Last Day in Sarajevo, Bosnia/Herzegovina:

Well today was my last day in Sarajevo, and man all that I can say is that it was interesting. The first part of the day we toured a place that was a tunnel that was created during the war in 1992-1995. The tunnel has called the “Tunnel of Hope.” Its purpose was to connect the city of Sarajevo to the outside world. The tunnel was built under an airport, and was a way to get weapons as well as goods and people from one side to the other without being detected. While we were there we watched a video that showed parts of the war taking place between the different ethnic groups that make up Bosnia. I couldn’t believe at how much devastation actually took place. I mean it was really heartbreaking to see all of those people killing each other as well as many of the buildings that were just being lit up with gunfire.  During this video we saw the construction that was being done on the tunnel, which really looked backwoods and was only big enough to get people through in a single file line only carrying the bare minimum that ended up being what they could carry with their hands. Following the video we were allowed to go into a segment of the tunnel, and it really was an interesting experience because of just being able to feel that there were that many people that walked up and down the same tunnel that I was in carrying the goods to the other side so people could eat and basically survive. Following the tour we headed back into the city, and after watching the video I saw many of the same buildings that were left to ruins and riddled with bullet holes, and it really amazed me when I realized that this country still has many open wounds from a war that in retrospect was not too long ago. We then arrived at our next meeting that was scheduled for the day, which was at the U.S. embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina. While there we were briefed on the current situation that the country is in, and that there is cause for concern due to many things. The first thing being that there is no real constitution, because of the fact that the only thing that it is looked at like a constitution is the Dayton Accord. This is very problematic because all that that document was created for was to end the war that ravaged the city in the early to mid 1990s. But the one thing that I heard that really angered me about the politics here in Bosnia is that since the finance minister was fired, military veterans cannot get paid, and this is a big problem. These people need that money in order for them to be able to live. For most it is the only money that they can make due to being disabled or other reasons. Without this money they are forced to go out and find things in the garbage that they can burn in order for them to at least keep warm. Also the children that are living in conditions like this alongside their parents are forced by themselves to go out and cut down wood to burn. Now this is not a problem, BUT when you have OVER 9000 and I say again 9000 minefields that are still active after the war has been over for close to 20 years now. There was a case just last week that some kids got killed due to this very fact, and on average there are at least a few cases of this a month. This is something that is UNACCEPTABLE and no one should have to go through that but that is what happens when the government is set up the way it is. But do you think that the ones in power want to take responsibility for their actions? NO. During the briefing we heard that the ones in power are blaming everyone but themselves for what has happened. Lastly during the briefing we heard how what is to be rumored one of the most ruthless criminals that there is in regards to money laundering and etc. was actually the one that was getting the most done. That is interesting to me because it feels like a Robin Hood scenario where he is a thief but gives it to those who are worse off than he is. So that was the gist of what we heard at the briefing. The next place we went to was to talk to the Bosnian Presidency advisor, and this discussion really had me confused and belittled based on what he talked about. The first thing that I found upsetting is that they believe that the Dayton Accord was a permanent solution since we do not live in what he called a perfect world. This upset me due to the fact that I felt as if they were trying to blame people in the he said that. There were more things that he went over including the idea that they would be willing to cut salaries in order for those who are going to be affected by the firing of the finance minister and as a result wont be able to get a check for the ones that are veterans. In my opinion I think that what he was saying there was a lot of populism, now don’t get me wrong he was a good speaker and all but he is a politician and is the type that can pull you in to believing anything, but for some reason it didn’t seem believable to me. Lastly I got the feeling that there was a lot of blame towards what he called the “Dayton Constitution” rather than an agreement. The idea that I got was that they treat the document as something that is living and breathing, and due to this they are never able to amend anything. I don’t know but it all just seemed to me to be very contradictory to me between what I heard at the U.S. Embassy and what I heard from the presidency advisor. Lastly we heard from speaker from the International Commission on missing persons. During this lecture he discussed what the organization is, how it worked, etc. I had no idea that there were that many people lost or killed in a place that is no bigger than West Virginia, but due to the war there were many that were killed and put into mass graves of just lost all together. So he talked about how they have a procedure on how they go and look for those who were lost, and how they go by returning them to their families. It made me really happy and at the same time sad that there is a group that does this. This is because I understand that they are trying to reunite people with the ones they lost, but I have to say that it saddens me when there needs to be something like this. Following this lecture we went back to the hotel and hung out for a bit and then we went out with the kids that had been showing us around to a local bar and had a few drinks and just enjoyed the nightlife in Sarajevo. We had drinks, laughs, and just were happy to be there and it felt kind of euphoric in a way. So me and my friend Morgan decided that we would head out early due to the fact that me and him had to pack so that is what we did. I came back got packed up and went to bed