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Amel Emric / AP
Red chairs are displayed along a main street in Sarajevo as the city marks the 20th anniversary of the start of the Bosnian war on April 6, 2012.
Reuters reports from Sarajevo — With a line of 11,541 red chairs, one for each victim of the siege of Sarajevo, Bosnia on Friday remembered when war broke out 20 years ago and the West dithered in the face of the worst atrocities in Europe since World War Two.
The anniversary finds the Balkan country still deeply divided, power shared between Serbs, Croats and Muslims in a single state ruled by ethnic quotas and united by the weakest of central governments.
Amel Emric / AP
City officials have lined up 11,541 red chairs arranged in 825 rows along the main street that now looks like a red river representing the 11,541 Sarajevans who were killed during the siege.
"The Sarajevo Red Line is in fact the line of blood that ran down the streets of Sarajevo from April 6, 1992 until 1995," Sarajevo mayor Alija Behmen said of the long line of chairs through the center of the capital.
On Thursday, cellist Vedran Smailovic, who became an icon of artistic defiance when he played on a central Sarajevo street as the city was shelled, played again for the first time in his hometown since he left in 1993. Read the full story.
Anja Niedringhaus / AP
Cellist Vedran Smajlovic addresses the auditorium before playing at one of the ceremonies being held to mark the 20th anniversary of the start of the siege of Sarajevo, on April 5, 2012.
Amel Emric / AP
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Wow. A simple but extremely powerful statement. My sincere condolences for all the loved ones lost.
Yes a very impressive tribute!
Yes very impressive. But note liberals in the United States would not have supported any intervention to stop the slaughter. It took Tony Blair shamming Bill Clinton to get him to act and even then the Anti War crowd objected.
All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to be held back in the name of inaction.
Perhaps, Tony Blair got us into that war but from what I remember from the political jumble, Clinton was not supposed to stop the war. The purpose was to get our cash into the field so that the big guys could make a lot of money. That's why pressure was put on Clinton first with that lady, whose name I don't remember, who said that she could recognize Clinton's penis anywhere and who was financed by people unknown but who were identified as English agents.
John,
In your urgent need to condemn the liberals, and Bill Clinton, you are conveniently forgetting that Bosnian civil war took place before 9/11. The United States government was very reluctant to get involved in a foreign conflict, specially after the involvement in Somali Civil War and the Battle of Mogadishu.
Beautiful image. Please know that many, MANY people around the world feel for your pain and loss. Peace.
Was this World War I or...?
Perhaps you should read more about the war before you comment. This is a way for those people to heal from an awful time.
UDB - uh, no. According to the words under the photos, it was considerably more recent, probably about the time your mom went into labor for you.
"The Sarajevo Red Line is in fact the line of blood that ran down the streets of Sarajevo from April 6, 1992 until 1995,"
Be nice rain lady!
Excellent Idea,
A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words.. Imagine if we did the same thing as they did here to show everyone how many people have been killed in wars through history.
There be enough Red chairs to circle the World hundreds of Times. "JUST STOP"
Every Country has A Choice Of What Kind Of Road They Build & What Kind Of Road They Build Will Determine Where Their Road Takes Them.
"ROAD TO PEACE" (film short story)
Opening Scene: (filmed in black & white, silent film)
We see an old Soldier walking down a dirt road with a machine gun under his arm
and carrying his young son on his shoulders.
The young boy and his father are dressed in their combat clothing and the boy
also has a machine gun gun tucked under his arm, suddenly they stop.
(our camera pans to a person sitting on a large rock on the side of the road)
We see the back of this person only, the person is wearing a black hooded robe
with their hood raised up.
(we pan back to the old soldier and his son)
The old soldier places his son on the road then pushes him in the direction
of the hooded stranger.
The young boy walks cautiously up to the stranger with his gun drawn
upwards as he gets closer we notice the person is small in stature then the boy
points
the gun at the back of the strangers head.
The stranger turns around slowly then we see it is a young girl, the girl
is the same age as the boy.
The young girl places a daisy in the barrel of the boy's gun.
