Tens of thousands of young people from all over Yugoslavia and abroad constructed the 2nd trail of the railway Doboj – Sarajevo about 40 years ago. Those outstanding men from all over the former Yugoslavia remembered those days with songs, tears and laughter and recalled their work actions.
Although voluntary work was obligatory at first, it became a way of socializing for young people during the second action and the construction of the 2nd trail later. Two commanders, Bogic Bogicevic and Filip Vukovic were responsible for all the works, and Vukovic addressed everyone on the gathering in Zenica.
“I was the commander of the entire action from Doboj to Zenica, and today I am very proud of the young people and I am glad to see some of them here with us now. It is impossible to realize something like that now, the conditions and generations have changed a lot,” said Vukovic.
A journalist from Zenica, Gordana Ristovic-Muslija, took part in the work-action back then. She arrived from Doboj and recalled this work-action with tears in her eyes.
“I simply cannot stop the tears when I remember that time or see the people I worked with. Work actions were something that cannot be described if you never experienced it. Today, I am with the people I have not seen for 40 years. However, even 40 years later, I felt the same emotions as I did when we woke up in the morning to go to work,” said Ristovic-Muslija.
Young people from all over Yugoslavia made their way through mountainous Bosnia with shovels and cramps. More than 210,000 people from all over Yugoslavia and abroad took part in the first work-action, and very demanding facilities such as Sava Bridge, Vranduk tunnel and eight short tunnels in the total length of 2,354 meters were constructed on the 239 kilometres long route.
With the construction of another trail from Sarajevo to Doboj, around one million cubic meters of material was spent, seven tunnels were made, including large Vranduk and Sikola, 34 bridges were built, the riverbed of Bosna River was moved, and young people worked for more than 1,600,000 effective hours.
During the construction of the trail, competitions between work brigades were organized as well. The construction of the 2nd Sarajevo-Doboj trail took place from April 1 to November 25, 1978.
(Source: E. M./Klix.ba)
