Mostar's Children - Bosnia

Aug 1996
A compassionate report on how young people in Bosnia are coping with re-unification. At a festival - designed to bring normality back to Mostar - string, wooden puppets play to rows of rapt, excited faces. Nigel Osbourne, a Scottish Professor of Music, works with the War Child charity to repair young minds scarred by the war. Now enjoying the golden princess and the evil villain on stage, they once suffered snipers, bombardment and hand to hand fighting. Both Serbian and Croat artillery has transformed Mostar - with its antique bridge spanning an emerald green river - into skeletal blocks of rubble. In the Croatian West, little touched by the fighting, glitzy shopping centres pulse with black market cash. But, in spite of the Dayton accord, Croatian politicians want ethnic segregation to remain for children as well as adults. So only the Muslim East celebrates youth festivals and TV Programmes sponsored by UNICEF. One Muslim girl expresses her regret, "Now after all they suffered children want to be together". Report ends with 16 year old Elvedin sitting by the river, singing of Mostar's pain and sadness.

Produced by ABC Australia
Distributed by Journeyman Pictures

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Mostar
• Children
• Bosnia
• Festival
• Market
• Journeyman
• Pictures
• news
• documentary
• current affairs
• journeyman
• journeyman pictures

[Peristerygr]

@aaaaarrrrggghhhRelax dud! I saw that you are Bosnian and I asked you a question to understand why the troll I was mentioned bulshiting! Yeap it is sad! But that is imperialism: "divide and conquer"!

Also the Catholic church and her Knight Orders (St John's, Tewtonic Order, Soveiring Military order of Malta etc) really hated your society because before the War your society was a shining example that Muslims and Christians can live together and that the "Clash of Civilizations" are bullshits!

[aaaaarrrrggghhh]

Wtf, man??? I didn't mean to insult anybody, I just was sadly sarcastic about truth. My city is divided and there is so much hate in it. Generations born after war have enormous hate for eachother. Whole generations live isolated in their own societies/river banks. Can you imagine 20 year old guy/girl who never visit other river bank of their own city??? I struggled for years to accept that we are so much screwd... Unfortunately, that is the truth.

And yes, Mostar is heart of Herzegovina. :)

[staimazaveceru]

I wish there were more reports similar to this one documenting many of the efforts made to reconcile the people there. Apart from War Child (org that Nigel volunteered for) there were also Mladi Most ("Young Bridge"), Mirovni Projekt (Peace Project) and many other NGOs that planted the seeds of trust among some open-minded youth. I believe this was recorded a few months after the check points were removed and crossing to the other part of the city was made possible (but still it was dangerous).

[Peristerygr]

@zelen35 You must see "Jacobian Manson" (Egyptian film)! It seems that you will surprised what things they actually do down there!!!!

[Peristerygr]

@zelen35 The truth is they drink and smoke too!!! Nobody follows those verses of Sharia prohibiting dring and smoking!

[Peristerygr]

@aaaaarrrrggghhh Hersegovina has muslim majority? That would be a good explanation why (American) Marduk insults them! Neverless he might still be just a coward troll who insults people for no reason -nobody can beat the hell of you on internet! It is a perfect place for scums who say insults to people and then cowling with just an angry stair!

[MardukHail]

If they all learn guitar they'll have to go to war again. A nation of guitar players won't be able to feed itself. That is the problem with moronic mountain people. I feel sorry for those kids. Someone should go there and teach the stupid mountain folk of Europe how to program computers or something.

[aaaaarrrrggghhh]

@fahim113

I had 14 years back in 1996, and first thing that I notice today is horror of boys's haircut (LOL, we all had that horror on our heads). And you want to know what is happened in those 15 years? Well, we are not kids anymore and, unfortunately, hate became real!

@ journeymanpictures

Mostar is not in Bosnia but in Herzegovina!

[TheSjnhasan]

i am sergeant Hasan a Nato Peacekeeping in Bosnia 1996-97, i love you bosnia pupils

[velezredaarmy]

I meet Nigel Osborne and use to work with him on some projects..Also David Wilson and Jonny Wilson..I can only say amazing things about these people...Tnx to those people and Mostar will never forget you!