(at that instant our film changes to color and remains in color)
Next, we see they young boy standing there with a blank look on his face he
then drops the gun on the ground, the gun vanishes and where the gun was we see
three books there instead.
The boy picks up the books curiously, then turns and looks in the direction
where his father was with an astonishment look.
(we show a close-up on boys face then we pan our camera to the father)
The boy's father is now standing there dressed in a white shirt and slacks and
holding sets of plans tucked under his arm in the place of a gun.
(we pan back to boy and girl)
We see the boy standing there dressed in the same attire as his father, with
three books tucked under his arm in place of his gun staring at the girl that
is still sitting on the rock, the girl has long curly brown hair and is now
wearing white clothing, she also has three books sitting next to her.
Closing Scene:
We see the backs of all three of them walking down the road towards the setting
sun, the boy and the girl are holding hands both of them carrying three books
tucked under their arms.
The father has three sets of building plans tucked under his arm and is walking
with his head up high..
Fade Out End...Or Beginning Of A Brighter Badly Needed Future For Our World.
I like your comment. Every effort toward peace and fellowship is worth it, regardless if the effort is fruitful toward our expectations.
I work in a hostile environment, very hostile. I want to quit soooo badly but I'm afraid that at my age (middle-aged) and in this economy that I will not find another suitable position. The hostility is eating me up, no matter how much I shrug it off at the end of the day; it lingers and insidiously enters my being. I am surprised to discover how much I am becoming hostile, too. I am not a hostile person; I am very friendly and cooperative. My work environment is like poison, and all I can do is not to become hostile, put on the proverbial shield, and try to turn the tide by remaining friendly, helpful, and kind. The effort feels wasted, but it doesn't matter. What matters is that I do not become hostile and feed the hostility more.
Snookums48,
Stay strong. May Lord help you and give you strength to bear the hostile environment without becoming hostile yourself. I will pray for you. We need more folks like you.
Aw, thanks for the sweet reply, "mono". I don't know if we need more people like me; I just prefer kindness and happiness over meanness and misery. I've learned it is a choice, mostly.
"CHILDREN SEEKING WORLD PEACE" (Short Film Script)
Opening Scene;
We see the Outside of the United Nations Building next we see a man dressed in a suite carrying a brief case walking into the building he approaches the Desk of the Chairman of the United Nations, pulls out a very large manila envelope and hands it to the Chairman. The Chairman opens the envelope, reads the paper work and scratches his head, looks up at the Special Carrier with a bewildered look on his face and says; Wow this is an Extremely Unusual Request and it comes from very unusual sources this is a First for me.
Carrier
What do you mean unusual request, who sent the letter ?
Chairman
Did you notice the Post Marks on this letter ?
Carrier
Yes I did, and it also has so many different kinds of stamps on it from around the World.
I have never seen so many Stamps on one envelope in my life, so who is it from and what are they want ?
Chairman
It appears that they are following up on an idea that originated from a Film Script Writer in America who came up with an Idea of writing a short Film Script he Calls "Children Seeking World Peace" The writer posted it on line and some of the Country Leaders around the World liked the idea so that they implemented it.
Carrier
Implement what ?
Chairman
Every Country in the World picked two Young Students from one of their schools a boy and a girl to represent their Country and are asking for a "SPECIAL UNITED NATION'S MEETING" that will be attended by all of the Leaders in the World but this is the Catch.
The adults are not to speak at this meeting, only the Children will be allowed to speak at this Special meeting called "CHILDREN SEEKING WORLD PEACE"
Carrier
Wow, I see what you mean when you said an unusual request and that is comes from an unusual source you were right about that.
Chairman
There's more this request gets even more stranger they are requesting that we install a large garden area next to the United Nation Building before this meeting takes place that we don't plant anything in the garden area just leave it bare dirt, there are to be small signs placed every two feet next to the rows in this garden area with the names of each Country in the World next to each one of these signs there will also be a watering can containing water.
Carrier
Do you think that the Board will consider this bizarr & unusual request ?
Chairman
Yes I do after all these are the Children of the World, the next Generation seeking the opportunity for them to be part of the Peace Process from their Generation and we should give them the opportunity to do so.
