Aid Memoir. Larry Hollingworth

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AID MEMOIR

      AID MEMOIR

      Larry Hollingworth

      Refuge Press, New York, 2021

      Copyright ©2021 by Larry Hollingworth

      All rights reserved.

      Published in the United States by The Refuge Press

      Originally published in 1994 by Heinemann

       www.refugepress.com

      The Refuge Press shares the registered trademark of The Center for International Humanitarian Cooperation, of which it is a part.

      No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publishers.

      ISBN#13: 978-0-8232-9703-0 (Hard Cover)

      ISBN#13: 978-0-8232-9702-3 (Paperback)

      ISBN#13: 978-0-8232-9704-7 (ePub)

      ISBN#13: 978-0-8232-9705-4 (WebPDF)

      Cover and book design: Mauro Sarri

      Printed in the United States of America.

      To Josie, Sarah Jo and Matthew, to the British Army, to UNHCR, and to the people of Bosnia—Serb, Croat and Muslim—for giving me the opportunities which have shaped me and made me what I am.

       Acknowledgements

      Roger Courtiour. For the idea of the book.

      Mark Lucas. For the translation of idea to action.

      Tom Weldon. For the translation of action to book.

      Ron Redmond. For constant support.

      Sylvana Foa. Without whom, no publicity.

      Glynne Evans. For wisdom, support, and advice.

      Dr. Gary McGrath and New England College. For a “safe haven.”

      Tony Beard. For help and advice.

      Tina West. For technical support.

      Vesna Stancic. For Bosnian translation and interpretation.

      RAF Lyneham especially the Herc crews.

      Colonel Peter Williams and 1 Bn Coldstream Guards.

      This book will not explain Bosnia but it may explain what it was like to work in Bosnia with Bosnians. I hope that it will make you laugh; I lament that it may make you cry. I will be proud if it makes you proud, and I am right if it makes you ashamed. The journalists who have covered the war are writing books about the politics and the politicians, soon the historians will write and put the war into context with the previous history of the country and the region. The aim of this book is not to encroach on their territory. This is an account of two years in war-torn Bosnia working as an aid worker. It is a ramble through my mind and my memories. It is how I saw it and as I remember it. Dates may be wrong, names may be wrong, but the events are right.

       Could it be that there is not room for all men to live in this wonderful world, under this fathomless starry sky? Is it really possible that in the midst of such natural splendour, feelings of hatred and vengeance, or the passion to destroy one’s fellows could reside in the hearts of man?

      – Leo Tolstoy, The Raid.

       Table of Contents

       Acknowledgements

       List of Abbreviations

      Foreword: Jamie McGoldrick

       One: The Call

       Two: Sarchapt

       Three: Gorazde

       Four: Rogatica

       Five: An Indispensable Resource

       Six: Sniper Fire, “Friendly” Fire

       Seven: Rajlovac

       Eight: Students and Their Kit

       Nine: Spoils of War, Casualties of Peace

       Ten: Zepa, the Long Way Round

       Eleven: Interview with a General

       Twelve: Thoroughly Decent People, Indecent Times

       Thirteen: Simon Says

       Fourteen: Srebrenica

       Fifteen: Of Papers and Prime Ministers

       Sixteen: Banja Luka and Its Characters

       Seventeen: Banja Luka

       Eighteen: Tesanj and Maglaj, A Delayed Entry

       Nineteen: Zenica

       Twenty: Well Done, Hard Luck

       Twenty One: The Darkest of Dark Days

       Twenty Two: Close Call

       Twenty Three: Return

       Twenty Four: Homeward Bound

       Epilogue

       Afterword