Sunflowers and Snipers
Saving Children in the Balkan War
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
Credited with saving 300 lives through evacuation and many more through medical aid during her time in the Balkans, Sally Becker's story is both uplifting and a warning of the true nature and price of war
In May 1993, Sally Becker went to Bosnia to help victims of war, delivering medical aid and evacuating wounded children from the besieged city of Mostar. She was dubbed the "Angel of Mostar," and was hailed for her efforts to save the children from all sides. When Milosevic ordered his troops into Kosovo her missions continued, this time on foot across the mountains, to bring sick and injured children and their mothers to safety. While doing so she was captured by Serb paramilitaries and sent to prison, but neither this nor being shot by masked gunmen could make her abandon her task. This book reveals not only the suffering of the ordinary people and the bravery of those who helped them, but also the systematic inertia and ineptitude of government institutions and the often languid reactions of the United Nations. When the UN insisted they could have done it without Becker, her response was "Well why the bloody hell didn't they?"
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this gripping memoir, the founder and leader of the humanitarian aid organization Operation Angel recounts her struggles to evacuate children from the war-torn Balkans. In April 1993, Becker, horrified by news coverage of the bloodshed in the former Yugoslavia, decided to go to Bosnia to help children caught in the crossfire. Once there, the British artist quickly abandoned her original purpose to practice art therapy with the kids in favor of delivering aid. Early successes won her the trust of locals, including the head of Croatian Military Health Authorities, who tasked her with evacuating wounded children from East Mostar, "one of the most dangerous areas of Bosnia." In addition to the perils of walking a thin line between warring entities, Becker had to contend with hidebound aid agencies, snipers, rocket attacks, and her own shortcomings. Her candid discussion of the latter, combined with threads of romance and levity, allow Becker to emerge not as a saint, but as imperfect and human someone desperately trying to do good. By concluding with some success stories of evacuees, "the Angel of Mostar," as she was known by those she assisted, proves her resolve was more than a match for her flaws. Photos & maps.
