Building Resilience

"We were all innovators of our own methods of survival."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

With time Sarajevans adapted to the condition of great changes and constant stress. The resilience process took place over a period of time. Individuals invented their own road to resilience.

"A bit of personal creativity."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

It was long thought that creativity belonged to great minds and special talents only. This research provides endless examples that creativity belongs to every individual. We have evidence that limits boost different forms of creativity of each individual. Creativity is a basic need of existential and mental survival.

"We had to attack stress immediately."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

Immediate response to stress is especially important during crises. People emerge stronger from acute shocks and stress they instantly manage to respond to.

"You had to occupy your mind with something all the time."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

Sarajevans were constantly (24/7 for four years) exposed to life or death situations. Their normal response to abnormal situations gave them an instant path to recovery from a specific trauma of the day.

"You have to be faster, more perceptive than your usual self."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

People develop resilience in special circumstances: In the face of the four year destruction Sarajevans gradually increased their own flexibility, open-mindedness, ability to change, evolve and adapt.

"We measured time differently then: we measured it by how much it took to do something."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

Several stress levels requested a strong capacity to invent a parallel reality in heart of an extreme environment. There was no time to wait, immediate response to constant changes was essential.

"Yes or No? - In the same neighborhood, in the same building, in the same circumstances of a given part of the besieged city, one man managed to provide for his basic needs, while other did not. The first one had accepted the reality of the unexpected (the New Normal), the unknown, the dangerous ... and, together with his family, managed to provide a car battery as a source of electricity, or vegetables from their own garden, or gas heating, or a trolley for carrying water, or to watch television pedaling a bicycle. The other man, the one who refused to accept the reality, who lived remembering the past, went down to the basement and never came out of it, barely having anything – and that he mainly received from others. People were divided into those who said YES and to those who said NO to the New Normal."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

The Yes / No dilemma was the beginning of accepting one's ability of dealing with the crises as a survival condition. To accept or not to accept New Normal was the question.

"I wasted no time marveling, I suddenly knew everything."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

Extreme circumstances cause a shock to the system: everything so far known is suddenly transformed. Fear becomes one's identity and starts influencing one's decisions. By admitting to be afraid one can block consequences of their own shock, as the mind takes over and starts developing tools for mental and basic survival, positioning itself Ahead of Fear

"I've planned nothing, never made decisions in advance."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

Learn to gain from unexpected events was a rule of survival.

"I had confidence in myself. That was all I had."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

Sarajevans discovered one of the most important rules for combating stress: The unexpected is expected. That was a new mindset platform. The unexpected was crucial to their survival knowledge formation.

"I was guarding my emotions to save the energy I needed to face the unknown."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

Sarajevans discovered a golden opportunity to exit the bottom of civilization: they created a new one.

"Decisions were made at the last minute. You could never be sure of anything."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

Day by day, in every second of their lives, Sarajevans have been developing the capacity of decision making under constant stress. A question of life or death was a permanent condition; life or death decisions had to be made at each moment of the day.

"I used to hunt rabbits and sell them at the market. Don't ask me how I did it."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

Sarajevans accepted the Extremely New and Unknown as a reality, and learned daily lessons from Improvising in an absolutely changed and limited world.

"I used to make lipsticks by melting the remains of old lipsticks in a jar lid, with some oil. I'd pour that mix back into the empty lipstick tubes and left it to solidify."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

Extremely limited conditions increase the mind's capacity to open, until then totally unknown in human experience. In decision making process, de-blockade of mind blocked by fear was a first step towards survival.

"Walking kept me from going crazy."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

In limited circumstances freedom means recognizing and respecting new rules. A personal decision to move around the city despite the danger of becoming a sniper target was a well thought-out assessment of the situation: you were not safe anywhere as danger was everywhere, and the most dangerous thing was to become 'besieged' by the situation.

"Given that I had burned all my furniture as firewood, I knocked some nails on the wall and hung my clothes there, covering it with plastic foil from the ceiling to the floor – I made a transparent wardrobe. It looked funny, but most importantly the clothes were protected from dust."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

Improvisation in response to constant changes is a very important basic survival tool. It was treated as a personal achievement.

"During the shelling I'd be putting the washing out."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

There were two groups of people: the ones who accepted the extreme circumstances as their own reality and the others who could not do that. The ones who accepted the abnormal as normal, and those who could not accept it. Those who said YES found the opportunity of creating a parallel reality. Those who said NO were locked in the past.

"I grew flowers in my spare time."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

Minimalism was a spontaneous discovery: a balance to the extreme circumstances It was a moment of respite, giving a rest of mind in between dealings with constant stress in various forms.

"I isolated myself from the media and the news so that my motivation stayed high."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

Everyone chose their own way of mental survival. It was better not to know things you did not see. It was better not to be influenced by others who offered the 'right' picture of things which, once said, became insurmountable issues.

