September 3 , 2020 - Author Sanja Kulenovic, The Siege of Sarajevo

She related those times to the present day with the pandemic, with the widespread feelings of anger, helplessness and isolation from family, friends and the world. At least, she said, we now have the Internet, bringing us opportunities to not feel so isolated.

She read a paragraph  from the book, retelling how her family bought a new radio, which offered a break from the isolation, darkness and silence which had caused some to lose their minds. That radio, their only link to the world, was as important for survival as water and bread.  "A new radio was out of this world," she said. Later, that radio went to her parents.
Again she drew parallels between those times and today, when people feel they've lost control, and plans have to be cancelled due to the pandemic. She recalled 1992, when she felt stranded here and wrote in her diary of the many things she wished were different, and about her life in a strange place without feeling connection or guidelines of how to walk through it. For her then, she said, it was a new normal that she was not sure how to cope with, but she made the best of it under the circumstances, keeping her expectations low so that each little victory counted. She didn't think about what-ifs; she just looked for ways to adapt.

She learned craft, as she learned how setbacks can be opportunities, and how beauty can be found where you don't expect it. She held up an example: a beautiful, delicate, patterned  vase made from a large bullet, from her town in Sarajevo. When she returned to the country, she found many such decorative vases made from bullets just like that, which were engraved. 

She invited questions from the Rotarians listening to her presentation via Zoom.

Dave Andrews asked if Josip Broz, nicknamed "Tito," the leader of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, was the one who had held the Balkans together at that time. She said yes, he was the person who had held Yugoslavia together.
EJ Dieterle asked about the area's relationship with the former Yugoslavia now, and Sanja noted that there was a lot of nationalism in the area, some political problems; but it was better now.
Larkin Evans asked if and how she got letters during the siege? Speaking of letters from her father, Sanja recalled how in the first eight months of the war there was no real communication with families. Amateur radio offered opportunities for communication, allowing people to talk briefly (30 minutes or so). Letters were often carried by foreign journalists covering the stories, or through humanitarian aid, and sometimes it would take a couple of months for her to get letters from her family. She wrote letters every day,  and collected the  writings that she sent to different journals. These went into the book.

Rosi Fontana asked about working and sending financial aid to the family, and Sanja said she and her husband did whatever they could do to help. They had been granted humanitarian asylum and had gotten work permits a year after their arrival. With those, they gardened and cleaned houses.
Guest Jane Hall asked about how to obtain the book, and Sanja said it can be found on Amazon, and on her web site of sanjakulenovic.com. Prez Mary said she will get some copies signed for those who want them. 

Sanja said, referring to her experience with the Rotary exchange program, she did not initially know how it would affect her life. She said that when the war started, she and her family did not have much, but in that first year, her host mother, Margaret, took them in until they got work permits. Her husband worked in pizza delivery, though he was a mechanical engineer. She herself was an economist.

Rose Serdy asked Sanja about her reactions when she and her husband came here. She noted how bad things can happen, anywhere. In Sarajevo, where people had lived together for centuries, you just grew up and raised your children. She said she didn't like labels, bad or good; while hatreds had been simmering there for a long time, her book does not dwell on political aspects but rather on everyday life in Sarajevo at the time, which made her what she is today. That is something we can all learn from, she said. 

Asked if she still has family there, she said her mother is still living there, and she has adult children who are Americans first but love it there, and she wants them to know who they are. She said that by the next generation, all could be forgotten unless we teach them, which is important. "History and background make us who we are," she said. 
Kevin O'Brien asked her how the siege ended, and she said that America took it on itself to help resolve the matter, with air strikes led by the UN and NATO.  Following peace negotiations held in Dayton, Ohio, the war ended on Dec. 14, 1995. 
Rosi Fontana asked Sanja about her own children, and Sanja said they are grown now, with one daughter getting her master's degree and a younger daughter studying at UC Santa Barbara. 
Jane asked if Sanja would be willing to talk to other Rotary clubs as she did to us, to tell this story. She said yes, the story is still relevant; but it is not depressing, it is uplifting, given what the people went through and survived; and what they went through, we can too.
President Mary asked club members to tell her if they want a copy of Sanja's  book, which can be purchased for $20, they should email her to let her know.want a book.

 

She presented a certificate of appreciation which she will send to Sanja as our speaker. She explained that it also goes with a donation to Polio Plus in Sanja's name, and explained to Sanja what that is, which pleased her.