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A CHILD OF FIRST LOVE

NOVEL IN CONTINUATIONS 7

War in Bosnia

Dunya and Slobodan worked, lived well and raised their son Borislav, until the war broke out. In those years when war broke out in Bosnia, Borislav was already about 16 years old and was about to finish high school for electrical engineering. He was an excellent student and a very obedient boy. He had his friends with whom he played sports. They all enjoyed playing basketball, which was becoming more and more popular, although they also played football and sometimes practiced tennis. He was about 180 cm tall, with blue-green eyes, dark hair and a very beautiful face. His school friends had already started staring at him, and he was also turning around after them and figuring out which one he liked better. As his parents were medical professionals, they knew how to advise him on what to watch out for and he respected that.

When the situation in Yugoslavia worsened, it was expected that war might break out in Bosnia, given the mix of peoples. The Serbian population was worried when rumors started that the Mujahideen were coming to Bosnia. The common world still hoped that the politicians would have enough sense not to allow war to break out, but not enough was known about what was being prepared from the outside.

And when the war started in Bosnia, the worst was in Sarajevo. Slobodan hurried to get his parents out of Sarajevo and managed to get them and his sister out, while his brother was immediately recruited into the army. Through connections and bribery, he took them to Belgrade and placed them with Dunya's aunt in Zemun, from where they requested visas for them to emigrate to Canada, where many began to flee. They stayed in Zemun until their visas were approved, and as soon as they received them, they packed up and left.

Soon, their parents informed them that they had been placed in Calgary and that they had received a two-bedroom apartment and social financial assistance for a year. During that time, they had to find any kind of employment and were paid to learn English. All three immediately started a language course, and daughter Jelena was the best, as the youngest, and she had a good chance of getting a job as a saleswoman in a women's clothing boutique. As Yugoslavs are hardworking people by nature, the parents applied to clean the airport premises, which they were given after three months of stay. By then, they already knew the main streets in the city, the shops, the bus lines for going to work and back, and the like. The hosts who took care of the refugees showed them where the home for the gathering of refugees is located, so they even met some people from Sarajevo there. They were from several places in Bosnia, so they all told each other about their miseries. They did not have any information about their son Marko. They only knew that he was recruited into the Serbian army and that he went to Pale in the first days. They got in touch with Slobodan and maintained a regular correspondence with him. Most of all, they asked about grandson Borislav.

And then came the worst. Muslim and Croatian troops, supported by foreigners, exerted fierce pressure on the Serbian population and forced them to completely leave their areas. Mass emigration of Serbs from Pounje began. Movements are directed towards Prijedor and further towards Banja Luka. Most of the fugitives were elderly and infirm. There was crying and wailing. In the columns there were horse-drawn vehicles, tractors, trucks, some buses, and there were also a lot of pedestrians. Those owners who had their own trucks used them to transport the poor, to whom they charged dearly. Inflation was growing, and the prices were not even asked, saving lives was important. Whoever arrived brought with them, some carried blankets, some clothes, and everyone brought as much food as possible, which usually disappeared very quickly. By the way, wherever night came, they spent the night there, some under trees, some in abandoned barns and barns, as he managed. The only thing that was lucky was that it wasn't too cold and it didn't rain in those first days.

Slobodan and Dunya, with their son Borislava and her mother Branka, went where most of the rest of the world did, because they had no other choice. The two of them, as medical workers, were told to report to health institutions, where they could be of much use to the weak and sick. Slobodan had his own car and they set off in it, counting on driving it at least as long as they had gas, and after that whatever happened. Thus, the IPK reached Prijedor somewhat faster, although it was slow, it was difficult to go around the crowded columns. That first evening, they settled in a local infirmary, where the two of them were already known, so they spent the night there. The two of them will stay there for a few days, taking care of the refugees, while Dunja's mother, Branka, starts to get worse. She was already an old woman, her medicine was running out and there was nothing good to hope for. She was only thinking of pushing through from day to day. She cared about her grandson the most, she worried about him that he should live. Borislav was young, healthy and very active, but as a young man he did not yet understand what horrors and sufferings were involved. He did not resist anyone, he was mostly silent, and he understood those first days more like an excursion.

