It All Started On A Not-So-Normal Afternoon.

My name is Zlata Filipović. I live in Sarajevo with my mom and dad. I am in my early teens and I love writing. I have very many friends and family members and they mean a lot to me. I go to school and I take piano lessons. I am an only child, but we have a bird that lives in the kitchen. My journal is a way for me to express my feelings. I write in it almost every day, if not more. The year is 1992. Lately, there has been shelling going on in Sarajevo. Shelling would mean bombing. Some of my friends and family have left Sarajevo to stay safe. I miss them a lot. It scares me when I go to bed and I hear the shelling. It makes me wonder if I am going to wake up in the morning. When we go down to the cellar, it makes me wonder if I am ever going to come out of there. We often go over to some friends that we still have here and celebrate birthdays. We enjoy it while we can, because we know that the war may eventually prevent us form spending time with our family and friends that we love very much. Sometimes we celebrate by just playing games, or sitting around talking, or even sometimes, sitting down in the cellar waiting for the war to end.

Daddy, Why Are You Dressed Like That?

I came home today and my dad was dressed all funny. Mom said he has to leave for a little bit. There is word that there is going to be trouble in Sarajevo. I think that means that the same things that are happening in other cities, are going to start happening in Sarajevo. I heard that there are bombs in the other cities. Mean people are ruining the cities and all of the peoples houses. It makes me wonder what my dad is going to be doing. Why does he have to leave? I ask my mom. Why can't he stay here with us and keep us safe? Mom doesn't answer me when I ask her all these questions. I think she is worried about dad. I'm worried too. What is going to happen to Sarajevo? What is going to happen to our family? What is going to happen to my dad?Mom just told me that the mean people are coming to Sarajevo. I think the mean people are soldiers. Dad just left. He said the he loves us and promised us that he would come back, but after he left, Mom said that it might be a promise that he can't keep. What does all this mean? Does all this mean war for Sarajevo?

I think I can see the end. Never mind. It's just like the beginning.

Just when I thought this whole thing would be done and over with, it starts again. Everything looked like it was getting better. We were getting our house fixed up, and I was going outside and my life was almost back to "normal". Almost. I was so close to going back to my "normal" life. War is my normal now, so I guess my life is pretty normal, as normal as it is going to get. My childhood has been taken away from me and I don't know if I will be able to get back where I was a little over a year ago. I miss being able to go outside and play with my friends. I miss being able to walk across the bridge and see grandma and grandpa. I miss a lot of things, but there are a few things I will not miss when this war is over. All the shelling, and going down to the celler, and the days and nights without power or heat. Of all things, this should be the last thing a child should have to go through. I miss my friends and a lot of my family too. I just want this to stop. We need peace in Sarajevo.

Peace at Last!

Finally! The war has ended! After over a year of shellings the war is over! I can finally go out and see my friends, go to school, see grandma and grandpa, and go out with mom and dad. I'm so excited! Nobody really knows what goes on in war until they live it. My house is now destroyed, my friends are far away from me, and some of my family members are gone, some forever, some just for a little bit. It was scary to see the post office burn down, and every time I heard the shellings, my stomach sank. Didn't they do enough by ruining half of our town? Tearing apart family after family? I feel so bad for the families and friends that lost loved ones and their homes. It must be so sad. I was lucky. Most of my family and friends are still here. Never again do I want to have to live through another war. It was scary, hearing the shellings and not knowing when I would be able to come out of the cellar or if I would ever be able to come out of the cellar. I hope that Sarajevo never has to go through war again.