Scene Two;
We see the inside of the United Nations building where many young children are standing paired off one boy and one girl facing all of the Adult Leaders from around the World these Children are from all walks of life all different nationalities and all dressed differently.
Every Girl is holding a small pot containing a different flower in it in one hand and a small shovel in their other hand.
Each Boy is holding a small pot containing a different kind of plant in one hand and a small shovel in his other hand.
(all of these flowers and plants are beautiful and very colorful)
Every Boy & Girl from their Country are wearing Name tags with their Countries names on the tags. The Children are just standing there in silence.
The inside of this building is silent at first then we hear whispers coming from the Adult Leaders, what is this all about, what do they want, this is strange.
Next we see a girl step forward from the row of children following behind her is another girl and a boy they are all three standing there for a minute and the room gets silent.
Then the boy speaks,
I have been chosen to speak on behalf of all of the Children in this room. We are standing here before all of you representing the Worlds Next Generation, Your Worlds Next Generation. We only have a few words to say to all of you here today.
All of us had several things that we wanted to say to all of you today but we all decided that words are not enough without all of Our WORLD LEADERS making a Solid Commitment to end all Wars in Our World Today ! ! !
So, we only have three words to say to all of you here today... " PLEASE JUST STOP"
(one of the girls standing next to this young boy translates this message in all languages)
The three young children stand there for a minute in silence then one of the two girls step forward she says, we only have one more request to ask from all of you in this building today, please follow us to the garden area located just outside this building.
(the other girl translates this request in all languages)
The other children in the building follow the three children exiting the building followed by the Adults.
Third Scene;
We see all of the children lined up still holding their flowers and plants in one hand and their shovels in their other hand they are paired off one boy and one girl standing along side of the garden rows facing their Countries signs that are placed in two foot sections of their Special Garden.
(we see all of the Adult Leaders standing around this garden in groups whispering to each other we can't make out what they are saying to each other but they have a confused look on their faces)
Next the same Girl that spoke earlier in the building is holding a flower in one hand and a small shovel in her other hand says, I would like all of the Adult Leaders from their Countries to stand in front of their Countries signs facing each of us. (translated by the girl standing next to this girl)
The Adult Leaders line up in front of their Countries garden signs facing these children then every child bends down at the same time and digs a small hole in the ground in their two foot section of this Special Garden. (each two foot garden section now has two small holes dug in them and everyone is silent)
Next we see the same girl that spoke earlier stand up after digging her hole in the garden she hands her Adult Counter Part Leader her Potted Flower and says, each one of these Flowers that all of us has brought here today Represent WORLD PEACE for Our Future.
she continues..
All of the Children Around the World requested this SPECIAL UNITED NATIONS MEETING to beg all of the Leaders of Our world to help us Plant our Flowers here today to end all Wars in our World Immediately and all of the Plants that the Boys brought here today represent Commitment To Do So.
(translated again by the girl standing next to her)
Next we see the Boy that spoke earlier at the meeting hand his Adult Counter Part his potted plant then the Girl that is speaking looks over at all of the other Children that are still standing next to their garden and she nodes her head.
Then, All of the Children say the words together, in their own languages in a loud & begging tone. "PLEASE JUST STOP"
Next, We see all of the Children reach in their pockets, pull out a small bag and pour out a few of seeds into each of their Adult Counter Parts hands.
The Girl speaker then says,
we are giving all of you our seeds to take home with you so you can plant them in your gardens as a reminder of your Commitment all of you made here today to; END ALL WARS In Our World IMMEDIATELY..THESE SEEDS ALSO REPRESENT FORGIVENESS for without forgiveness there can be no PEACE, so please pass these seeds on to your transgressor so the Peace Process can begin. (translated by the girl standing next to her)
Last Scene
We see all of the Adult Leaders bent down next to the Children planting the Children's Flowers & Plants together in their "Special World Peace Garden" Located in Front Of the "UNITED NATIONS BUILDING"
Fade Out..
Written by, Michael V. Caldwell, Always Striving To Be Part Of The Solution, Using Respect & Common Sense As My Guidelines To Follow At All Times...