The majority of Serbs remained in Prijedor, although both Muslims and Serbs committed crimes against each other. The only difference was that Western countries covered up the crimes of Muslims, or in most cases portrayed them as Serbian. The camps around the city were places of torture the likes of which the world had not seen before. The Muslims killed every Serb as soon as they captured him, and did not spare either the children or the elderly, while the women were most often raped, and then killed.

The authorities from Sarajevo asked the West for military intervention, although they started with humanitarian aid. UNPROFOR, NATO, the EU, the UN and the USA participated in Bosnia. As Vojislav Šešelj says, "The English were never our friends, they bombed us." He says of the Roman Curia "that they are thirsty for Serbian blood", and of the Vatican that he is genocidal towards the Serbs. Pope John II was decisive in the crimes committed against the Serbs. Seselj goes on to ask: "If your problem is violence, why didn't you condemn the Bosnian Muslims and Alkaida, who were against the Serbs?" Have they committed good murders, and are they angels''?

Working in the Prijedor clinic, Slobodan and Dunya did not look at the nationality of any wounded patient who came to them. They were bandaged equally whether they were Serbs or Muslims, and Dunya helped the women with whatever and as much as she could. Among those women were also Muslim women who claimed that they were raped by Serbs. It all went like that until one day two armed Muslims broke into Dunya's office, and seeing how beautiful and handsome she was, without any preamble they grabbed her, threw her on the bed and started undressing her. She resisted and screamed, and when Slobodan heard it in another part of the building and recognized Dunya's voice, he ran over. He had a gun with him and as he had already seen one robber on Dunja, he killed him while he was still lying on it. The other one, who was holding her hand, started to run away, but Slobodan shot at him as well. He only wounded him, but he let him escape while he was still bleeding. Then Dunya got up, quickly washed herself and said to Slobodan: "Let's get out of here"!

When Dunya's mother found out what happened to her, she became even more ill, and her son Borislav said: "I'm going to join the Serbian army". And even though his parents and grandmother begged him not to go, he still packed up and went to report to the command. He was still a minor and had no military obligation, but they still accepted him. Slobodan and Dunya picked themselves up the next day and headed towards Banja Luka, driving the sick Branka. Everyone was depressed and silent. They drove into the unknown.

When they arrived in Banja Luka, they reported to the local police, and they placed them in the school premises, where there were already a lot of refugees. They soon made sure that Slobodan could work as a doctor, while Dunja stayed with her mother. Dunya felt terrible, her son went to the army when he was still a minor, his mother's health was getting weaker every day, and Slobodan was hired immediately. She tried to take care of everyone, although she had enough of herself. She procured food wherever she could, and she never knew when Slobodan would come. She no longer knew where her son was or how he was doing. Sometimes she would talk to one of the women, who were in similar situations, some in even worse situations.

After ten days, when they thought they had already adapted to the situation, Slobodan was sent to the field, to the battlefield, where he was needed more as a doctor. It was only then that Dunya fell into difficulties, her mother began to lose herself. She was placed in the hospital, where she did not have any significant help, but still she could not be of use in the school classroom. The very next day she was called to come to the hospital urgently, and as soon as she entered and found her mother alive, she saw that her end had come. She died the very next night. Slobodan was away, she didn't even know where he was, her son too, she had to do what she could in the given situation. They buried Branka according to hospital protocol, as they did with many others every day. Dunya felt distraught, she didn't know what to do on her own. She was left completely alone, she was crying, she couldn't eat anything, she started to get weak suddenly. Those women she already knew comforted her, just enough to not feel completely abandoned.

When Slobodan managed to visit one evening, he only learned about Branka's death then, but he could not take Dunya with him to the front. Only men fought at the front, so Dunya would have nothing to do with them except to bandage the wounded. So she stayed in Banja Luka for some time and applied to work in the hospital clinic. That way, her time passed more easily while working.

