One-way ticket to Sarajevo

(2000-2001)

In high school at Milton Academy in 1993, I participated in a

mock Bosnian peace conference for Boston area high school

students. My school represented the Bosnian Serbs and I was the

vilified religious leader. Studying the ethnic conflict made me

realize the parallels between the ethnic-religious based

bloodshed in Yugoslavia and my family’s plight with

anti-Semitism in the former Soviet Union.

In 1998, I saw the film, Welcome to Sarajevo, and decided

that I wanted to go to Bosnia to do humanitarian work. Two years

later, my good friend Paula Goldman was in Sarajevo on an

internship and invited me to join her. Without a job, I took my

backpack and bought a one-way ticket to Amsterdam and made my

way via train and bus to Sarajevo.

These travelogues were originally emails to friends and

family. The articles were published during and after my Bosnian

15 month sojourn.

Letters

Article

  • Strength to Survive