Thursday, October 1, 2009

Bosnia Blog Part 12 - 9/19/09

Bosnia Blog-Saturday, 9/19/09
11:30 pm

Last night (Friday) was our final night in Sarajevo. I miss my family  
so very much, I'm exhausted physically and emotionally and can't wait  
to get home. At the same time, I really don't want to leave this  
country.  I feel as though we saw and heard so much yet only touched  
the surface. The women of Bosnia have left an indelible impression on  
my heart.  When I think of all they've been through yet they trusted  
us....six lily-white Americans....enough to open up and share so much  
pain, suffering and personal heartache, I'm moved beyond words.

I SO wish I could speak their language. Yes, we all smile, kiss and  
cry in the same language, but what I would give to tell them with my  
own voice how very sorry I am for their pain, how touched I am that  
they invited us into their homes and that I WILL bring their stories  
back to America.

Not only am I sad to leave the suffering women in Bosnia, but also I am not  
ready to say goodbye to the World Vision women who have made this trip  

so wonderful for us.  First of all, there is Maja, who has been with  
us all week long....translating seamlessly, not only the words, but  
words with such emotion. She handled the many glitches that appeared  
along the way like a seasoned veteran. She is kind, sweet, funny,  
bright and mature beyond her years.  If I could, I would pack her in  
my suitcase and bring her home with me. 

I will miss our daily hugs and  
many laughs. I love you, Maja.  I'm honored to wear the scarf you so lovingly removed from around your neck and put on mine, and I'm so glad we're going to keep in touch.

There is Claudia, Operations Director for World Vision, from Germany.   



We first met her on Wednesday. What a warm, accepting, professional,  
personable, and fun woman to be with. I really got to know Claudia in  
the van today during the drive from Sarajevo to Dubrovnik. We  
certainly had plenty of time to bond....7 hours to be exact. The  
stories she told Mary (one of the six ladies I traveled with) and I were both hilarious (about her personal life) and  
amazing (stories from the war).  The things the Bosnian people did  
just to survive, risking their lives to save their families are hard  
to believe.  I am looking forward to keeping in touch with Claudia, as  
well.

Sue, the World Vision Bosnia-Herzegovina National Director is a force to be reckoned  
with.  

A woman who just seems to "have it all together," we learned so  
much during our time with her. She is passionate about her work, the  
women of Bosnia and Humanitarian work in general. It was an absolute  
privilege to spend time with Sue.





I met Alma for the first time during dinner last night and had the  
privilege of sitting next to her. She is the Finance Officer at WV and  
was so vulnerable with us. 

Within minutes of sitting down, we, being  
women, started asking about each other's families.  Alma told us that  
she has lived in Sarajevo her entire life, is married and had a baby  
boy during the war. She said that no one would ever choose to do  
that....it just happened. She lived next door to the hospital and  
while giving birth, the power went out. Because she'd had a c-section,  
they had to suture her up in the dark. One day when her mother was in  
her apartment on the top floor with Alma and her son, she said that it  
just seemed "too quiet."  Her mother insisted that they go down to her  
ground floor apartment. Within minutes, Alma's apartment was  
shelled....the interior destroyed entirely.  Because they had a baby,  
the hospital provided food for her family during the war. They named  
him Damir...."Da" means "gift" and "Mir" means "peace.". He will be 16  
years old this month and she said that he truly was a gift to them. I  
was touched by Alma's kindness and vulnerability. I will never forget  
her.

Jasmina....what is to be said about Jasmina. I have never met a woman  
like her. I have already written much of her story down, so I won't  

repeat it here.  
When I think of Jasmina, my heart aches for all that  
she has endured, for how her life has changed since the war. 





But I am in awe of her resilience, her optimism and her leadership. She has the  
strength of 10 women and the determination of an entire army. It was  
an honor to be in her presence and a privilege now, to call her  
"friend."  (The two photos above are of Jasmina and her children during the war.  They are on the side of their house, and you can see the ditch they dug for protection.)

Finally, there is Kenan.....our fearless driver. I don't know many  
men who possess the patience of Kenan. He was with us from Sunday  
night, picking us up at the airport until tonight, dropping us off  

after dinner. He literally drove us EVERYWHERE.  He was a very  
careful, clever and brilliant driver. We were in quite a large van,  
driving along winding, coastal, mountainous, country, extremely  
narrow, often one-way roads. The way he maneuvered that van was  
impressive, receiving applause from us from time to time. Kenan was  
quite reserved to begin with and I'm sure he wondered what in the  
world he'd gotten himself into, chauffeuring the 7 of us all around  
Croatia and Bosnia for a week.  

He spent countless hours waiting for  
us, schlepping our luggage in and out of the van, and listening to our  
incessant chatter.  By the time we'd hugged and said goodbye to him  
last night, though, we'd learned a little about his life during the  
war and, I believe, he was a little sad to leave us.  He told us that  
his English was not so good a week ago, but that he'd really brushed  
up on it by the end of our time together. I'll always remember how  
kind he was to me throughout the week.  (Kenan is the 2nd man from the left)

There are so many others that we met during the week and they all  
contributed so much to our time in Bosnia. World Vision is a first-
class organization and I wouldn't hesitate to travel with them again.   
I hope I have the privilege to return to Bosnia and see these folks  
again someday.

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