The Friday Photo #122 – Gravestones in Sarajevo

Sarajevo.

For anyone old enough to have been paying attention during the nightly news back in the early nineties, the name has a poignant ring.

In a bloody, complex, horrific war, this little corner of the world saw some of the worst of it.  The longest siege of a capital city in modern history claimed the lives of nearly twelve thousand people.  As well as the death toll, over fifty thousand were injured as heavily-armed troops unleashed deliberate attacks on the civilian population.

Even now, fifteen years after the conflict ended, reminders are everywhere.  Buildings with bullet holes line the streets, and there are far more cemeteries than any town this size should ever have.  White gravestones line the hills surrounding Sarajevo.

While the birth dates covered many decades, the death dates did not.  The faces of entire families were lined up one beside the other, often having died only days apart.

It was a terrible reminder of the futility of war.