Review and translation: Dr. Eman Eltahawy
NB: Original articles and posts in Slovenian. I did my best to review and translate all data, to tell the truth about this Siege of Sarajevo. I think the same is applied to any siege in this unfair world. Kindly, share, and comment.
Eman ElTahawy, Egypt
3-4-2023
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Film: ( SARAJEVO, 1425 dni groze)- 2023- RTV Slovenija |
“In my career as a journalist, I've written
many stories about people who have suffered terrible and horrible injustices. I
have made stories about victims of cruel violence, and sexual abuse during
childhood. However, I can say that I have never tackled something as difficult
as this time." "It was difficult to talk to the
families of the children killed in Sarajevo. Each one of those parents started
crying, and then I cried too. It was truly shocking. Especially this feeling of
incomprehensible frustration. Why did this have to happen? Why this boy or that
girl did has to die? -Film director and journalist, Jelena Aščić.
How can a sniper watch people
and children walking their way in search of water, then decide to take their
lives, and fire? When he fired the grenade, he knew exactly where and at whom
he was shooting. It was intentional, not a coincidence nor a bingo. There was
no accident or random mess. They planned to kill the children; their neighbors.
Those were their neighbors! What a policy of hatred that makes people
worse!"
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| Bosnian Women and Children in the water line, 1992. |
Film name in Slovenian: (SARAJEVO, 1425 dni groze).
Film duration: 51 minutes
Film Director: Jelena Aščić,
Cameraman: Gregor Naglav,
Editor: Sabina Černe.
Journalist Jelena Aščić and photographer Gregor Naglav recorded shocking
testimonies from people who were under a suffocating siege for nearly four
years. How life was without electricity, water, or food? What kind of life was
it with the constant threat of death by all kinds of weapons from all sides of
the city's surrounding hills? They were immensely grateful that their children
would not be forgotten, and that their names would be mentioned on Slovenian
television.
Note: The siege of Sarajevo
(Serbo-Croatian: Opsada Sarajeva) was a prolonged blockade of Sarajevo, the
capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the Bosnian War. After the city was
initially besieged by the forces of the Yugoslav People's Army, the city was
then besieged by the Army of Republika Srpska. Lasting from 5 April 1992 to 29
February 1996 (1,425 days), it was three times longer than the Battle of
Stalingrad, more than a year longer than the siege of Leningrad, and was the
longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare (Wikipedia).
Sieges involve surrounding the target to block the provision of supplies and the reinforcement or escape of troops. This is typically coupled with attempts to reduce the fortifications using siege engines, artillery bombardment, mining (also known as sapping), or the use of deception or treachery to bypass defenses. Failing a military outcome, sieges can often be decided by starvation, thirst, or disease, which can afflict either the attacker or defender. This form of siege, though, can take many months or even years, depending upon the size of the stores of food the fortified position holds. (Wikipedia).
The team made 16 interviews over 4
days in different locations. The director avoided politicizing the events that
took place 30 years ago. She thinks the politician took their chances.
Therefore, it is time to concentrate on the situation of ordinary people in
their daily lives, who suffered in concentration camps, siege, and lost their
loved ones. Their lives turned upside down because of this siege. Those people
are more convincing than politicians are.
People talked about the tremendous
pain that parents endured when shrapnel from grenades and sniper fire killed
their children. No one has yet been held accountable for these crimes before
the local courts. The film placed the film's interlocutors as a representative
sample of their society, as they harbor no hatred towards anyone, but accept
the past as a part of their lives for 30 years. However, they do not forget
their loved ones.
The director is a journalist,
anchor, and screenwriter. For more than 20 years, she worked for Slovenian
Radio and Television. She produced several shows and two documentaries:
(Building the Slavery), about the exploitation of Bosnian construction workers,
which won several awards, and (You Can't Tell Anyone), about child sexual
abuse.
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| Jelena Aščić & Gregor Naglav © Večer |
“I wanted to present their stories
and experience the unimaginable horror,” says the director. “Snipers killed
their children in front of their eyes. The people of Sarajevo had been without
water, electricity, heat, or food for almost four years. Death has become part
of their daily lives. Regardless of the agony that has lasted for years, we
have forgotten almost everything in these 30 years. Perhaps that is why anxiety
and new tensions of war arise. Atrocities are repeated despite the repetition
of that flimsy/weak phrase that has lost its meaning "Never Again".
We have such a short memory ".
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| (Sarajevo, 1425 days of Horror) - RTV Slovenija |
The opening and closing scenes are
especially touching when each of the victims' families holds some pictures or
belongings that remind them of their sons who left because of the siege. The
tears of the parents at the end of the film along with the final sentences and
the famous song are very touching.
The film includes some archival
photos of the events of the Siege of Sarajevo including some graphic
content.
In one scene, a woman says:
"They could stop everything in one hour, but they didn't want to! It was
possible to preserve the lives of those children who were killed. We lived to
remember, to learn.
In other scenes, tears in the eyes of parents tell everything.
Reception:
On its initial release, the Slovenian Television Media Programme (RTV-Slovenija.)premiered the film on the 14th of February, 2023. ‘Sarajevo, 1425 days of Horror’ will be screened on 12th April in the European Parliament, Brussels. It marks the 30th anniversary of the start of (the Siege of Sarajevo).
To date, the film has been well received by the audience and gained positive comments. worldwide reviews are awaited after further translation into many languages. It is a symbol of the cruelty of the war.
Below are samples of viewers' comments on social media
platforms (Translated from Bosnian, and Slovenian):
In the documentary "Sarajevo
1425 Days of Horror," we read the heartbreaking comments of naive peaceful
advocates who call for peace, but who close their eyes ignorantly to the
reality of neo-fascism and nationalism.
After watching the shocking
documentary, "Sarajevo 1425 Days of Horror", by Jelena Aščić, I think we
shouldn't watch war quietly. we shouldn't consider it as far from us! Let's demand
peace! Let's call for disarmament, not armaments! here, and everywhere around the world.
This Film is a wonderful, shocking,
and moving documentary. Tears flowed from the beginning to the end.
Great movie. I cried like rain. I could
not watch it until the end. Blame all those who fired shots and sniper bullets
and the silent international community without interference.
A poignant movie. I felt all the grief/sadness, helplessness, and suffering these people experienced during the siege.
Today, we have the same international hypocrisy, if compared to the current situation.
Finally, some of the viewers
compared the impact of (the siege of Sarajevo and the aftermath of the Bosnian War) to past major events such as the Holocaust, and the current situation in Ukraine. They share the same policy of hatred and the same corrupted international
policies leading to wars and massacres. Of note, no mention of any other current sieges worldwide in the comments. They may be unaware of the current sieges.
Nevertheless, they shared the same inquiry: how do people drift to that level of inhumanity in wartime? How did they kill innocent civilians
and children through this stifling siege and deliberate sniping? How
did that happen?
References and Further Reading:
Opsada Sarajeva (02.04.1992 - 29.03.1996) |
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