Mostar’s picturesque old town, and most notably its iconic bridge, were ravaged and destroyed during the offensive by the Serbian forces, which began in the city in 1992.
As my group followed Amela on our walking tour of Mostar, she tells of a time with insufficient food and water, and certainly no chocolate for the children. Instead, for 4 years the city was in ruins and scattered with army tanks.
She recalls the last night she spent in her family home before fleeing for their safety. The Serbian forces were closing in and they had been advised by friends and neighbours that they would not survive the next day unless they escaped.
They had to carefully crawl through the darkness in a single file without uttering a sound, to remain hidden and unheard by the surrounding snipers.
Amela, for a reason she cannot explain, ignored the instructions from her parents and began to crawl in the opposite direction – straight towards the path of the snipers.
Despite the desperation to save their young daughter from being instantly killed, her parents could not cry out to her for fear of revealing their presence to the military forces, guaranteeing a death sentence for them all.
Luckily, Amela glanced over her shoulder and locked eyes with her Mother.
With noticeable sadness, Amela remembers the look in her Mother’s eyes; a look which will stay with her forever.
Her Mother frantically gestured with her hands, urging her daughter to turn around and crawl back to safety.
She did, and it saved her life.