the trip, what a fantastic man, filled our heads with the history of the war. Taking us to museums and even the Bosnian pyramids.
The war sees the death of many people, still to this day bodies have not been found, there are gravestones with only 1 part of the body being buried.
One of the first places we went to be the masses of Muslim grave yards, in the graveyard is a sliver dome with the first president of Bosnia when they became independent, His name was Alija Izetbegovic, He died on October 19, 2003, and was buried at the Martyrs Cemetery in Kovaci, Sarajevo and it is said the day he was buried was the biggest rainfall Bosnia has ever seen.
We went to a museum called the war childhood museum it had items donated from the children from the war, not only in Bosnia, but Gaza, Palestine, Ukraine, this felt very surreal with these wars happening not long ago and still happening, it really tore the heart strings and made me realise how grateful we should be not to be in a war-torn country. One of the displays that stuck out to me was a small babies romper, which says about a young family, a father who works away in Switzerland and mother and 2 young children who lived in Bosnia, The father told them to come to Switzerland for safety, with nothing but the clothes on there backs they went on a lengthy bus journey to Switzerland, the next day the war had officially started, there house was destroyed.
This story stuck out to me because I can’t image out how they feel that if they didn’t leave there and then they would have been dead.
We learnt a lot of things so I cannot go into detail on everything therefore another story that shocked me was the Tunnel!
400 people helped build an underground Tunnel going from one side of Bosnia to the next, it took a total of 4 months to build, with only their hands and shovels… no machinery!
This tunnel was getting food to people, getting money across, even getting goats and cows through.
It amazed and saddened me that no matter how rubbish it people were determined and strong willed to come together for the sake of everybody, it shows what we as people can do in desperate times.
You might have heard of the movie scream for Sarajevo, if not you should watch it! It’s about how the leader of the famous rock band Iron Maiden snuck into the siege and did a concert, he had to travel in the back of a lorry and risked his life for the people of Sarajevo to give them something to look forward to… years to come the people of Sarajevo were so grateful they gifted Bruce Dickinson a honorary citizenship of Sarajevo.
We did get time to enjoy ourselves as well, a small group of us went swimming although as we walked there, we noticed all off the buildings had bullet holes in them and had clearly been shot at/bombed but then you arrive at a swimming pool which is tidy, and new… it was very strange.
We also got the visit the waterfalls which was beautiful and swim in the lakes… myself, Mark and a resident from YMCANS John, found a tree and had a lot of fun jumping off that for a couple of hours…although I wouldn’t recommend trying to do a backflip if you’ve never done on before… or wearing jewellery… despite having felt like a giant had slapped me on the back and Mark loosing his jewellery we all had a fantastic time and with all the sadness it was a much needed day.
I’m grateful for being invited on the trip, meeting and making bonds with people and grateful for my life.
Its easy to go day to day not appreciating life but trips like this make you appreciate life more.
About the Author
Jessica Young (Jess) joined the Crewe team of YMCA Cheshire in September 2022 as a volunteer. She selflessly engaged in the ‘Power of Us’ session as a mentor to young people aged 16-25. This group provides a safe space for young people to develop leadership skills and discuss various topics, and Jess’s presence and guidance have significantly enriched it. In 2023, Jess joined the YMCA Crewe Board Advisory Group (BAG), ensuring young people’s views are represented at the highest level of the organization. Additionally, she represents YMCA Cheshire as a Youth ambassador and doubles as a Young Trustee for YMCA North Staffordshire.
She recently joined a group of young people from different YMCAs in England and Wales to a trip to Bosnia. In her words and experience, Jess shared her reflection on the journey with us all to appreciate every day and make sure it counts!!!
