Although they come from different cities, four young writers share a great love for the written word. By their example, they show that literature in Bosnia and Herzegovina is not dying out.
Ivo Andrić is still the only Nobel laureate in literature from any of the former Yugoslav countries. His works were inspired by Bosnia, and on one occasion, he declared: “Bosnia is my spiritual homeland.” A permanent exhibition about his life and literary work is located in the Ivo Andrić Memorial Birthplace Museum in Travnik. One of the main features of the artistic and cultural expression of Bosnia and Herzegovina is contained within his works.
At the age of 11, Mersiha Čusto (fromerly Mersiha Begović) saved a child from Bosnia and Herzegovina while they were ice skating on a partially frozen pond at a military barracks in the Czech town of Nyrsko. They were staying at the barracks as refugees during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Non-governmental organizations are helping to educate and empower hardworking Roma women to take an active role in Bosnian society. The Otaharin Citizens Association for Promotion of Roma Education is a prime example. Otaharin’s mission is to increase the levels of education, social and economic integration, and inclusion of vulnerable marginalized groups, including Roma women. The association has given women like Sabira Hašimović a “normal” life.
Women who chose to wear a hijab – the headscarf worn by Muslim women as a religious custom – are sometimes subjected to jokes, negative comments, prejudice, and stereotypes. Usually, they simply ignore this. Instead, they focus on professional and social development, proving that women, covered or uncovered, are not just meant to stay at home.
The siege of Sarajevo (1992-1996) was the longest siege of a capital city in modern history. The daily campaigns of shelling and sniping, targeting the civilian population, were terrible and cruel, compounded by the blockade of humanitarian aid convoys and the severance of any connection with the rest of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the world.