Respectfully,Thank all of You, for taking the time to read this IMPORTANT & Very Badly Needed message.
"DREAM BIG DO BIG"
You're a complete moron. Remove this sh1t.
(Well, that didn't take long, did it "THINKINGOUTOFTHEBOXFOROURWORLD"?!)
Cut and paste works very quickly.
Beautiful in its simplicity and powerful in its reminder.Of course, I immediately thought of Empty Chairs at Empty Tables from Les Miserables and Where Have All the Flowers Gone.May they each and every one of them rest in peace.
Sad statement that, as the purportedly most intelligent animal on the planet, throughout history the one thing we have consistently shown a capacity for is killing one another......................................................
"woodworkerwayne": I hear what you are saying and I can see how it seems that way. We also have consistency for being loving and compassionate beings. Many have given their lives for others so that others may live. I hope you can keep your heart light and focus on the good that we do. There is a lot of it, and a lot of it from around the world, not just in the U. S.
Thank you.
Indeed the world is full of both types - GOOD and BAD. I do see examples of some folks helping others and many times going out of the way to help even at the risk of their own lives. Then there are others who will kill others without any reason at all. Just today a policeman was shot at local WalMart who was trying to remove a drunken man from the store. That is so in this world. In Nature both Creative Spirit (Good) and Destructive Spirit (Bad) exist like life and death. That is how the Lord made this world. PEACE.
So sad that what Tito worked for by uniting Yugoslavia into one cohesive unit, his whole life broke down into petty arguments feuled by unfouned predjudices. How many incents lost their lives to these arguments and now all these people are still neighbors but living with more boundries than they had before.
Wonderful tribute...this just in...Sarajevo Mayor Alija Behmen's resin chair manufacturing company is doing extremely well! Or was it China/Walmart.
OK, now what are they going to do with them?
Maybe you could sit in the middle and contemplate why they are there.
Let it be known once again that there is no such a thing as BOSNIAN. You are either Serb(orthodox Christian) Muslim (weak Christian convert) or Croat (Roman Catholic Christians). All three groups had people killed during the civil war. Make no mistake the West is totally responsible to what happened in the Balkans. They will never be able to remove blood from their hands on this one. Bosnian Muslims drew the first blood and anything that happened after that is on them. Most are living in an imaginary world by playing to the media. Europe is on the verge of collapse and all other European countries will be shedding their Muslim population. Muslims and Christians just can't get along. Hopefully Bosnian Muslims are smart enough to just quietly convert right back to their Christian roots or face the consequences when everything breaks down.
Unfortunate how 20 years later you are still unable to admit to your sins. Tell me, how many of your siblings and close family members died? How long were you in a concentration camp? As for me, more than half of my family was butchered by your "peace loving" Serbs. Omarska and Trnopolje (Serbian hospitalty towards me during the war) - if you are unaware of what I speak, Google it and learn something instead spewing hate. Shame that you play the victim now - you should've defended what you referred to as "friends" before 1992 - not help try to "cleanse"!!!
MUSLIMS can not live peacefully with anybody. They hate all others - Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews because Quran teaches them that way. All who do not follow in the ways of Mohammad are infidels and either need to be converted to Islam or enslaved or killed. There is no other choice. Muslims want the WHOLE WORLD to become one Sultanate under a Muslim Khalifa.
I don't see what obligation the West or the United States has to Bosnia so it certainly can't fairly be said that we "dithered" in the face of the slaughter. We can't and shouldn't instantly deploy large numbers of troops the very minute hostilties break-out in every corner of the globe. I mean, how about a sober take on global politics from our major news networks for once? As we've seen with Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan, and this whole Arab-Israeli thing often times putting a lid on the cauldron doesn't make the problem disapear...rather it just ensures that the problem will become that much more explosive the longer you allow tensions to simmer. Effective military - even more peacekeeping/nation-building - strategy can't be drafted in a matter of hours, or days, or weeks, or even years it seems. It seems pretty irresponsible to think that it can be or to insinuate that the United States should've had the entire 82nd and 101st on their way to Bosnia as soon as the first shot was fired in 1992. Such a naive way to look at things...
