It is 15 years since the mass killing of men and boys in Srebrenica. It is a day of pain and heartbreak, a day to reflect on the "why" of human inhumanity. And for me, it reminds me of my travels through the Balkans in 2005. I was in Sarajevo, Bosnia during the 10th anniversary of the massacre. There were posters remembering the dead, an exhibition was held in a museum and the U.N. peace keepers were very visible.
This is the other side of travel. When people think of holiday it usually involves sun and smiles and friendly locals. But when you really go to get into the lives of the people you are traveling among, then you leave yourself vulnerable to their history, their story, their hopes and their pains. I remember this burden I took on in Sarajevo during my travels. Traveling from one place to another isn't about taking photos or broadening your own horizons, it is about becoming one thread in the vast tapestry of humanity. And understanding that our shared humanity unites us far more then culture divides us.
Read more at BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/europe/10593799.stm
(photos courtesy of S. Galea)
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