Sarajevo, Bosnia 10 years after the war.
“Part of a Journey.”
By Chris Norton.

I arrived in Sarajevo at 10pm on the last Saturday in July. It was hot as our taxi drove us across the city to our home for the next two weeks. Elizabeth, my fellow therapist and I looked out excitedly as we passed office blocks, cafes, parks and places of worship. Just like any other capital city on a summer weekend evening, bustling with youngsters, fast cars and music.

In the morning we walked down into the Turkish quarter to discover a very different scene. Many young men limp or walk with a hunched back. Women are elegant but have a certain tired look in their eyes. Everyone is working so hard to rebuild their lives and their homes under the weight of the legacy of war.

The stunning geography of Sarajevo was part of its downfall, surrounded by beautiful hillside and mountains, it was easy to encircle with tanks. In the daylight the civic buildings and houses are testament to the continual bombardment that went on between 1992 and 1995.

The people appear calm and very friendly. You don’t hear them arguing about trivia, they don’t seem to suffer from nonsense like road rage. They have things in perspective and they have a wonderful lesson to teach us if only we take the trouble to learn. Life and freedom is worth fighting for even under the most horrendous conditions.

Most of the individuals who come to the Healing Hands Network clinics for complementary therapies have been in concentration camps, under house arrest, been wounded by sniper fire, bombing or land mines. The women have lost children, husbands, brothers, parents and grandparents, often they have also been abused.

They are strong, down to earth people getting on with it. I am lucky enough to be going back next year to experience another small part of the journey of Bosnia’s healing.

If you want to know more log on to www.healinghandsnetwork.org.uk or contact me on
01444 831084. Email: christine@kent-healers.org.uk

Desperately seeking like-minded souls!  Are you out there?
Are you a complementary therapist using healing in your treatments, a healer working in the palliative care field/hospice or a KHA tutor?  Would you like to be part of an informal group meeting once in a while for mutual support? If so I would love to hear from you. If there’s enough interest I will organise dates and venues.

Contact me on 01444 831084 or e mail: christine@kent-healers.org.uk