It is the International Day of the Righteous. Among the people whose actions have become enduring symbols of courage is a name from Bosnia and Herzegovina – Goran Čengić. A war hero and a symbol of civic courage, but also a man whose act, many believe, is still not talked about enough.
Goran Čengić is remembered, mainly on the anniversaries of his death, by his remaining family members, friends and members of the Association of Friends of the City of Sarajevo. It was the same today, when they paid tribute to him and recalled the act that remained a powerful lesson in humanity.
Goran Čengić should have been remembered as a brilliant handball player whose games in Bosnia and Red Star are remembered by many. Instead, he became a symbol of civic courage. Those few who had the opportunity to be Goran’s friends remember his smile, his boyish playfulness and the hand he extended to everyone.
“As a friend and a person, he was something special. He was a person you could always rely on, someone who was ready to help and from whom you could never expect any harm,” said Mustafa Demir.
“I am proud that I belonged to the generation that Goran Čengić also belonged to. I remember all those beautiful moments of our youth, when we were not divided by religion or nation, but we looked at who was what kind of person,” said Goran’s friend Slobodan Stajić.
Tatjana Neidhardt, a member of the Society of Friends of the City of Sarajevo, reminded us of the symbolism of Goran’s life and family history.
“This is an act by which we pay respect to people who fight against evil, who do not bend their backs and resist,” she pointed out.
For people whose lives carry certain symbolism from birth, like Goran’s, a tragic death is no exception. But Goran’s life and family story carry special symbolism. The symbolism of the Balkan calamities, the daring of evil over good and paradoxes. Goran’s mother, Nataša, is a descendant of the Zimonjić family, to which the famous metropolitan of Dabro-Bosnia, Petar Zimonjić, also belonged. He was killed, Nataša said, by the same people who would kill her Goran years later.
“They burned him alive and threw him into a septic tank, and that’s how he died. Later, the Orthodox Church declared him a saint. I think it was in Jasenovac. I actually struggle with it all the time. I once wrote off all Serbs, Orthodoxy, all crosses in this world, with the symbol of which my son was killed,” said Nataša in 2015.
It doesn’t end there, Nataša’s grandmother was the sister of the Montenegrin Queen Milena Petrović and the aunt of King Aleksandar Karađorđević. Even that was not enough for the villains. Goran tried to save his neighbor and was killed as a result. Killed by the hands of Veselin Vlahović Batko, who boasted – another paradox – of both Serbia and Montenegro.
Goran Čengić’s name is synonymous with courage, and his act is a lesson about true human values that should find a place in compulsory school reading. Because of those who are coming.
