Let's see... We got to Sarajevo on Thursday evening. We went straight to the hotel, which is really swanky (even by American standards). Some rooms have lofts and skylights and stuff, which is pretty awesome, but I'm in a normal suite with 2 other girls, Fiona and Emily. .
On Friday morning, we went to the War Crimes Court of BiH. This was a great visit. We learned about the Court's functions and were introduced to various employees - legal aides, spokespeople, etc. Right now, the Court is hearing the trial of two men indicted for war crimes committed at Srebrenica (where a mass killing of 8,000 Bosnjak males occurred in 1995). We watched the testimony and questioning of a witness from Srebrenica over closed circuit TV (they translate everything to English in real time!).
Yesterday, we had a city tour bright and early. We went to some sites that were important during the Siege of Sarajevo. We went to the Sarajevo Tunnel Museum. The tunnel used to get supplies and people in and out of the city during the Siege. It was pretty remarkable, but also scary. The footage we watched showed the entrance to the tunnel during the war - there were shells were falling everywhere, everything was blown apart, and people were running through trenches. We were standing in the same spot today, which looks totally normal, except for some shrapnel marks in the concrete. It was really disturbing for me and makes me think twice when I walk down a seemingly normal street in Sarajevo and think that 14 years ago, it was a war zone. The men we met at the museum also talked about using the tunnel during the war and how the humanitarian aid they received from the U.S. was awful and, in some cases, useless.
It made me feel so helpless - sometimes, all I want to do is apologize for the (in)actions of my country during the 1990s. Americans would be ashamed if they knew the amount of times the U.S., NATO and the UN could have prevented the atrocities here. Don't even get me started on Srebrenica (Hasan Nuhanovic spoke to us today). Of course, that is probably true about intervention during any event in modern history. I'm not saying that the U.S. should intervene in every conflict area, but its wishy-washy policies drive me crazy.
Luckily, Saturday night, we participated in a lively, lighthearted drumming circle with 3 guys from Musicians Without Borders, whose organization here works on peace building through music. They told us about their activities and then we played samba reggae for two hours! And today, I went to noon Mass at the Cathedral, which - surprise, surprise - was in English! There were about 20 people there and the priest asked me to lead the Prayers of the Faithful. It was so great!
Tomorrow, I'm going to try to find the Women for Women office here, since we have most of the day off. I hope I have the right address!
P.S. It's been snowing all weekend, hence the title of my post.
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you know, my very boring politics in the media class that I always talk to you on Blackberry AIM during? Well, the prof said that the only reason we got involved in Bosnia was because of the media and the American people don't actually care about this stuff and that we're all just mindless sheep who do whatever the media says. So, I would think (if what he says is true and he's a questionable person) that we then have to blame the media for the wishy-washy policies of the government.
But, then again, there is a very real possibility that he could be totally wrong and making that up.
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