Sullivan: I always believed that Bosnia and Herzegovina has a brilliant future

Sarajevo is a great place for a writer, says in an exclusive interview for the Bosnian news agency Patria Kevin Sullivan, a Scot who worked for years as a journalist and advisor to high representatives of the international community in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Today, Sullivan, as he says, is a Sarajevan and a writer who makes a living from selling his books.

It is little known to the Bosnian public that Sullivan has published several novels in English and that they are very successful editions. His latest novel, “Out of the West,” has only recently seen the light of day. When asked why, after finishing his job at the Office of the High Representative, he stayed in Sarajevo, Sullivan says he loves living here.

- My wife is from Sarajevo, my daughter goes to school here. I love life here. I first visited Bosnia and Herzegovina in the autumn of 1991 when I was going to Dalmatia. Three impressions have stayed with me since then: the smell of Bosnian coffee, the sound of the tram, and the fact that practically everyone talked at length about how Serbs, Croats, and Bosniaks had always lived together and that only extremists wanted to divide them. When I later came, I was glad I had that “postcard” in my memory – says Sullivan.

He, he says, grew to love the people in Sarajevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

- I love this sense of humor, which is somewhat similar to that in Scotland. Sarajevo is a compact city surrounded by beautiful nature. A great place for writing books – emphasizes Sullivan.

Most of his novels have nothing to do with Bosnia and Herzegovina at all, but it is clear that Sullivan finds inspiration here.

- Most of my novels are set in the past. The latest one is set during the Greek Civil War. So, that inspiration probably comes from historical events. The book tells the story of how a young jazz singer survives during the German occupation and the civil war in Greece. She and the people around her did not know how that war would end. It is easy later to see what should have been done, but at the time when everything is happening, it is not easy – he states.

Sullivan says he was particularly fascinated by the way people, during the wars in the former Yugoslavia, faced moral dilemmas in difficult circumstances. Sullivan also wrote a novel titled “Sleeping With Heroes,” whose plot is set in besieged Sarajevo.

- A Hollywood film studio bought the rights to make a movie based on it, but unfortunately, that never happened. I wrote the book in Alipašino Polje in 1993. But, as a rule, it is easier for me to write about places where I am not currently staying. One novel is set in Central America; I wrote that one when I was in Sri Lanka. Another is set in Tokyo, and I wrote it in Samoa.

When it comes to life in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sullivan is somewhat disappointed. He says that what worries him most is that the common sense of the majority of citizens has not been translated into development and peace.

- I always believed that Bosnia and Herzegovina has a brilliant future. Despite the efforts of extremists, there are things that cannot be taken away from this country and its people – he says.

Although he advised the most influential international officials in Bosnia and Herzegovina for five years, Sullivan does not say much about the OHR.

- I am glad that I was able to contribute to stabilization and peace. As a journalist, I wrote about the destruction of the state, and it was much better later to work on its reconstruction. I think the OHR did a lot of good, but in the end, the final solutions will come from the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina – concludes Sullivan.