The Art of Survival (guide)

Following the radical shifts of the 21st century across the globe, we realised it was time to contribute once again, drawing on the evidence and lived experience of the Sarajevo siege (1992–1996), to the urgent need for developing models of resilience, both for frightened individuals and unprepared societies. The extreme conditions of urban life during the siege gave rise to a parallel civilisation in which creativity became a basic necessity. In the process of adaptation, there was no room for stagnation or helplessness.

This book does not present a theory, but rather real-life evidence that reveals the potential and strength of an open mind when confronted with the unknown, the new, the uncertain, and the unimaginable. We are convinced that the example of the Sarajevo siege represents a source of hope for humanity as it faces serious threats and changes previously unthinkable on this planet.

In extreme circumstances, work became the fundamental principle of both mental and physical survival. Carrying out tasks essential to basic survival occupied people’s thoughts: work pushed away thoughts that could undermine motivation.

Establishing some form of balance amid the daily extremes of urban life was a matter of survival. People found balance through calming, simple, everyday moments, each created in line with their own inclinations.

Continuing a normal life, and being creative even within limited circumstances, was as vital to the people of besieged Sarajevo as water, bread, or medicine.

Additional context

READING TIPS

At the end of the 20th century, during the wars in the former Yugoslavia, the city of Sarajevo survived the longest siege in human history. On April 5, 1992 Sarajevo, the capital of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, was attacked. On May 4, 1992 the city was completely BLOCKADED. The Yugoslav People’s army, aided by the Bosnian Serbs, surrounded the city and started to tighten the circle around 500,000 citizens. The city, which lies in the valley of the Miljacka river is surrounded by mountains on which 260 tanks, 120 mortars and many weapons of smaller calibre were placed. A circle 60 kilometres in circumference closed around Sarajevo. Sixty thousand (meters) divided by 2,100 (that’s how many pieces of artillery were deployed around Sarajevo) tells you that at every 35 meters, there was a piece of artillery.

The aggressor blocked all TELECOMMUNICATIONS, destroyed the Post Office and the city was left without telephones and communication with the outside world was rendered impossible. And the destruction of the city began. SHELLING: Every day the city was hit by some 4,000 shells, four million shells were fired at the city – targeting, among others: hospitals, schools, mosques, churches, synagogues, maternity hospitals, libraries, museums, and the places where the citizens stood in lines for bread and water. During the years of the siege, all the city streets were exposed to the most accurate SNIPER fire. Virtually every citizen of Sarajevo was the target of. There was not a single 50 meter length of street not exposed to it. That was a special kind of terror: it was made clear that there was no freedom of movement and that no movement was permitted on the streets. Such a thing has never before been recorded in the history of an urban area, and the situation lasted for four years. ‘There was sniper fire anywhere we went. They preyed upon us like animals. When the snipers stop, you run. But once you cross the bridge, they start shooting again. Suddenly you find yourself riveted to the spot: you’re in the middle of the street, you’re aware what this street is, and suddenly a sniper starts shooting but you cannot move. It’s just for a moment – then you move and go ahead.’

The cemeteries were expanding. FUNERALS: “Frequently, or exclusively, the burials took place at night, and the first time I naively took a flashlight and everybody around me screamed, ‘A flashlight! Are you crazy, we will all get killed, turn it off!’ As I am a priest. I knew some prayers by heart, so I could perform funerals in the dark.” During the funerals imams sometimes had to jump into the graves for shelter, so later they started to perform burials at night – that way fewer people were endangered; they tried to preserve as many lives as possible.

THE FOOD supply was fast disappearing. UN humanitarian airlift began on July 3, 1992, to provide humanitarian supplies for Sarajevo.It was the longest airlift in the history of aviation, in the history of modern warfare: 467 days longer than the one in Berlin. Each UNHCR or UNPROFOR plane brought 30 tons of food and first aid supplies to Sarajevo. Every citizen of Sarajevo was entitled to 1,250 grams of beans, 300 grams of sugar, 300 grams of oil and 1 kg of flour from humanitarian aid. All the city WATER sources were kept by the aggressor; the water supply was reduced from a total of 2,500 liters per second (l/s) before the war, to a flow rate of 5 l/s coming from a small water source within the city, and approximately 30-40 l/s from the Hrasnica source at the outskirts of the city. All GAS installations were beyond the siege lines. The aggressor cut all gas supply to the city, they simply closed all gas valves. ELECTRICITY supply was cut off. The Electro Distribution workers were doing their best to repair the transmission lines. It often happened that a transmission pole was raised only to be knocked down during the following night. The workers sometimes had to climb the same pole as many as 15 times to replace a damaged insulator. THE SARAJEVO TUNNEL was constructed between March and June of 1993 during the siege of Sarajevo. The tunnel allowing food, war supplies, and humanitarian aid to come into the city, and allowing people to get out. In March 1996, after NATO air-strikes and the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords, the blockade of Sarajevo was lifted and a peaceful reintegration of the city was effected.

DEBLOCKADE: On March 19, 1996 the aggressor left the occupied district of the city - Grbavica - which was the last part of the city to be returned to the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina under the Dayton Peace Agreement. Over 11,000 persons were killed in Sarajevo – close to 1,600 where children. More than 50,000 persons were wounded, a great number of whom remain invalids. The siege of the city lasted from May 1992 to March 1996, or 1,395 days, which is the longest siege in the modern history of mankind.

Yet, amidst all this destruction and suffering, Sarajevans continued to work, create amidst all the odds. During the siege, the continuation of normal life in the city, the continuation of creativity, was as important as bread or medicine or water for all citizens of Sarajevo. THE ART OF SURVIVAL which the city of Sarajevo mastered during the four-year siege could offer answers to many challenges facing our civilization at the outset of the 21st century – how to survive disasters caused by nature or by humans and how to overcome fear from threats and terror induced by an invisible enemy.

Note:
All of these projects have since demonstrated that this method is key to documenting events if we want our efforts to serve as a meaningful contribution to the interpretation and understanding of the 1991–1999 period in the former Yugoslavia, for both local and global education. This project has already proven and continues to prove its value as a contribution to the process of truth and reconciliation, as well as to the democratisation of post-war society.