An orphan boy eats a meal of cold gruel and breadcrumbs at the unheated Sarajevo orphanage during the Bosnian Serb siege of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, February 1993. Almost 2,000 children, and over 10,000 people in total were killed in Sarajevo during the 3-1/2 year siege.

HUNGER IN SARAJEVO
We went to find the costumes, because we couldn't afford to make new ones. I picked one costume from the wardrobe of that tailor shop and tried it on, and turned sideways toward the mirror, and Kaca said, oh great, it's good, we'll take it. It had only one sleeve. When I turned around to the other side, the dress was so asymmetric, and me so thin so I asked what we were going to do with this Biafra detail.

As absurd as it may sound, the war was one of the most beautiful parts of my life. It is horrible to be face to face with death all the time, with tragedies, with injuries. But, there was another side as well, that purity of emotions, which we shared with each other. Everything was clear, everything was simplified, and that made it human. Which was wonderful. When someone was scared, he said that he's scared, when he loved someone, he would show that. If we wanted to help each other, we would act as if we did. As much as we could under the circumstances.
Minka Muftic
Actress

Excerpt From: Sarajevo survivor testimonies from OPSADA (The Siege) by FAMA International