Help wanted locating a survival & preparedness article re the Balkan conflict

[Sean KZN]

Seems sunshine is good medicine and it is very dry in the Karoo so I don't sit with wet wounds.
The tooth problem through is not a joke...I'll simply bury myself

Can someone explain why there would be snipers?
Are they protecting their spot from people they assume are dangerous thieves?

I can elaborate on that particular cluster fuck that should never have happened as I have a little intimate knowledge about it. It would however be a longish story and detract from the original topic, which I believe was Selco.

But it is a survival story, so possibly relevant on this section.

[Tayls]

I can elaborate on that particular cluster fuck that should never have happened as I have a little intimate knowledge about it. It would however be a longish story and detract from the original topic, which I believe was Selco.

But it is a survival story, so possibly relevant on this section.

It would be survival related, so feel free to post away on this thread, bud.

[Sean KZN]

O.K. As the siege of Sarajevo was the longest in the war and I think the longest in modern history we may as well start there.
I first had to visit in the winter of '94, by that stage the situation had stabilized a bit and the airport and convoys could provide at least some relief. At that stage just getting there was a feat of it's own, all the way were checkpoints and roadblocks and it was a very long drive, I avoided going there for that reason (more on the ins and outs later). It was pretty rough for the inhabitants as there were still on and off shelling, mortars and of course the snipers, food and sanitation were better but certainly not normal.
The snipers were a constant problem as they seemed random, but if they got a chance to pop someone off, they'd not pass up the opportunity.
Why a person may wonder? Firstly to keep the opposition tied down trying to secure the city or as a reprisal for an act of aggression against the forces holding the siege and sometimes I think just malice.

On my third and final visit, I had worked out a short cut that shaved 2/3rd's of the journey and it was warmer. I had an address to go to for accommodation, it was an old couple and initially I got the wires crossed, the man asked if I wanted to sleep(local lingo), as it was midday I said no, presuming I had the wrong address, I headed into town, did my bit and the penny dropped, the man was offering accommodation, just not food like a guest house, so I headed back to the address.

Now I was far from fluent in the local lingo and they spoke only a few English words. I gave them some ration packs which they were pleased with and promptly produced a bottle of local brew to which I added some beer, the more we drank the better we understood each other so I sat up with him till late.

Their story was similar to that of Selco, except they were elderly. Even at that stage their biggest fear was the gangs which was why they were so happy to have company for they were safe for that night.
The winters had been brutal on them, they had no weapons and not much to trade, they got by trading hooch for bits and pieces, they had a few chickens and a small vegetable patch but nothing of any real value to the gangsters. The old girl was good at herbal remedies and foraged for plants close by, they had somehow made it that far with very little in the way of sickness or wounds and were grateful for that.
In the morning, I thanked them for putting me up and took my gear to the vehicle. The man came to help and I saw the 2 twenty liter diesel cans I had, as my short cut worked and I'd be heading back the same way, I offered them to the man, we unloaded them and he promptly embraced me in a bear hug, tears streaming down his cheeks.
That 40 liters was so valuable to them for it would surely help to smooth their bumpy ride forward in ways past my imagination.

Next we can explore weapons, how and why etc.

[prepare2win]

Awesome, thank you for sharing. First hand real world accounts are much more valuable than most of the "survival manuals" out there

[Branden88]

This one?


https://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/9...he-balkan-wars

From here

https://www.gunsite.co.za/forums/sho...AN-SURVIVALIST

Warriors TV Series 1999.

"After seeing devastating results of ethnic war in former Yugoslavia soldiers from UNPROFOR peace units find it impossible to return back to their civil lives in the UK"

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0119873/


PART ONE:

PART TWO:

Got the reference to the series in the comment section of the survival podcast.

[Sean KZN]

Warriors TV Series 1999.

"After seeing devastating results of ethnic war in former Yugoslavia soldiers from UNPROFOR peace units find it impossible to return back to their civil lives in the UK"

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0119873/


PART ONE:

PART TWO:

Got the reference to the series in the comment section of the survival podcast.

Thanks Brandon, interesting watch, makes me remember things I had forgotten. I was a civilian loosely affiliated to the UNPROFOR mission, so stayed mostly at the Brit bases when going through Bosnia, my nationality caused a lot of amusement at check points, why you not black?
On check points, Bosnia became a patchwork of territory held by either Croats or Bosniaks, so just traveling a hundred km would mean an HVO checkpoint, then a UN checkpoint, then a ARbih checkpoint, drive to the next and wash,rinse repeat.

Tips for smooth sailing. Be polite, not overtly friendly or antagonistic, either could lead to varying degrees of unpleasantness.
Never,never ever pass an unmanned checkpoint, if their were no mines lying in the road, there were sure to be some tripwire device like a claymore waiting for the unsuspecting, this happened often.
The visible mines would just be laying on the road, tied together with rope and just dragged out of the way, never worked out why they did it that way.

Also for me, the experience was very different from soldiers and combatants, never mind civilians in the zones. I could leave the Brit base at Gorni Vakuf, head for Mostar and get into Croatia and make it all the way to Pleso where the main base was or to the surrounding village where I had accommodation, go to the local for a beer and some grub and be pretty divorced from the unpleasantness going on in the disputed areas.
So like in the movie, it's difficult to summarize your experiences or even try to explain to a person removed from it, sometimes almost surreal how much contrast a day could bring.