Aftermath: Bosnia’s Long Road to Peace

Since the fall of 2000, I have been documenting the social, political and economic upheavals that have been part of Bosnia’s struggle to deal with the aftermath of a war marked by ethnic cleansing and the worst genocide in Europe since the end of World War II. Although photojournalists provided remarkable images for the world of that war, I believe they did not tell the whole story – that the media must also be responsible for documenting what happens after the guns and bombs and the madness of violence have finally been stilled.

War is only half the story. It does not teach us about peace. That part of the tale unfolds only in its aftermath, and I believe that it is as newsworthy as war itself.

“Aftermath” is about that period of time when people no longer struggle just to survive, as they do in war, but are engaged in a whole new struggle – the fight to live again, to restore lives and communities, to rebuild a civil society. To try to tell this story for this project, I have worked in specific areas, where I think important issues regarding the country’s future are being determined: the widows of Srebrenica; the youth of Sarajevo; exhumations and identifications; hardline areas; and returning refugees.

But in addition, I have explored everyday life in BiH, searching for the moments and details that I believe help illumine the promise and the contradictions of a post-conflict society.

Although much of my project is aimed at helping non-Bosnians understand what the aftermath of war is all about, the heart of this work lies with the people who have experienced these things and my own personal desire to honor them in some way, to acknowledge the ties that bind us all, whether we’ve lived through war or not.

This project will culminate with a book and exhibitions timed to the tenth anniversary of the end of the war in December 2005. To learn more about the work, or to make a tax-deductible contribution, please visit the project website, www.bosniaaftermath.com, and go to the “Support the Project” page.



To learn more about Sara Terry visit following links:

www.saraterry.com
www.taiga-press.com

All images ©Sara Terry

Sara Terry - Photographer and writer “Aftermath: Bosnia’s Long Road to Peace”

A former staff writer for the Christian Science Monitor (and a founding reporter of Monitor Radio), Sara Terry is an award-winning journalist who made a mid-career transition to documentary photography in 1997. While at the Monitor, Sara worked nationally and internationally, developing a focus on social justice issues and cultural critiquing. She was the Monitor’s lead reporter on the 1987 groundbreaking series, “Children in Darkness: the exploitation of innocence,” about the exploitation of children in the developing world. She has won several awards for her work, including two from the Overseas Press Club. She was featured in the 1991 book, “Women on Deadline,” as one of the top ten female reporters in the United States, for her international reporting.
Since 1990, she has been a freelancer, continuing to expand her interest in social justice issues, reporting on a range of subjects, from the torture and assassination of street children by death squads in Guatemala to grass-roots efforts in America to bridge the “digital divide.” Her work has appeared in several publications, including the New York Times Magazine, Fast Company, Rolling Stone and the Boston Globe Magazine.
Since the fall of 2000, she has been working on a photo documentary project about the aftermath of war in Bosnia. Her Bosnia work has inspired her to begin laying the groundwork for the creation of “The Aftermath Project,” a grant program that will enable photojournalists to document the aftermath of conflict.

Contact info:
saraterry@mindspring.com