The hell then and now is comparable. I was a photojournalist but in no way a war photographer, but the aftermath of it that I witnessed and documented in Bosnia was intense to say the least. Witnessing the love of country and the will of the citizens to rebuild was powerful.
The absolute hellish and inhumane senseless attack on the men, women, and children of Ukraine by Russian President Putin’s regime resembles the very complicated, bloody conflict that occurred in Bosnia-Herzegovina in the 1990s. Years ago, I witnessed and documented the aftermath of that war. An estimated 100,000 died while millions of others fled. There were bombed out buildings and unexploded landmines everywhere. There were mass graves found. What impacted me most though were the innocent children that were now parentless and left to fend for themselves following the ethnic cleansing that had occurred. I traveled around Sarajevo’s outskirts with the American relief group, TWI For the Children, who were diligently working with those refugees and orphans. Given what we are seeing today, Ukraine is far from picking up the pieces of what remains of their country; but like those in Bosnia, they have the will to save their democracy. They will. It may take decades and it will take international support. Pray for them. Below is a small mix of images I captured while traveling across Bosnia. They show the beautiful people, landscape, and the horrific aftermath of war. Evil will never win the day.
