In the Sarajevan suburb Jarčedoli, a man is climbing the fence to the village graveyard, when another man briskly shouts from behind a rolled-down tinted car window: “Watch your step, it’s not closed for nothing!” He’s hinting at the danger lying beneath the ground; the danger is invisible, but it is near.
The brothers Vladimir and Goran Vučić live in Dovlici: a few kilometers higher up the mountainside, where a few solitary, self-made homes stand out from the vast curves and slopes of Mother Nature. They were born here and have lived simple lives. Now, fifty years later, they are still here, and get by as lumberjacks. Contrary to the other locals in the area, they say the last mines in the area were removed in 2005, and the dreadful skull signs are only placed to give lumberjacks sole ownership of the trees. During the Bosnian War, the Vučić brothers kept cattle and watched the miners lay the landmines. Therefore when the war ended, they were also able to help minesweepers with the locations of the mines. ”
Back in Sarajevo, Suad Meco works hard to
give disabled people a worthy place in society again. He is the president of
the organization U.S.R.I. Stari Grad for disabled soldiers. Their financing
mainly derives from donations and employed volunteers. Clearly concerned about
their limited funding and urgency for equipment, Meco states: “Your injuries
will heal, but a scar will be left in your soul. Losing a limb simply cannot be
erased from your memory.” With the knowledge he gained from the war, Vladimir
helped the minesweepers with the clearing: “I felt like it was my duty, as I
have Serbian roots…I had to drive my truck through the minefield every time I
went to sell my products in the city. I was very afraid, but I had to be brave.
I had to survive and make a living,” he explains solemnly, as he calmly takes a
drag from his cigarette.
Photos by http://www.skipperphotography.dk/
