Sanela and Emir Klaric are featured in the most iconic wedding photo taken by the legendary Danilo Krstanovic during the siege of Sarajevo. They now reveal how they prepared for their wedding.
This photo was recently exhibited at the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in the exhibition “Labyrinth of the Nineties.” Sanela and Emir, who got married in 1995, visited the exhibition. The photograph shows them smiling while walking down Kulovica Street, with sheets stretched between buildings in the background.
“We simply wanted to get married, it didn’t matter how. We organized everything in 21 days. Emir made my shoes, and I sewed his shirt and vest. It was an event where everyone wanted to contribute, to do something,” Sanela said.
“When we got married, people asked us, ‘Where are you going on your honeymoon?’ We had Azur, a neighbor on the street called Obala (Coast), so we said, ‘We’re going to Azur on the “Coast”,'” they said, laughing.
The photo of the Sarajevo newlyweds has become a symbol of the resilience and hope of the people of Sarajevo, representing their struggle and belief in a better future. Today, it is considered one of the most important photos in the history of war photography. Sanela and Emir are still married and have two daughters.
The “Labyrinth of the Nineties” exhibition is the result of three years of research, work, and collaboration among individuals, experts, activists, and partner organizations from the former Yugoslav countries, gathered around the Museum of the Nineties initiative.
The Sarajevo exhibition is an expanded and enhanced version of the pilot exhibition of the same title that was held in Belgrade during the summer of 2023. The aim of this exhibition is to provide a new and different perspective on the decade that changed the lives of millions in this region and globally, with consequences that are still felt today, perhaps more than ever.
The exhibition challenges visitors to consider whether, as individuals and as a society, we have truly emerged from the labyrinth we entered in the early 1990s. Entering the labyrinth and freely wandering through it allows visitors to view that traumatic decade from multiple perspectives, especially from the standpoint of those whose lives were shattered in a single day, those who opposed the war, and those who were forced to leave their homes.
No exhibition can fully depict an entire decade, particularly the nineties, which left an indelible, lasting mark on our region. Therefore, the principle of this exhibition is fragmentary. Visitors are invited to mentally complete the “Labyrinth of the Nineties” with what is missing, what should be shown, and what is yet to be understood. Only together can we, by looking into the recent past, understand our present and envision a different future.
The exhibition will be open to visitors until September 15th, 2024, at the Historical Museum of BiH. The exhibition is supported by the National Endowment for Democracy and the regional project European Union (EU) Support to Confidence Building in the Western Balkans, funded by the EU and implemented by the United Nations (UN) Development Programme (UNDP), Klix.ba reports.
