SERBIAN-BOSNIAN WAR 1992-1995

Bosnia-Herzegovina, where two conflicts would be fought, one immersed in the other, and
by three factions: the Serbs of Bosnia-Herzegovina , the Croats of Bosnia-
Herzegovina and the Bosnian Muslims of Bosnia-Herzegovina , who differed mainly by
their confession, being divided between three religions ; Catholics, Orthodox and
Muslims
It was by far the bloodiest conflict of the Yugoslav Wars, with episodes of ethnic cleansing
such as the Srebrenica and Ahmići massacres, as well as mass rapes of Bosnian women.
Bosnia and Herzegovina has historically been a multiethnic state. According to the 1991
census, Bosnia-Herzegovina had a population of 4,354,911 inhabitants, divided as follows:
 Bosnians , 43.7%
 Serbs, 31.3%
 Croats, 17.3%

RETURN TO BOSNIA QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Who is Nezir according to the author and how did he meet him?
Nezir, the protagonist and, in part, narrator, goes from being a child to
being an adult who must make his own decisions to face one of the s
greatest cruelties and absurdities in history: war. In the war between
Serbs and Bosnians, Nezir loses his home, his neighborhood, his
father and his country. But his willpower and his ability to overcome
will lead him to reunite his family and rebuild a hopeful future.
Moving story that portrays the innocence of human beings in the face
of barbarism and destruction, but also the optimistic bet on the ability
of that human being to overcome unprovoked, undeserved and
incomprehensible destructive adversity.

2. What did Nezir's grandmother die from?

died on the road

3. Where does Nezir's father Senad decide to put his family in his escape
from Bosnia?
 They were fleeing from the Serbian soldiers, they saw that they were
approaching a foreign ship with some boxes of cloth, scared they got
on the ship Dzenana, Nezir and Sejna got into a box when Senad told
them that he was going to get the others when he closed the box. They
heard gunshots and bursts. They were scared. They thought they had
discovered Nezir's father and had killed the others. They spent a week
there.
4. To which Spanish city did Nezir arrive with his family and who
welcomed them?
5. How does Nezir's grandfather die?
Senad and the others found an island to take refuge from the Serbs,
they all took refuge in a cave to be warmer. When they took off they
found a boat full of men. They thought they were Bosnian refugees but
they were Serbs. They asked for their documents. Senad and the
others replied that they did not have documents. To this the Serbs
responded: - stand up, raise your hands.
The grandfather remained motionless, the Serbs hit him with the
Senad shotgun, telling the grandfather to get up, the grandfather
continued without moving, they pushed him into the sea and that is
how he died.

6. What nationality was the Sjnezana family that sheltered Senad?

Spanish
7. Why did Ratko insist on accompanying Senad in his escape?
8. Who did Senad encounter in the forest and why did they want to hurt
the family that had taken care of him?
9. Senad told Sjnezana: “Someday all this madness will end; So, I will
return with my family to visit my best friends” Do you think that the
wounds of an internal war can heal so easily? Because?
10. What happened to Senad after his stay with the guerrillas?
 Senad continued on his way with them, the guerrillas divided
into groups and walked through the mountains covered with
trees so that they would not be seen from above. They found a
Serbian base and attacked it, shortly after the Serbs found
them, luckily Senad had fallen asleep behind some bushes and
they did not see him, he had to return with Ratko.
11. How does Nezir return to Bosnia?
12. Why did the shepherd who saved his life in the forest have Senad tied
up and why did he not explain his situation to him?
13. What happened to the soldiers who captured Senad?
They died because the jeep they were traveling in overturned, only
Senad survived
14. What did the shepherd do when he saw Senad again?
15. Why did the Bosnian police arrest Senad and then hand him over to
the Serbian police?
16. How does Senad manage to escape from the Serbian police?
17. Who paid for the rest of Nezir's family to travel to Bosnia?
18. Who is Amela and what could she represent in this novel?
19. After reading, make a personal comment about this novel and the
conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina (minimum 600 words)