Sarajevo siege survivor sends message to people of Ukraine
As Vladimir Putin’s illegal war against Ukraine plays out before the haunted, outraged eyes of the entire world, one survivor of the 1,425-day siege of Sarajevo has shared a personal letter to the people of Ukraine. You can listen to the whole letter on the BBC’s Weekend program.
Aida Cerkez conveys a message of humanitarian solidarity, sharing some of what she experienced, and what got her through the multi-year time of terror.
She explains that she is thinking about what besieged Ukrainians might need most. She has clear advice about practical needs, but it is a t-shirt with a slogan that helped her through every day of the 1,425-day siege. That t-shirt read “Sarajevo will be. Everything else will pass.”
Speaking as a survivor of an incomprehensible terrible siege, she warns:
“You are going to be hungry, thirsty, cold, and dirty. You will lose your homes, your friends, and family members, but what will hurt you the most will be the lies. Lies that you are somehow to blame for what is happening to you, lies that you are actually doing what is being done to you. Those lies will poke countless holes into your hearts, but without stopping them from beating and without freezing them.”
She notes what the world is watching, that atrocities are being carried out and crimes must be documented, saying:
“Write down everything. Record it. One day, it will define your history. It will explain to Ukrainians who are yet to be born what happened and most likely it will end up being used as evidence and proof in court against those trying to kill you.”
The message is one of solidarity and inspiration. She reminds besieged Ukrainians:
“I’m writing to you from the future, and I’m telling you, you will prevail, just as we did.”
She describes that simple slogan as her most prized possession, and a vital tool for staying alive and resisting the terror. Maybe the most hopeful moment is how she closes, praising Ukrainians for their own bravery:
“I hear you singing your anthem while pushing tanks away with your bare hands. Over time, you will sing, as we did, new songs about your courage during this plight, and you will come up with your own slogans that will keep you alive.”
Sarajevo endured one of the worst military sieges in modern history. For 1,425 days, civilians were bombarded, starved, menaced, and killed. There are no words that can adequately describe the horror of that time, so we add here an echo of Aida’s mantra: Sarajevo would continue to exist, and is flourishing. Today, the EU is assisting Bosnia and Herzegovina in becoming a candidate for accession.
