Fejzić: When Alija called us, we had no more dilemmas

Esad Fejzić, one of the observers at the referendum on February 29 and March 1, 1992, speaking for the BiH news agency Patria (NAP), says he still feels a dose of adrenaline that coursed through his veins during those days.

- It was euphoric and tense. Even the air wasn't the same as before – recalls this mechanical engineer from Visoko, as he calls them, the brightest moments in the modern history of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

- Whoever could contribute in any way during that period was involved with the referendum. Educated people talked to the population for days, explaining to them why their vote was important and why they should go to the referendum. The referendum was talked about on every corner. And when the referendum day finally came, people who had cars drove and brought older people from their homes. Simply, nothing was left to chance – says Esad, explaining that voters came from all sides, there were large crowds, but there were no problems. Everyone, he says, cared about the referendum passing in the best order.

- Every vote was important – says Esad.

Looking from today's distance, he realizes that a large number of voters who came to support the restoration of Bosnia and Herzegovina's independence were not even aware of the weight of their vote.

- We all knew that the referendum was a done deal when Alija Izetbegović called people and said they should go to the referendum and mark "FOR". There were no more dilemmas. People, especially the elderly, considered it a sin if they voted differently, even though they didn't fully understand what it was all about. Many still don't understand it today.

Esad explains that people did not want to leave the rump Yugoslavia because they hated it.

- On the contrary, it was completely the opposite. Yugoslavia was viewed with nostalgia. We felt sorry for the common state. But it was no more. Slovenia seceded, and after that Croatia, and Bosniaks had nothing to look for in that Yugoslavia anymore. Simply, we wanted to restore the independence of our country – says Esad.

Mainly Bosniaks went to the referendum.

- But, in Visoko, some Serb families also came out to support the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina – says Esad.