"We do useful things."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

Sarajevans were focused on few daily goals, simple but achievable only with great mental and physical strain. Their minds were kept occupied and their actions useful: finding food, water, electricity, heating fuel ...

"The unexpected is expected."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

This was one of the rules Sarajevans had to adopt if they didn't want to repeatedly waste energy on being shocked and stressed, because their circumstances changed several times a day. If they allowed the unexpected to influence them always in the same way, they could not have survived the stress levels either mentally or physically. This way the unexpected became a measure of normality.

"I was collecting remains of candles and melted them in a tin can. While wax was melting I'd place a thread that served as a wick in the middle, and so I made a candle."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

Work was the law of both mental and existential survival. People were totally committed to whatever they were doing – if they permitted their minds to think about what was happening and why they would have been constantly worried, their energy drained and their driving force destroyed – they would not have been able to overcome the impossible.

"I have no invention for survival, except that I sometimes boiled my laundry in the sun. I'd soap the washing really well and put in a saucepan with water and it would boil like that."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

Nietzsche wrote: 'When you wish to act you must close the door on doubt.' The whole town closed the door on doubt and survived the four-year blockade.

"Hardware is destroyed, Software survived."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

Hardware is destroyed (destruction of the city at all levels), Software survived (mind capacity, in this case). A man had his mind as a means of defense against all the levels of stress. Power of an open mind proved to be an equal adversary to the extreme, the unexpected, the unknown, the unpredictable circumstances of terror in various forms. Open mindedness, and the later developed Ahead of Fear mechanism had automatic responses to all of these forms.

"I made a walk-man that worked on a dynamo. Whenever I rode a bike, I listened to the music."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

The world was starting from scratch. Each situation was new to everyone. Creating a new reality was fundamentally important at all levels of survival. In so limited circumstances everything was to be created anew: a stove, a lamp, school classes, birthday celebrations, gardens, theater plays … water had to be provided.

"My accomplishment was that I survived!"

BUILDING RESILIENCE

Surviving a disaster in an urban area for four years, creating a parallel reality in the midst of daily destruction, and its consequences, all citizens became 'ordinary heros' and showed that strength and creativity of the mind were the right response to the crises and destruction.

"My neighbor had a generator which all of us used. Since we had only one plug, I made a wooden one with four outlets so that the whole apartment could be provided with electricity. It was a kind of extension lead because a proper one could not be used with that generator. I made it by drilling four holes in a wooden cube, in each of them slipping a metal rod which conducted electricity."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

There was no training for unblocking the mind, no teaching or sharing experiences. A new mindset was established, adapted to the new circumstances, and its driving mechanism was Ahead of Fear. This was a completely new phenomenon, experienced by citizens who had decided to accept the situation for what it was, and therefore to survive it.

"The important thing is to be spirited."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

Resilience as the new identity was built over a long period of extreme circumstances – a permanent state of crisis. Resilience was developed through a mechanism of examining the new world, decision after decision, procedure after procedure, event after event in creating a parallel reality.

"I've adjusted to the situation in which I live."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

Everyone had to hold their life in their hands (“catch the bull by the horns”): the absolute destruction deprived the city's inhabitants of everything known, they had nothing but themselves and their own minds' ability to cope with the situation, and later on the new character tools that could support their self-actualization.

"I used to bring water in jerry cans and barrels; the spring was about 10-15 minute walk away from home. Food was mostly from humanitarian aid and what little could be found on the market and in our own garden. There weren't enough cigarettes. We had no electricity so it was either candlelight or darkness."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

There were no feelings of sentiment for what once was: such feelings were extremely dangerous because they could decrease concentration and acceptance of 'now'. Any doubts about the present, or any memories of "how it used to be" weakened the ability to perform daily tasks and to adapt the acquired ability to immediately and appropriately respond to stress.

"I was learning, listening to music. I was reading romance novels."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

They knew when the time was right to act, and when it was better to lay low and wait: the new mindset created tools to master the unknown and even the dynamics of action and reaction, depending on the momentary needs.

"No matter what comes our way, being resilient we will carry on' – that was a slogan of the day."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

The four year extreme circumstances set up a resilience mechanism Sarajevans could fully rely on. Individuals were able to trust themselves more than anyone else and thus was established a society of individuals who – each in their own way – built a resilient society. Resilience was not a matter of heroes, as all individuals achieved the same thing. The city survived because each citizen became resilient.

"Nothing was as it used to be, we lived in a world of the Mad Max movie."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

A collective response to the situation of Uncertainty-Unknown-Unexpected-Abnormal was a wide range creativity. Individuals and the city were overcoming the situation day by day. The insight into the greatness of an open mind standing Ahead of Fear presents a hope for humanity. Fear cannot be overcome completely, but Sarajevans put it in service of their existence and eventually reduced it to one of the facts, but not the ruler of their decisions.

