So, I finally got around to watching Episode 3 of From Beirut to Bosnia. Available through the sterling efforts of Sands Films, who managed to find something that's practically disappeared.
The series basically seeks to explain why Muslim extremism targets Westerners - the first two episodes deal with Western-backed Israeli aggression in Palestine and Lebanon, and as promised, the last episode heads to Bosnia. Specifically, to Sarajevo. During the nastiest of its tragic history.
So, Robert Fisk dons a helmet and flak jacket to brave the streets of the besieged city. As he points out, he's lucky to have them - the soldiers don't have that luxury. Nor do the civilians, risking their lives every time they go out to buy groceries, running down the streets with their shopping bags as snipers pick them off from nearby rooftops. God, that brings back memories - I vividly remember the reports on the evening news at the time. I remember the shame that the West wasn't doing anything, as the Serbs systematically murdered the Muslim population, or packed them onto trains to go and live elsewhere, as best they could. And the West refused to arm the Muslims, to allow them to defend themselves.
Stand-out scenes, for me, include the hospital, where we see a little boy brought in after being shot by a sniper. Also receiving treatment for gunshot wounds is his mother, who tried to shield him. As the surgeon remarks, those responsible for this aren't human. At the train station, we meet some refugees - one woman, asked how she feels when she looks at a photo of how things were just a year ago, looks at Fisk aghast. She refuses to answer - how do you think I feel? she exclaims. Shortly afterwards, as the train arrives, a frail old man has to be lifted onto it, to an uncertain future.
At a press conference, Fisk asks the UN spokesman - who's just given a summary of the situation - whether there is any area under UN control that isn't experiencing bombing or shelling. A long pause follows. "I presume," says the UN guy, "that you're using the phrase 'UN control' advisedly. We are currently experiencing shelling and sniper attacks in all areas."
A devastating sequence has Fisk being escorted by Serb police to an area that has been "ethnically cleansed" of Muslims - a misnomer, as he says. This wasn't ethnic cleansing, it was a straightforward land grab. He gets them to stop at a place he recognises - he was there a year before, visited the mosque, had a cup of coffee with the imam and his wife, who had been promised Serb protection. Now, the mosque is in ruins, as is the imam's house. Photograph frames are broken, the photographs scattered on the floor. The Serbs, of course, know nothing about what happened there. (And ask not to be filmed.) And at time of broadcast, he still hadn't found out what happened to the imam and his wife, who had been so friendly to him. Last year.
Standing in the ruins of the mosque, as the camera pans over the ruined decorations, the holes in the walls - Fisk remarks that if violence like this is perpetrated on the Muslim population, you must expect retaliation. It's a nonsense to say that it's mindless terrorism - he also reveals that he feels that, at the end of each of his articles about the Middle East, he should include the warning "Watch out!"..
A very important series. And yes, I haven't forgotten about my film backlog of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Snowden, The Unbelievable Truth, Time (all on Amazon Prime), and Zero de Conduite, on the Internet Archive. Watch this space.. as ever..
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