Rick Steves' Travel as a Political Act Blog - Dark Times and a New Cemetery

Dark Times and a New Cemetery

Walking with my new Bosnian friend Alen through the streets of Mostar, we came upon a small cemetery congested with more than a hundred white-marble Muslim tombstones. Alen pointed out the dates: Everyone died in 1993, 1994, or 1995. Before 1993, this was a park. When the war heated up, snipers were a constant concern — they'd pick off anyone they saw walking down the street. Because of the ongoing danger, bodies were left for weeks, rotting on the main boulevard, which had become the front line. Mostar's cemeteries were too exposed to be used, but this tree-filled park was relatively safe from snipers. People buried their neighbors here...under the cover of darkness.

Weaving slowly through the tombstones, Alen explained, "In those years, night was the time when we lived. We didn't walk...we ran. And we dressed in black. There was no electricity. If the Croats didn't kill us with their bullets, they killed us with their music.” That politically charged, rabble-rousing Croatian pop music, used — apparently effectively — as a kind of psychological torture, was blasting constantly from the Croat side of town.

As we wandered through town, the sectarian symbolism of the conflict was powerful. Ten minarets pierced Mostar's skyline like proud Muslim exclamation points. Across the river, twice as high as the tallest minaret, stood the Croats' new Catholic church spire. Standing on the reconstructed Old Bridge, I looked at the hilltop high above the town, with its single, bold, and strongly floodlit cross. Alen said, "We Muslims believe that cross marks the spot from where they shelled this bridge. They built it there, and floodlight it each night...like a celebration."

The next day, I popped into a small theater where 30 Slovenes (from a part of the former Yugoslavia that avoided the terrible destruction of the war) were watching a short film about the Old Bridge, its destruction, and its rebuilding. The persistent shelling of the venerable bridge, so rich in symbolism, seemed to go on and on. The Slovenes knew the story well. But when the video reached the moment the bridge finally fell, I heard a sad collective gasp. It reminded me of how Americans feel, even well after 9/11, when watching video of the World Trade Center disappearing into a column of ash. It helped me, if not feel, at least appreciate another country's pain.

About This Entry

You are reading "Dark Times and a New Cemetery", an entry posted on 06 July 2009 by Rick Steves.

6 replies to this entry. Add your comment below.

Previous Entry, A New Mostar Rises from the Rubble, posted Jul 03 2009

Next Entry, Sarajevo Roses and Bosniak Beach Boys, posted Jul 08 2009

Comments [ top ]

Thank you for reminding us that there's more to life than coverage of Michael Jackson's Memorial, the demise of Jon & Kate's marriage, etc. It would be nice if the mainstream media stayed focused on political matters, as well.

Posted by: Sara M - Jul 07, 2009 10:55 AM

We've heard this one before, Rick, about how the awful Catholics picked on the poor Muslims, apparently without provocation. You frequently use this technique of repeating anecdotal reflection by one side of a political conflict to safely advance your own political agenda. Your new friend Alen is not without his own prejudices, but you put him forth as a totally unbiased and objective speaker of truth. Why not make a Catholic friend and let that person give the other side of the story? I'm quite confident that Catholic and Muslim alike have a lot to be ashamed of in this sorry narrative.

Posted by: Joe - Jul 07, 2009 3:47 PM

As a practicing Catholic, I detected no hidden anti-Catholic bias in this post. Rick is just relating the tragic events of the early 1990s, in which Bosnia's Muslim population was trapped between the twin pincers of the Serbs and Croats. Yes, there were some war crimes committed by Bosniaks (and by the unwelcome foreign jihadists who claimed to fight on their behalf), but unlike the othersides, the Bosniaks reluctantly fought in a war they neither provoked nor desired.

Posted by: Tom - Jul 08, 2009 1:15 AM

I agree with Tom. Rick was just realying the events as told from a Muslim perspective. Rick has stated that it is hard to understand the history of this region and former Yugoslavia. You get different perspectives based on what ethnic group you talk to. I think this is instance, Rick is just giving one side. The events and stories have tragedies on all sides. This is the perspective of a Muslim in Mostar and Rick is just sharing his story.

Posted by: Jeremy B - Jul 23, 2009 2:57 PM

Thank you Rick for going to the beautiful and tragic city of Mostar. I fully agree with Tom's message that Rick's story is not biased but simply reflects the reality of what happened in Mostar. It is a known fact that it was the Bosnian Croats who shelled and destroyed the 500 year old Mostar Bridge. It is also a known fact that the Bosnian Croat separatists were supported by Croatia and its president Franjo Tudman who planned to take (by force and ethnic cleansing) half of Bosnia's territory and add it on to Croatia. The Bridge having been rebuild is a strong symbol of hope in the city of Mostar that the Bosniak, Bosnian Croat, and Bosnian Serb ethnic groups can peacefully coexist in Bosnia and Herzegovina even after all the violence seen in the war.

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