Al Jazeera Balkans launches ‘Sarajevo under Siege’ interactive
On April 5, 1992 the longest military siege of a capital city in modern history began. Fighting ceased on December 14th 1995, when the Dayton Peace Accord was signed. The siege of Sarajevo was finally lifted on February 29th 1996.
To mark the 20th anniversary Al Jazeera Balkans has launched a collection of documentaries, picture galleries, interactives, maps, videos, award-winning short stories and television reports within an interactive platform, Sarajevo under Siege - http://opsadasarajeva.com
The interactive website Sarajevo under Siege, is available in Bosnian, English, Arabic and Turkish.It allows users to access 360-degree video tours through locations including the Sarajevo War Tunnel, also known as the Tunnel of Hope, that was the only way in and out of the city, as well as the Historical Museum in Sarajevo that holds a permanent exhibition, ‘Besieged Sarajevo’ which looks at the impact of nearly four years of the siege. The story of the siege is told through photographs and artefacts, from hand-made heating, cooking and fighting implements to humanitarian aid.
Sarajevo under Siege brings together various visual content that can easily be shared across different social media platforms. The project also boasts interactive maps and a timeline which allow users to understand the historical, military, social, humanitarian as well as cultural aspects of the siege of Sarajevo.
“It was not only the longest siege of a capital city in modern history. The city of Sarajevo, while it was besieged had the longest running humanitarian air bridge in history. But it also had the spirit and the courage to survive. This project is our effort to contribute to the ongoing storytelling process, our effort to explain this complex event to the global audience. ” -said Mr Tarik Đođić, MD Al Jazeera Balkans.
The story begins with an interactive walk through the Sarajevo War Tunnel, followed by maps of massacre locations, urbicide or “violence against the city” sites, infographics with important dates - siege timeline, military data interactives, documentaries and picture galleries. It also tells the story of the Winter Olympic Games of 1984 (Olympic venues before and after the war).
The project ends with a giant panorama of the present day Sarajevo, which allows the viewer to zoom in to particular districts; famous people’s quotes on Sarajevo and a story about Sarajevo by award-winning Bosnian author, screenwriter and playwright Abdulah Sidran commissioned especially for this project.
