It has been 30 years since the end of the Bosnian War and of the genocide in the town of Srebrenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which killed at least 8,000 Bosniak men and boys. In addition, more than 1,000 children were among the civilians killed in Sarajevo, the country’s capital. In total, an estimated 100,000 people were killed throughout the country’s three-year civil war. Thirty years on, people continue to struggle with the consequences of the conflict and how to live together.
“I’m a nurse by training. I served in a military hospital [during the war] … it was horrible,” says Sabina Zekić, a resident of Sarajevo. Her father-in-law died when a shell hit the house next door; her sister-in-law was wounded.
People try to get on with their lives, finding peace in everyday work.
“What matters most is communication, exchange, conversation — and then simply a calm, peaceful life, filled with love,” says Biljana Marković, who restores art in the city.
Archbishop Tomo Vukšić of Sarajevo says reconciliation means more than preaching about forgiveness. Just laws must be enforced by the state, but on a personal level, people must “bear witness by example, show that you have forgiven the one who did harm.”
Hear and see more from Bosnians in this video, then read about how people across Bosnia and Herzegovina are trying to move ahead in “No Alternative to Dialogue,” in the December 2025 issue of ONE magazine.