Bosnia and Herzegovina….what a long name for a country that measures just over 50,000 km2. This triangular-shaped land that lies in the center of southeast Europe is where Eastern and Western civilizations met and at times clashed, but more often than not enhanced and strengthened each other throughout its long and intriguing history.
A site of continual conflict, Bosnia and Herzegovina had been part of the Ottoman empire, the Austro-Hungarian empire and, as Yugoslavia, had communist rule from 1945 until the federation unraveled in the 1990s.
Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, has a long history of struggle, rebuilding, strong community ties and tension. In 1914, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie, by Gavrilo Princip, member of Mlada Bosna (Young Bosnia), sparked off a chain of events that would eventually lead to World War 1.
What really fascinates me about Bosnia is that from my interaction with Bosnians, I truly believe that they live by the maxim, “What does not kill you can only make you stronger.” Having been fortunate enough not to personally live through a war, I can only imagine the extreme hardship they must have endured during the three-year inter-ethnic civil strife (which was finally settled by the Dayton Peace Accords in December 1995) and yet they are to me the friendliest, most positive thinking people I have ever met.
As further proof of Bosnians’ resilience, in 1984, the world saw Sarajevo in top form when it hosted the 14th Winter Olympics and until today, the 1984 Winter Olympics is widely regarded among the most successful winter Olympic Games in history.
