Sarajevo 20 Years Later: Open, Hidden, Transformed and Healed Scars

Text by Benjamin Goffrier „Scars of Sarajevo“ published on balkandiskurs.com tells the story of the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina 20 years after the aggression against BiH, and the Patria agency carries part of this text.

- Almost 20 years after the war, the cityscape of Sarajevo is still riddled with bullet holes and shell craters on facades and pavements. These remnants are the scars of Sarajevo. Like a person, a city has its own body that grows and changes over time. And just as gray hair or wrinkles can tell something about a person, so can buildings and squares provide information about the city's history.

However, to understand the non-verbal language with which such scars address you, we must change our perception to notice everything that remains around us. Otherwise, the scars will remain silent.

Open Scars

Bullet holes and shell craters are still visible. Outside the city center, many facades have not yet been renovated. These scars are the most visible remnants of the siege of Sarajevo that lasted during the Bosnian war. It lasted 1,425 days, from April 5, 1992, to February 29, 1996, and is known as the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare.

Various weapons were used during the siege, including grenades, tanks, anti-aircraft weapons, heavy machine guns, multiple rocket launchers, aerial bombs, and sniper rifles. The untouched bullet holes and shell craters testify to the destructive power that weapons possess. Their pronounced existence directly shows the observer all the brutality of war.

Hidden Scars

Many facades have been partially renovated. Craters and bullet holes have been filled with stone or plaster to protect the buildings from further decay. Although these scars of the siege are covered, their origin is still evident. In this way, the memory of the war is preserved, and basic restoration standards prevent further deterioration of the buildings. The sporadic covering of holes and craters with plaster creates interesting, sometimes bizarre patterns. Some look like works of contemporary art, while others resemble acne scars. Their concealment may have reduced the impact these craters have on anyone who sees them, so the viewer must use much more imagination to visually imagine the brutal origin of these scars. 

Transformed Scars

Some rare examples show how bullet holes and craters have been transformed to convey a specific message. In this way, citizens take ownership of their past by creating a monument to what remains of the siege, transforming it into something meaningful for the present. Public space in this sense not only reveals something about the city's past but also offers contemporary impressions and interpretations by the city's residents. 

Graffiti is another way people have transformed bullet holes. In some cases, graffiti has been used to turn the negative impression left by bullet holes into something positive, such as when they drew a smiling sun face over bullet holes (photo below).  In other cases, bullet holes have been ignored in creating graffiti, but the scars remain visible, although perhaps the power of their expression has been diminished. In this sense, the scars serve only as a background on a canvas awaiting the creations of future artists, alluding to past times. 

Healed Scars?

After the war, almost the entire city was destroyed. Thanks to the engagement of domestic and foreign investors, Sarajevo underwent a process of major reconstruction. Damaged buildings have been repaired, and modern residential buildings are being constructed throughout the city today. Sarajevo has become one of the fastest-growing cities in the region. Many scars have disappeared, and only a few remain. While the city center is almost completely rebuilt, the residential areas of Sarajevo still need to be developed. It is in these parts that most of the scars that were once common throughout the city are located. 

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