As Long As Sarajevo Exists

By Colleen London and Kemal Kurspahić

Chronicles the survival of the Sarajevo newspaper, Oslobodjenje, during the seige and the people who risked their lives to safeguard a free and independent press. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0963058770
• ISBN13: 9780963058775
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Pamphleteers Pr
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 0.8" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

The fight for freedom- of the press and of the people

I may be biased because I have worked with Kemal but I have to say that I truly enjoyed this book. as an American I never fully understood what happened in Sarajevo- why it happened or the extent of the conflict over there. After reading this book I was rather ashamed that the rest of the world did nothing. Worse, we continue to allow atrocities to be perpetuated in that corner of the world. This book remains topical. Conflicts continue to erupt in the region and anyone who wants to speak intelligently on the subject, understand the story that's not in the news or would like to read about an un-sung hero, read this book. Kemal is presently working on a new book and reading this one would be a great starter. I would read this book over and over again. Its the story of people fighting for democracy and freedom (focused on freedom of the press) and the long bloody road that lay in front of them.

Essential reading from ?Books on Bosnia?

This memoir by the editor-in-chief of Oslobodjenje from 1991 to 1995 bears unrivalled witness to the resilience and survival of an operative civil society in Sarajevo under siege. Under Kurspahi 's editorship the paper came to symbolize the resistance of Bosnia-Herzegovina and its people to genocidal aggression and to terrible deprivation, while at the same time maintaining its journalistic integrity and critical independence when to do so was hard indeed. (This short review is from "Book on Bosnia" published by The Bosnian Institute)

The Truth is in Here!!!

What struck me the most about this book was what Kurspahic wrote about Sarajevo losing its essence when it got partitioned and lost its multi-cultural character. Being a Singaporean, I wouldn't recognise my home if Malays, Indians and Chinese, and Eurasians were segregated and prevented from entering each others' "zones", risking my life whenever I did so. Singapore would just cease to be a home and I think it's devastating that we saw that happen to Bosnia. And guess what? We celebrated it as a victory of diplomacy over force! Kurspahic's is a truly inspirational book, which proved that there is always honesty, grit and principles left in the world when all else seems to have disappeared. All we need to know about the Bosnian War is in here. It has also shown that the West has a limited understanding of whatever happened and it is amazing how the majority of the press in the world is dominated by these half-lies.

Could not be any better!!

A great piece of work about a city which was once a center of everything, and became the center of terror in past couple of years. Sarajevo will always be remembered for starting WW I with assassination of Archiduke, and for hosting the 1984 Winter Olympic Games. However it will be mostly remembered by this terrible war that has struck the city. While the citizens sat in their homes sheltered somewhat from the granades and bombs, all the "big shots" decided to play God, and decided to play with the destiny of so many lives. Instead of acting quickly at the beginning to stop the war, they just let it slide away from their hands, simply because they saw no interest, no mone out of doing that. However, Sarajevo stuggled and won by itself, alone, but as long as Sarajevo exists so will everything else. Read this book it is a masterpiece in descibing everything and anything you wanted to know about Sarajevo and Bosnia.