Time passed like this, all separated from each other, Slobodan at the front, Dunya in the hospital, and their son who knows where, at the front. They didn't even have a way to hear each other, and both of them were particularly worried about where their son was and how he was doing. Dunya is the most sad, she lost her mother. How many times did she just think "Oh God, what has this war brought us, who needed it"? Those stupid politicians allowed foreigners to "cut our hats". "They are separating peoples who until yesterday lived in harmony and understanding". And, thus going to work and coming back, she is overcome by heavy thoughts that she cannot get rid of. And then when winter came, the situation worsened even more. It got cold, there was a shortage of firewood everywhere, and in addition to the wounded and tortured, more and more frostbitten. There is no end in sight to the suffering, as the days and months go by, more and more people are injured and more and more people suffer. Horrible news is coming from the front every day about increasing losses on both sides - Madness, that's what you get.

Slobodan's clinic was located near the town of Snijježnica for some time, although they were also moved as needed. Satellite images of the terrain taken by the Americans incorrectly indicated that there was a military base on that terrain with cannons and tanks arranged around the building. They bombed it, killing seven people and wounding five others. Among the dead was Dr. Slobodan, with his support staff, including two wounded people who were being bandaged, and the wounded were mostly in the support rooms or outside. When the news was announced in Banja Luka, and Dunya was informed of her husband's death, she fainted. As she was in the hospital at that time, she was with the staff who provided her with first aid, although she was equally beside herself. On that day, she was not allowed to return to the school where the refugees were. They kept her in the hospital and looked after her like a colleague.

Less than a month before her husband's death, she lost her mother, and before that her son voluntarily joined the Serbian army. The last information she had about his whereabouts was the place of Potkozarje, although it meant nothing to her. They could not be heard on the phone, because the post office was not working. Only sometimes one of the military officers went to their units, so personal information was sent that way. Dunya delivered the sad news to her son about his father's death to the military administration, expecting that it would be delivered in due time. It also did not mean that the unit would let him come and visit his mother. She only hoped so.

About a week will pass when Borislav, unannounced, appears in front of his mother at the hospital where she started working again in those days. The mutual hug was so long that those present thought that they would not even part. They were both crying and tears were running down their cheeks. They sat for a while in a secluded room to talk and agree on what to do. Dunya suggested to her son that he try to "get hold" of Serbia as soon as possible and go to Zemun with her aunt Ivana. She said to him at parting:

- You ask your elders to let you go, and I will see to it that I come there, so that we can get rid of this evil, at least you and I.

Before parting with her son, Dunya hugged him tightly again and, without letting go of her embrace, cried and whispered to him

- Take care, don't be brave and go to the front lines. You won't get any credit for it. It's more important to keep your head. Now I only have you and you are more important to me than my life. Go and have a good trip. God willing, we will see you in Zemun.

Before parting, his mother took him to see where his father's grave was. She wasn't sure if she would ever be able to visit him again, but let him know. After parting with Borislav, Dunya started looking for transport to Belgrade. She had no knowledge of it, but went to inquire.

After two days of questioning, she found out that some people covertly transport and that only from one place to another, and from there they are provided by others. Everyone charges for themselves and it is impossible to know in advance how much the total trip might cost. Everyone charges their wages for fear.

Most often they drove on Fridays and holidays. Friday is a Muslim holy day, so it is thought that they will be less interested in warfare. That's how Dunja left Banja Luka on Friday. They were driven by an elderly man in his old van, only to Doboj. The van was thundering and could be expected to stop at any moment. His engine was smoking a lot, I guess it was running on oil. There were four other people in the van, two women and two men. On the way, they were stopped twice and controlled, but those who examined them were more interested in what they were driving. The passengers were mostly silent and no one told anyone where they were going or what their names were. That's how they parted in Doboj without even knowing who was traveling with whom. Dunya went to another carrier who was waiting near where the first one arrived. They worked in mutual agreement. They also accepted dinars for payment, and first they asked for marks or dollars. From Doboj, Dunya managed to be transported to Brcko on the same day, and in the evening, when it was already dark, she found a transporter to Bijeljina. She had to spend the night in Bijeljina, and she had no one to stay with, so she spent the rest of the night at the bus station. All kinds of guys were hanging out there all night, so she was careful, she didn't even dare to close an eye.

