Tunnel of Hope

Tunnel of Hope

9/4/2010

One of the things QSI did for us was to allow us to tour the Sarajevo city and its surrounding countryside. I have included some pictures of the city that shows off its beauty. It is hard to imagine that 26 years ago the 1984 Winter Olympics were held here yet less than 10 years later a Bosnian wrote “welcome to Hell” on a city building.

I do not pretend to be an expert on the Serbian/Croation occupation of Bosnia but I can still see the results of the Sarajevo siege, from the craters in the side of a hospital to the “Sarajevo Roses”, impact damage in the concrete from cannon shells to sniper rifles.

Over a span of almost 4 years,1992-1995, the city of Sarajevo was under siege and bombarded by Serbian forces in the mountains I can look out and see. I don’t even pretend to understand what these people went through.

The Tunnel of Hope, dug 800 m in length directly under the Serbian controlled airport in Sarajevo, was a conduit for thousands of its citizens to escape the madness. We were able to visit this site, stoop in the tunnel, and hear of experiences from some who had used the tunnel under wartime conditions. I pray the pictures give you a sense of the terror, yet the hope these people experienced.

I am currently reading a novel appropriately titled “Sarajevo Roses”, written by Anne Marie Du Preez Bezdrob. As a member of the UN PEACEKEEPING FORCE, she paints an alternative view to the conflict than the western press chose to report. It is worth the read!