The Center for the Development and Promotion of New Technologies and Esports, Arena, under the auspices of the Sarajevo Canton Memorial Fund – Tunnel D-B Memorial Complex, presented awards on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the Tunnel of Salvation to the winners of the Minecraft competition “Building a Tunnel of Salvation”.
It is a competition in the game Minecraft, building tunnels, and the goal is to raise the level of general information, especially among the younger population, about the D-B Tunnel Memorial Complex.
“They were building the monument complex of the D-B tunnel, and the Commission evaluated the best of the received works. It is one of the ways to bring the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina closer to the younger generations, to learn about what happened during the period of aggression, as well as the importance of the Tunnel D-B Memorial Complex, right on the anniversary of the digging of the tunnel,” said the director of the Canton Sarajevo Memorial Fund, Ahmed Kulanić.
According to him, the competition is organized for participants from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the prizes include cash and certificates of appreciation.
As Kulanić reminds, during this year more than six thousand students organized an organized visit to the Rescue Tunnel, and the museum pedagogues of the Memorial informed them about the Tunnel and held a history lesson. This was realized as part of the Open Door Day of the Memorial Fund and the Sarajevo Canton, in cooperation with primary and secondary schools and the Ministry of Education of the CS, as well as the line ministry of the BPK.
Visitors to the Tunnel D-B Memorial Complex come from various parts of the world. As Kulanić said, everyone who has heard or heard about the siege of Sarajevo, when visiting this city, asks to see certain locations from that period.
“One of the main ones is the Memorial Complex tunnel D-B or Tunnel of salvation. This is the first thing they come to when they research the history of the siege of Sarajevo, as a place they should visit,” he said.
As Kulanić emphasizes, information about the siege of Sarajevo, the period of aggression and the importance of the Tunnel D-B Memorial Complex itself, which is conveyed to visitors by curators, guides, and employees of the Memorial Fund, is particularly important.
As announced by the CS Memorial Fund, on the occasion of the Day of the Memorial Fund, an “Open Door Day” will be held today at the “Tunel D-B” Memorial Complex. On this occasion, the entrance to the Tunnel of salvation will be free for citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The rescue tunnel is approximately 800 m long, with an average height of 1.6 m and a width of 1 m. Excavation began in January 1993 and connects Dobrinja and Butmir (D-B). It was built by the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and civil protection, and about 300 people were engaged on both sides for this painstaking work. It worked 24 hours a day in three shifts. The tunnel was dug on July 30, 1993. It was used for two war years to supply food, defense weapons, medicines, oil, and was a lifesaver for the wounded, seriously ill, and pregnant women.
The memorial complex Tunel spasa D-B preserves the memories of the citizens of Sarajevo, its builders and fighters. It preserves the memories of those who gave their lives in defense of the city, their homeland Bosnia and Herzegovina.