On the second day, a farmer drove her to Rača with his tractor and did not charge her anything, when he heard her story. By the way, the farmer had land near Rača, so he went there for his work. The bridge on the Sava River was destroyed, so that peasant warned Dunya:

-A younger man, your age, is transporting you across the river, he will ask you to pay, so do what you can. Have a good trip, he said to her in parting. Dunya did not understand the farmer's warning, so when she came to the river and saw the big chamas with the cabin, she approached and asked the owner:

- I would like to cross over to the Serbian side, since you are transporting? - The price is 500 marks, or if you don't have it, it can be used for good sex! Dunya remained confused, thought, then answered: - I don't have 500 marks. Is there any other way without sex? - Yes, you can swim, it won't cost you anything. Dunya thinks again, thinks a little longer, then says: - If there is no other choice, then I have to agree to sex, just a condom please. - OK, then come to the cabin. And he approaches her and starts to unbutton her, whereupon Dunya says: - If I have to, I'll take off my clothes myself, I wouldn't want you to tear my clothes, because I don't have the opportunity to buy others. She also undressed lightly and lay down on the couch. At the same time, he takes off his clothes and lies on top of her. When he had done what was agreed upon, he got up, dried himself, gave her a towel to wipe herself off, and they both got dressed. All of that would be over in ten minutes, he was happy and happy, and she was sad, but aware that she had to do it. He transported her to the other side of the river and said at parting: - I have never had a more beautiful wife, you are wonderful, I wish you happiness. And he added: - On the Srem side, you will find peasants, so ask them to take you as far as you need. Dunya turned and just waved at him.

When she found herself alone on the other side of the river, she saw a man and a woman in a field, so she went to them to ask them for a ride. They promised her that they would take her to their house in the village, and from then on she would have to fend for herself. She waited for them for a while while they finished the work they had started, and then they put her in the horse-drawn cart with them. When they arrived home, it was already dark, so the host:

- You know what, I would suggest that you stay and sleep with us tonight, because you don't have any transportation at this time. Tomorrow you will manage somehow. And Dunya agreed. She only asked them if she could take a bath, which was no problem. They had dinner together, Dunya told them about her tragedy, although she didn't tell all the details, she told them her name and where she was from, where she worked, what her profession was and about her husband who had died recently. She did not want to mention anything about her son. They still talked about the war, but they all went to bed relatively early.

In the morning, it was Sunday, the man and woman had to go to the field again, and Dunya went to the village to look for transport in the direction of Sremska Mitrovica. The villagers who happened to be there helped her find a man who was going with a truck to collect goods for the store, and he took her to tie her up. While she was sitting in the cabin next to him, he was a little, a little, so he put his right hand on her thighs. Dunya was uncomfortable, she dodged and remained silent, but she persevered to Sremska Mitrovica, where they arrived around noon. She was afraid that he would also rape her, but luckily he didn't.

She found a bus from Mitrovica to Belgrade, and she got off in Zemun. She arrived before evening and headed, according to memory, to her aunt's building. Milkica, my aunt's daughter, with whom Dunya was friends while studying in Belgrade, appeared at the door.

- Where is Aunt Ivana? Dunya asked, right after the two hugged and kissed. - Ivana's mother died at the beginning of the war. Milkica answered her. Dunya paused, expressed her condolences to Milkica, and then Milkica offered her to enter the living room and sit down. As soon as they sat down, they started talking about Dunya and her family, and Milkica informed her that she too is married, that she has a son and a daughter and that her husband is a policeman, that he works long hours every day and you never know when he will get home.

When Milkica's husband Dragan arrived, Milkica presented Dunya to him and briefly explained what had happened to her and that she had come to them to try to find her way to Zemun or Belgrade, in order to save her son, who should also arrive soon. They agreed that Dunya will stay with them until they provide her with permanent accommodation, and when Borislav arrives, Dragan will take care of him as well.

Banja Luka - River Vrbas

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