In a screening at the American Corner in Doboj, a student called Srijezana said, like with the children in The Rocket, she and her friends were too young to know what the war was – that they would play near bombs because, to her, they were just metal.  This is the chilling reality of children all around the planet who live with the legacy of war.

One story that has stayed with me for this trip is from U.S. Embassy representative Lejla Pasovic.  She told me of her choice to stay in Sarajevo during the siege – a terrifying risky decision but that she felt this was her home, her community and she didn’t want to lose that.  Her brother had left but really wanted to return for her 19th birthday but the only way he could get back was to run across the airfield runway that separated the forces, snipers on all sides.  The “Freedom Tunnel” hadn’t yet been  dug.  The runway was controlled by the UN and if you were caught you were sent back to where you came from.  Lejla’s brother was caught but he lied and said he was trying to flee Sarajevo and so was sent to Sarajevo (where he wanted to be with his sister).  He had two oranges for Lejla which they shared on her birthday.

Thank you to the Sundance Institute, the U.S. Cultural partners and U.S. Embassy for bringing me to Bosnia & Herzegovina, to share The Rocket and to connect with many courageous people and their stories.