Sarajevo Survival Guide

The project is particularly significant because, as early as 1992/93, it anticipated that what was happening in Sarajevo at the time would, in the foreseeable future, happen to the world at large (terror, the destruction of urban environments caused by human or natural forces, the search for alternative energy sources, and a philosophy of survival).

The project emerged from the need to inform the world about the phenomenon of siege and basic survival, as well as the incredible potential of human nature, which responded to four years of relentless destruction and terror with invention, creation, intelligence, and work as a law of survival. The American edition of the Survival Guide was published in 1994. When we presented it in New York City and the US, it was read and cited by sophisticated media and academic circles who recognised the universal value of civic resistance through culture and creativity, by embracing impossible circumstances with an open mind.

The FAMA Survival Guide was the first of its kind, both in theme and format. We collected advice, photographs, documents, and stories to archive the possibilities of survival in an urban area following a disaster caused by human destruction or a natural catastrophe. How does one survive in a city where civilisation has collapsed, infrastructure is destroyed, energy supplies are cut off, and communication with the outside world is severed?

How do you survive in a city without water, electricity, heating, food, transport, schools, jobs, or safe shelter? How do you survive a catastrophe?

Additional context
Survival is a theme we have explored extensively, one that has since become a subject of study in institutions worldwide dedicated to building resilience. In all of our projects, it has evolved into a kind of ‘knowledge bank’. Knowing whether to send water or a purification tablet to a devastated area can save hours and days crucial for the survival of those in need. The Survival Guide and the FAMA collection offer answers to such questions.

“How to survive, but also how to die in a city? This is the first guide that has brought our carefree wandering around the world to an end. It will undoubtedly alter our geographic perspective and our travellers’ morality. At the end of a century - perhaps even the end of history - must we adopt a different inner insight, one that began with Nietzsche and continues today with Sloterdijk: the project of Humanity is in doubt, and one might say it has failed. This guide will likely deepen our sorrow, but it might also mute the false optimism of charitable games. There is no help. No rescue teams or life vests: ambulances are the first targets, and the Red Cross emblem on a sleeve is a suicidal invitation to those who shoot. That is why we must remain where we are. Sarajevo cannot be carried out—it would be a futile and meaningless effort. What remains of its hidden meaning crumbles before the eyes of the world; nothing can be described except the description itself. Therefore, let us not describe the city, not even its dignified, insidious death.”
(Foreword to the Survival Guide, published in 1993 – Bora Ćosić)

Note:
All projects from the FAMA Collection have since demonstrated that this methodology is key to documenting events. If we want our effort to serve as a valuable contribution to the interpretation and understanding of the breakup of Yugoslavia during the period 1991–1999, and to the transmission of knowledge for both local and global education, this approach is essential.