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
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
Foreword: Jamie McGoldrick
Five: An Indispensable Resource
Six: Sniper Fire, “Friendly” Fire
Nine: Spoils of War, Casualties of Peace
Eleven: Interview with a General
Twelve: Thoroughly Decent People, Indecent Times
Fifteen: Of Papers and Prime Ministers
Sixteen: Banja Luka and Its Characters
Eighteen: Tesanj and Maglaj, A Delayed Entry
Twenty One: The Darkest of Dark Days