BOSNIA
Bosnian's cartoon show blown up along with spectators (1992)
In war-torn Bosnia-Herzegovina, Midhat Ajanovic, a well-known cartoonist,
was visiting the ruins of his studio. Looking around, he saw that everything
was smashed or partially burned. His drawing board, pens, and brushes lay
around in fragments. "All of this is now a cartoon" he muttered.
He didn't mind losing the building so much, but he missed his drawing tools,
that had helped him produce so many excellent cartoons and animation cels.
While standing there and remembering his latest animated film shown at the
Zagreb Film Festival, he suddenly realized that not everything was lost:
among the many thousands of dead in the city, he was still alive. This realization
gave him renewed energy, and a few weeks later, at the suggestion of a friend,
he pulled together an exhibition of his works in Sarajevo. Hundreds of people
were visiting the show, when, all of a sudden, a Serbian shell hit the building,
destroying cartoons and lives. More than a dozen guests were killed. Midhat
survived. He took his family to Sweden, then returned to his homeland to
replace his broken brush with a rifle. He fought as a soldier in the 7th
Croatian/Bosnian Brigade defending Sarajevo.
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