Book Review: Goodbye Sarajevo

Book cover of Goodbye Sarajevo by Atka Reid and Hana Schofield. Photo / Supplied

Goodbye Sarajevo by Atka Reid and Hana Schofield
Bloomsbury $35

Sarajevo, in Bosnia, was the perfect city for a siege. Nestled in a valley surrounded by hills, the people below became easy targets. For 1000 days, from April 1992, Serb forces from the Yugoslav Peoples' Army (JNA) set up camp in the hills and began the bloodiest siege in modern warfare. It is estimated that from a population of a little over 300,000, 10,000 Sarajevans were killed or went missing.

The war in the former Yugoslavia pitted Serbs and Croats against Bosnians, Muslims against Christians and neighbours against neighbours.

Atka Reid and Hana Schofield were two survivors. Atka, at 21 the eldest child in a family of 10, remained in Sarajevo to help look after the younger children. Her sisters Hana, then aged 12, and 15-year-old Nadia, were put on one of the last United Nations buses fleeing the city. The reality of what they were about to face as refugees was made clear when their bus was fired upon as they left the city. Then the struggle really began, to survive alone with no money and few friends in places they had barely heard of.

Those left behind were even worse off, as death lurked on every corner. An uncle was killed while queuing for bread; a young cousin lost his leg. Constant bombardment from tanks and heavy artillery, a more insidious danger from snipers, no power or telephone connection, little water and less food made daily life a nightmare.

Atka and Hana had the sort of bond which sometimes exists between siblings in large families. Their pledge to each other to be brave no matter what happened brought solace in moments when there was little to be found.

But amongst the evil, kindness and good still existed. Atka found work as a translator in a radio station, made friends and a little money, and found love with a New Zealand photojournalist, Andrew Reid. Hana and Nadia made it to Croatia, where they were taken in and cared for by a family in Zagreb.

Although the book is predominantly about Atka and Hana, the lives of the other family members cannot help but be included. There's Father, retreating into himself, who writes endless letters from Sarajevo to the foreign press, asking for some recognition of their situation. Brother Mesha, although a Bosnian, is trapped in the mainly Serbian JNA in Montenegro with little hope of release. Mother is isolated in Vienna with a group of aid workers trying to procure emergency supplies, and faces a difficult journey home.

Atka and Hana supplied alternative chapters in the book. Although the tone sometimes becomes more like an interview transcript than a memoir, there is no doubting the sincerity of the women.

Both now live in New Zealand. Thanks to the efforts of Andrew Reid's parents, the whole family was able to join the sisters, part of the first intake of 50 Bosnian refugees to New Zealand.

The scars on the city of Sarajevo remain, as they do on the hearts, bodies and minds of those who lived through the siege.

Phoebe Falconer is an Auckland reviewer.