"I used to read everything I could put my hands on, and I listened to music."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

The Sarajevans' new mindset automatically provided measures against daily stress levels as a place of balance in their free time. The stress was balanced with music, reading, cinema and theater, fashion shows, tennis...

"I was watching TV that run on a battery charged with a wind turbine. The wind powered the windmill driving an electric motor which stored the energy in the battery. This was possible only when there was wind, of course, and the battery was filled in 24 hours."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

Absolute Creation was no longer a privilege of the elite. The ability of each individual to overcome the constant crisis established life chances to all of them. Those who have never been artists become artists of life.

"Modern is what you've got."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

There was no vanity in what Sarajevans wore, or concerns about the appropriateness and the looks of them. Dictate of previous social norms no longer existed. 'Fashionable is what you've got' was a collection TRASH of extraordinary creations made of 'what you've got'.

"I used to put make up on – just for spite!"

BUILDING RESILIENCE

Defiance was a protest against the invisible terrorists through make-up, dressing-up, grooming, movement – all spite actions that would not be expected in extreme circumstances. Defiance was Ahead of Fear, it returned the dignity to people-sitting targets.

"Ahead of fear."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

Ahead of Fear is a mechanism improved by utter confusion as it is actually born out of it. Ahead of Fear gives evidence that both individuals and societies can and must cope with the demands of time. Ahead of Fear is a new mindset that does not underestimate the fear that reigns the world of stress and uncertainty. You cannot beat fear, but being ahead of it enables you to overcome unknown situation with any new stress.

"I made a coffee stove out of a can which was heated with pieces of paper."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

Sarajevans learned how to gain from the state of disarray their world was in: unexpected events offered huge possibilities for creating necessities that previously were normally provided for them: each such creation meant a victory of men over terror and all forms of stress. To brew herbs for tea, lentils for coffee, to bake bread in a pressure pot, to organize costume parties for kids in stairways – all this meant one thing only: every person Ahead of Fear had the mentality of a winner, not a victim mentality.

"My invention is a defiance of the siege: Not to be besieged."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

Ahead of Fear as a principle of survival in the city under the four year siege: Not to stay besieged in a city under the siege. This principle was successfully applied in the creation of their parallel reality.

"I made a lamp connected to a battery, using foil with a bulb, on the mirror principle."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

Making a lamp in a city without electricity was one of the greatest challenges but dangers as well. Each 'work task' required the Ahead of Fear mental equipment and acceptance to go out and become a sitting target in order to find things necessary to later build a lamp and have light. Sarajevans learned to appreciate water, light, food, relationships … since all of that had to be won with extreme effort. It was like surfing dangerously high waves or winning dangerous mountain peaks. Everything became important and measurable.

"We have evidence of the opposite."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

'State of constant stress and fear was ruining things' is not necessarily an accurate conclusion. The case of the Sarajevo siege showed that, if a given situation was accepted, the numerous daily levels of stress may unexpectedly increase the capacity of mind, the strength of character and the power of creativity which all together created a new mindset that could cope with stress and preserve human health.

"In my free time me and my boys were messing around forever."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

Humor is part of an open-mindedness: at the end of the world Sarajevans showed a sense of humor. It would be hard to live a dangerous situation only such as it is: in face of a constant presence of death, and in the absence of basic necessities. Humor was established as the distance to the given situation, it took away its ugly and scary strength. Survival was not deadly serious; despite huge physical exertion and suffering it was funny in its solutions. People succeeded to look with laughter upon themselves, and the world.

"I believed to myself only, I did not listen to any rumors."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

The power of mind and Ahead of Fear driving force became new identity and resulted in individuals' total self-confidence. Resilience mechanism began to operate automatically. There was no dictation of will.

"Do not think of yesterday. Do not think about tomorrow. Only about what's happening now."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

It was the law of survival in the besieged city; the law was in force for four years, 24/7.

"One question was never asked: and what about tomorrow?"

BUILDING RESILIENCE

To think about Tomorrow meant to go too far, into the unthinkable and extremely different from where they were, like a trip to the Moon. Sarajevans were aware that that would require a new set of adaptations, just after they got used to their new normal.

"We never thought about what would happen, only about what was happening."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

Sarajevans could not control the destruction or new horror surprises, but being Ahead of Fear they were able to control the challenges of any situation, as they had learned how to absorb shock and how to respond to it as quickly as possible.

"Something out of Nothing."

BUILDING RESILIENCE

The training of the mind taught Sarajevans to be constantly alert. They had no excess thoughts, they were concentrated only on what was happening at a given moment. They became experts in improvisation, all the time creating something out of nothing.