Sarajevo 1992-1996. The longest siege | Photographs by Mario Boccia

Photo exhibition by Museo Storico Italiano della Guerra and Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa

These pictures were taken in Sarajevo between 1992 and 1996, during the long days of the siege.

In his work as photojournalist, Mario Boccia has never wanted to take unnatural images. He chose to focus on the city’s civil resistance, trying to convey the drama without showing blood. Benjamina Karić, the mayor of Sarajevo, who was a child during the siege, said I "photographed life, not just war."

The Italian War History Museum and Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa have chosen to open a window on a lacerating and close war in time, the one in the former Yugoslavia, which thanks to Boccia's vivid photographic story becomes a glimpse into the present.

As a journalist in Sarajevo, he sought a direct approach with the city and its inhabitants. Whenever possible, he asked civilians for hospitality, who have always been extraordinarily hospitable. He witnessed their determination to defend the values of a multiple identity, built over centuries of living together.

Boccia chose to photograph the besieged, but also the besiegers, often crossing the front lines, in the belief that identifying with the victims is easy and reassuring, but can be hypocritical. On the contrary, showing how much affinity there can be with the bad guys is necessary to understand how ideological fanaticism and war can overturn basic human values. A normal person can dehumanise themself to the point of becoming a sniper capable of shooting a playing child. Reflecting on this helps us to produce the necessary antibodies.

The exhibition offers a lucid analysis of the impact of war on people, society and culture and offers a tool for developing a critical awareness of the history of conflicts.

With the support of Provincia autonoma di Trento e Comune di Rovereto. 

www.museodellaguerra.it
www.balcanicaucaso.org

THE EXHIBITION

Between 1991 and 2001, the Yugoslav wars shook the countries that emerged from the dissolution of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, helping to define the current geopolitical configuration of the region.

The Yugoslav wars had a dramatic impact on the lives of the populations involved and became "wars on civilians". Ethnic cleansing was widely employed to destroy the foundations of coexistence and to establish "homogeneous" political entities.

The siege tightened around Sarajevo in April 1992. Following the declaration of independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Bosnian Serb militias, supported by the Belgrade-backed Yugoslav People’s Army, took control of some areas and surrounded the city. At the same time, forces loyal to the Sarajevo government organised themselves in defence of the capital, merging into the ARBiH – the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Source: www.museodellaguerra.it