Bosnia and Herzegovina: Sarajevo's tramway

In Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, we can find one of the oldest tramways in Europe that began to work in 1884. That alone makes it an important and remarkable way of transportation in Europe. But the capital city tramway also became a very important icon during the Bosnian war.

Sarajevo, besieged during almost 4 years by the Army of Republika Srpska and the Yugoslav People's Army, became the city with the longest siege in Europe. It was bombed several times and snipers took positions all around the city. More than 10.000 people lost their lives in Sarajevo during those 4 years. Going out to the streets to get some food or going to the market became a dangerous activity since anyone could be shot down by a sniper. Despite the chaos and horror ruling the city, Sarajevians tried to keep living their lives the best they could, not thinking too much about the masacres going on around them and maintaining something similar to a normal routine. And this is where Sarajevo's tram, along with the main TV and radio stations, had an important role: they never stopped working, even if 12 people were killed while waiting in line to get some water that day or 68 civilians died while doing the daily shopping in the local market. Moreover, it was in the tramway where the last victim of the war died on 9 January 1996, a month after the end of the war. This is how the tramway became, somehow, an icon of Sarajevians strenght.

Today, 129 years after its first trip, Sarajevo's tramway is still taking Sarajevians around the city, as if nothing had changed in those years.
















2 comentarios:

  1. Nice Pics!! I like the story they tell. Bosnians sure are tough people

    ReplyDelete

 

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