The former Yugoslavia was made up of six different republics – Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina (commonly referred to as Bosnia), Serbia, Montenegro, and Macedonia. Within Serbia, there were also two autonomous territories – Vojvodina and Kosovo. When Yugoslavia was beginning to fall apart, some of the republics declared independence. Bosnia was one of them.

The population of Bosnia was 44% Muslim (called Bosniaks), 31% Christian Serbs, 17% Catholic Croats and 8% Yugoslavians. The Serbs were working with Serbia, and the Croats were working with Croatia. The Serbs started attacking the Bosniaks, and soon, everyone was fighting everyone.

Of the 100,000 Bosnians who died between 1992 and 1995, about 80,000 of them were Bosniaks. Here in Mostar, a park next to a mosque was converted into a cemetery because it was protected by buildings around it. Shielded from snipers, this park allowed the Bosniaks to bury their dead. All the tombstones list 1993 as the year of death. Especially heartbreaking was one that shows “1993 – 1993”.

We leave Mostar tomorrow. I’m glad to see the city somewhat rebuilt, but it still has a long way to go.