What a tragic part of history. My heart cries for all those we lost in Bosnia during that time when lack of humanism and non-respect of life was moral compass of those who committed these atrocities. Let them live in shame of their deeds, but do not forget what they're capable of - otherwise they will try to repeat it. Let us not let them!!!
Another prime example of the evils of religion.
People should be allowed to show tribute in any honorable way they choose. We have The Wall in Washington, the Reflecting Pool in NYC, the Chairs in Oklahoma City. I think it's a lovely and novel idea.
I was around and politically involved at the time but did not realize it was as bad as all that. I am not a heart-on-my-sleeve-liberal but a former Republican moderate who since the wacky-right-wing took over the GOP is now an unaffiliated voter. The photo is a powerful visual display that makes a statement about a difficult time.
Congratulations to the person(s) who came up with such a good idea. My question is, who gets the chairs when the display is done? Keep some for the city but give some to the hardest hit families would be my suggestion.
Peace is an impossible dream. As long as we remain as we are there will always be someone who wants what the other have and more. There will always be those who refuse to face reality and look the other way and there always be those who like to be victims. Religion will not resolve this because religious leaders lie. Religion is just another type of government and another tool for dominating other people and God, well God does not interfere. To him we are children at play. Perhaps our bodies are like the disguises used in Halloween and so it does not matter how much we harm then. In the end our spirits do not suffer any damage.
President Bill Clinton sent planes, just like the US and NATO did in Lybia, to bomb the forces of these modern day Nazis WHILE Europe did NOTHING. Thank God for Clinton's decision OR Bosnia would have been the resurgence of European Nazism and complete genocide would have taken place, The US had the courage then and the US and NATO had the courage in Lybia. Unfortunatley for Syria, the US, NATO, nor the Arab Countries did nothing. The rebels will fight on and I believe one day Assad will go down but only after near genocide, murder, and torture.
A great symbol of remembrance. A beautiful tribute.
It is hard to imagine a finer tribute to those who lost their lives and has so great an impact, particularly on those who only see photographs. Well done - and peace to all.
From 925-1102 A.D., when Croatia was an independent kingdom, the western two-thirds of Bosnia-Herzegovina belonged to Croatia. During the period from the 1100's-1400's A.D., many of the Catholic Croats and Orthodox Serbian Christians of Bosnia converted to the Gnostic Christian Bogomil sect, and when the Muslim Turks ruled Bosnia from the 1400's to 1878, many of the Bogomils converted to Islam. When the war in Bosnia began in 1992, 20% of the population were Croats, 32% Serbs, and 44% Muslim. Today, Bosnia is split into a Serb republic and a Muslim-Croat federation. The Serb republic makes up 49% of the area of Bosnia, and 51% of Bosnia belongs to the Muslim-Croat federation. Bosnia should be partitioned, with the Serb republic being joined to Serbia proper, and the mainly Croat area of Herzegovina awarded to Croatia. The Croats of Herzegovina were forced by NATO to enter into a federation with the Muslims under duress. The Albanian Muslims of Kosovo are descended from the ancient Illyrian peoples, who have lived in the Balkans since around 1000 B.C. The Slavic Croats and Serbs arrived in the Balkans in the early 600's A.D.
Serbs make up 12% of the population of Croatia, located mainly in the Krajina region. They were settled there by the Austro-Hungarian Habsburg imperial authorities from the 1600's to 1800's to defend the border region of Croatia from the Ottoman Turks. In 1991, the Serbs tried to annex the region of Krajina, much as Nazi Germany annexed the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia in 1938. During World War Two, the Croats, Bosnian Muslims, and Serbs saw part of their population collaborate with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, with the Ustase for the Croats, Handschar for the Bosnian-Muslims, and the Chetniks and Zbor for the Serbs. The Croats, united with the Bosnian Muslims, wanted an independent state, and the Serbs fought against the Communist-led Partisans, which included in its ranks Serbs, Bosnian-Muslims, and Croats. All three ethnic groups helped the Nazis to track down Jews for deportation to Nazi extermination camps.