Volume 33 Nº 1 - February 1997

Escape from Sarajevo

Sophie Masson

Christobel Mattingley's No Gun for Asmirand Asmir in Viennawere runaway successes, touching the hearts of people all over the world, and helping at least one family to start coping with the legacy of a hideous war. The first two books told the tragedy of Bosnia from a child's point of view. Now we have Asmir's father's story in Christobel Mattingley's simple, sensitive account, Escape from Sarajevo.

This is a different book from the others in which Asmir's viewpoint is uppermost; it is far longer, for instance, more detailed, even more unflinching. In its account of suffering and deprivation, hopelessness and devastation, of betrayal and sadness, it could be depressing. But whilst it does not flinch from the real and continuing traumas of Muris, Asmir's father, and his family, it shows clearly his indomitable human spirit, not in a sentimental or even optimistic manner, but simply, with great impact.

I spoke to the author recently about the experience of writing this important book:

Christobel Mattingley: There is a tremendous sense of destiny about Muris. There is great sadness in his story, but no self-pity: a sense of acceptance, of dealing with things as they come along. In extremity, some people become more themselves - and that whole family behaved like that. They are remarkable people with a great deal of courage and sensitivity.

Muris's story had to be told separately from Asmir's, because he obviously experienced the war in a different way from his son, especially after the family had fled Sarajevo, leaving Muris there with his mother.

Taking on such a mammoth task (with the royalties going directly for Asmir and his brother, Eldar's education) has taken its toll of the author but she maintains that it was also its own reward. The author spoke of the difficulties faced by refugees, even after they have left their strife-torn homeland:

CM It was very much Muris's decision to tell me all this - he said one of his motivations for surviving had been to tell the story so that people could know what had really happened. He needed to talk - and I was his listener.

The silence that falls afterwards is terrible. People come to the safe countries, they're away from the war, but it seems as if no-one's interested, no-one understands what they've been through. For many people, it can be another trauma, the knowledge that no-one might listen. And then there's the uncertainty of the fate of people they've left behind - the worry and the pain. And they miss the old life, the support networks, the culture, everything. The grief is terrible.

No Gun for Asmir, the first book, helped to secure Muris's escape from Sarajevo. It has helped the family to get back on their feet and helped many people to understand the Bosnian tragedy and its real effects on real people. It has helped other victims of the war to find some meaning, some identification... and that means everything. It was incredibly draining, frightening, too, in a way - would I be able to do it, coming from such a different cultural perspective? - but it was necessary. Not something I could walk away from.