The final guest post from Sarajevo…
Saturday morning is here, our last day in town. The snow is falling in thick flakes, blanketing Sarajevo with puffs of white. It is cold and dry and the city is coming to life. We had planned a day trip to Mostar, but one of our companions has fallen ill and I think it is a sign from the universe to slow down and enjoy the last hours in Sarajevo and reflect on what my yoga instructor might call the “nectar” of the trip. I think that would be the new friends we have made and, thanks to their open sharing of their culture, a better understanding of life in this complex society.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of 6 former socialist republics and two provinces that composed the former Yugoslavia until the breakup in 1991. We have learned a little about Tito, the highly regarded leader of the former Yugoslavia until his death in 1980. Today, territory conflict is one reason for continued tension between the various groups in the country. The situation is complex and I can’t begin to understand it all during this short week. The one thing that was consistent amongst our new friends is a deep love for their country and shared desire to get beyond ethnic and religious differences to build a unified Bosnia and Herzegovina. This diversity is well represented amongst the women served by Women for Women international.
Yesterday was our last day of volunteering and yet another adventure. Having finished our work in Sarajevo, we headed to W4W office in the town of Zenica (pronounced Zah nitz zah), about an hour and a half from Sarajevo. In the trusty care of the IT team, Edin and Enez, we speed through the snowy landscape. Zenica had been the main industrial town in the country until the war. Very good for employment, but terrible for the environment as it was the most heavily polluted city in the country. Now it is reversed, clear skies and blue water, but few jobs.
We had two sessions of training, Edin and Enez now confidently in the lead. We feel that this small first step of our technology program is in great hands. People love Google Apps and are excited to be part of the new global community W4W will create with this technology. Our adventures continued when E&E took us to the historic town of Travnik for lunch. This is an old and utterly charming town nestled at the base of the Vlasic mountains. We arrived just before sunset (around 3:30) and feasted on typical, soul nourishing Bosnian cuisine. Yum! We celebrated a fun week with Seida and several others from W4W at a local Mexican restaurant in Old town Sarajevo then a visit to the Cheer’s bar where there was a fantastic live band.
Just when we were gearing down for a low key end to our trip, today was another day of surprises. With one of our group ill and the snow belting down, we got a little later start than planned and enjoyed the first half the day touring Sarajevo with Amar. We began with a snowy drive to the museum in honor of President Izetbegovic, the man in charge during the war, where we learned some interesting facts about Bosnian diplomacy and also about some new aspects of the war. Below the museum was a cemetery for war heroes. There were a lot of those. There are also constant reminders of the war everywhere you go, with partially destroyed buildings waiting to serve their purpose again someday.
Our journey through history continued with a tour of the Sarajevo Tunnel, built during the war to allow humanitarian aid in and people out of the city during the war. It was under the Kolar Family household and was protected by the proximity of UN aid workers from ground attacks. Despite several mortar and grenade attempts to destroy it, the tunnel survived. We had a nice lunch and then visited another cemetery that was built on what was formerly a sporting field just behind the Olympic skating ring. There are thousands of graves. No one attending the 1984 Olympics could have even fathomed this would happen 8 short years later. While we were there, I got a text from Claudia. She was feeling worse and decided medical attention was required. Amar to the rescue, yet again!
You might recall Amar takes care of logistics at W4W. I wasn’t exactly sure what that role encompassed, but pretty much he figures out how to get anything done that needs to get done, including getting emergency medical attention for an American in need. Well, turns out Amar is well connected in the medical community, his father, brother and sister-in law all doctors and his best friend the head of the specialty clinic we ultimately ended up in. Amar started making phone calls and knew just what to do when we got there. Two x-rays, two ultra-sounds, blood and other tests, consultation with three doctors and 34KM (about $20) later, Claudia was diagnosed with an infection and we were on our way. What an adventure!
As our week comes to a close, we look back with fond memories of all the friends we have met and experiences we have had. Thank you to the Salesforce.com foundation and our Salesforce colleagues for supporting this trip, Women for Women international for accepting us as employees and, hopefully friends, and to our families for helping us make this trip possible. We are leaving Bosnia and Herzegovina with a much deeper understanding of W4W’s mission and the opportunities we have together to expand their mission with technology. We look forward to being back someday very soon.
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