“On May 16, 1992, some 13 of us huddled together in an apartment as exploding mortar shells riddled Sarajevo with shrapnel. Two shells hit the building in which we had gathered for safety. Though we came from Croatian, Serbian, and Bosnian backgrounds​—the same three groups that were killing one another outside—​we were united in pure worship. By dawn, when fewer shells were falling, we abandoned the apartment in search of a safer location. As we had done the night before, we cried aloud to Jehovah in prayer, and he heard us.”​—Halim Curi.

Sarajevo, which had a population of more than 400,000, was in the grip of one of the longest and most desperate sieges in modern history.

A CITY UNDER SIEGE

As we have seen, the Yugoslav brothers were deeply moved by the love and unity displayed at the 1991 “Lovers of Godly Freedom” convention in Zagreb, Croatia. This unforgettable convention fortified them for the ordeals ahead. One moment, Bosnians, Serbs, and Croatians were living together peacefully in Sarajevo. The next moment, an army surrounded that city and everyone was trapped​—including our brothers. Although the political situation was turbulent, no one anticipated just how long the strife would last.

“People are starving,” reported Halim Curi, an elder in Sarajevo. “Each month they are supplied only a few pounds of flour, four ounces [100 g] of sugar, and one pint [.5 l] of oil. Any available land in the city is used to plant vegetables. People cut down the trees of Sarajevo for firewood. When the trees are gone, they strip the parquet flooring from their apartments to use as fuel for cooking and heating. They use anything that will burn, even old shoes.”

When Sarajevo was besieged, Ljiljana Ninković and her husband Nenad found themselves trapped and separated from their two daughters. “We were a normal family with two children, an apartment, and a car,” says Ljiljana. “And then suddenly everything changed.”

But they often experienced Jehovah’s protective hand. “Twice our apartment was bombed just moments after we left it,” Ljiljana continues. “Despite the hardships, we found joy in the simple things. For example, we were happy to go to the park and pick some dandelion leaves for a salad so that we could have more than just white rice to eat. We learned to be satisfied with what we had and not to take anything for granted.”

FINDING PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL PROVISIONS

One of the biggest problems was obtaining water. Rarely was there running water in the houses. People had to walk as far as three miles [5 km] through areas targeted by snipers to get water. At the water collection point, people had to stand in line for hours waiting to fill their containers, and then they had to trudge home with their liquid burden.

“The test came when we heard that there would be water in the homes for a short time,” reports Halim. “Then everyone would have to take a shower, wash the clothes, and collect and store water in as many containers as possible. But what if this long-awaited moment was at the same time as our congregation meeting? We would have to decide​—either we go to the meeting or we stay at home to collect water.”

While physical provisions were necessary, the brothers appreciated how essential the spiritual provisions were. At the meetings the brothers received not only spiritual food but also details on who was imprisoned, who had been injured, or even who had been killed. “We were like a family,” relates Milutin Pajić, who serves as a congregation elder. “When we gathered for the meetings, we did not want to leave. After most meetings, we stayed for hours talking about the truth.”

We Promised to Return

HALIM CURI

BORN 1968

BAPTIZED 1988

PROFILE He helped organize and distribute humanitarian aid in Sarajevo. Now he serves as an elder, a Hospital Liaison Committee member, and a legal representative of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

IN 1992 the city of Sarajevo was under siege. When there were no literature shipments, we studied older magazines. Using an old typewriter, the brothers typed copies of available study articles. Although there were only 52 publishers, we had more than 200 at our meetings, and we conducted about 240 Bible studies.

In November 1993, during the worst of the war, our daughter, Arijana, was born. It was a difficult time to bring a child into the world. We had no running water or electricity for weeks at a time. We used furniture as fuel, and our trips to the meetings took us through dangerous areas. Snipers fired indiscriminately, so we had to run to cross certain streets and barricades.

One quiet day, my wife, our baby, Brother Dražen Radišić, and I were on our way home from the meeting when machine-gun fire suddenly erupted. We lay down on the street, but a bullet hit me in the stomach. The pain was intense. Many people saw what happened from their windows, and some courageous young men came running out of the houses to take us to safety. I was rushed to a hospital, where they urgently wanted to administer a blood transfusion. I explained to the doctor that my conscience would not allow me to take a blood transfusion. They pressured me to reconsider; but I was determined, and I was prepared to face the consequences. They operated anyway, for two and a half hours, and I recovered without having a blood transfusion.

After the surgery, I needed to rest, which was impossible because of the war. We decided to visit our family in Austria. However, the only way to leave Sarajevo was through a tunnel under the airport. The tunnel was a half mile [900 m] long and about four feet [120 cm] high. My wife carried the baby, and I tried to carry the luggage. But because of the surgery, she had to help me.

We can hardly describe the joy our stay in Austria brought us. When we left Sarajevo, we had made a promise to our brothers and to our Creator that we would return. It was very hard to leave our family in Austria, especially my mother. We explained, though, that we had promised God we would return to Sarajevo if he helped us to get out and get a bit of rest. How could we now say to God: “Thank you for helping us to come here. We really enjoy being here, and now we would like to stay”? Also, the brothers in Sarajevo needed us. In all of this, my wife, Amra, was a great support.

So in December 1994, we arrived at the tunnel in Sarajevo. This time we were going into Sarajevo from the outside. Seeing us return through the tunnel, people asked: “What are you doing? Everybody wants to get out, and you are returning to the besieged city?” I cannot find words to describe the wonderful reunion we had with our brothers at the Sarajevo Kingdom Hall. We have never regretted that we returned.