“Living in Sarajevo”

“Živeti u Sarajevo” (“Living in Sarajevo”) was the name of an initiative in Belgrade gathering persons from different political parties and civic groups, among them Women in Black and the Belgrade Circle. The groups were united by their antiwar positions, their will to establish links with besieged Sarajevo and focus on supporting its inhabitants “who have chosen to live normally in a war environment and who are facing the greatest suffering with the conviction that reason and the desire for a normal life overcome stupidity and destruction”. In an info leaflet from 1995 about the group’s aims and activities, the last sentence says: “By helping the people of Sarajevo, we help ourselves.”

After long negotiations with UNPROFOR, a delegation of the group was finally able to make a first visit to Sarajevo in 1994, and then another one in 1995. Also, in 1995, they succeeded in inviting a delegation of the “Serb Civic Council” from BiH to Serbia.

In their message to Sarajevo published in Oslobođenje in June 1995, they write:

“Dear friends! We listen to the news and we worry about all of you. Rest assured that we are with you at this moment, we think even more and stronger than before. We condemn the new crimes against the innocent citizens of Sarajevo. After our visit to Sarajevo, a large number of members of our group went on radio and TV, wrote in the press, so that, hopefully, the biggest possible number of citizens here gets to know the truth about your suffering. We are actively working on our new gathering,which will hopefully take place soon. As we have learned from you, we do not accept the victory of evil and we are preparing to continue and deepen various forms of communication, according to our agreements.”