THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, September 26, 1995 TAG: 9509260296
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SANJA OMANOVIC, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: SARAJEVO, BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA LENGTH: Medium: 97 lines
In a small, dark room, all you can see is eyes. The room is full of children. They are sitting in chairs and on the floor. The two youngest are sleeping. They are the brothers and sisters Sultanovic, 10 of them.
Above their heads is a clothesline with diapers drying for the baby, Segmedina. She is 9 months old. The others - Samira, 17; Vejsil, 16; Ismar, 15; Samir, 14; Suad, 13; Emir, 8; Sead, 7; Ajsela, 4; and Dzejlana, 3 - are talking and playing around a little stove made from an oil can.
They don't worry about what will happen tomorrow.
But their parents, Djula and Vesaf Sultanovic, know how hard it is to get clothes, shoes and food for 10 children these days in Sarajevo. There's still a war on, and it is hard to survive even if you don't care about anything except yourself.
``We live on humanitarian aid mostly. What else?'' says Djula, the mother. ``You might ask how the children are not ill when you know that we get only beans and a little oil and sugar for 15 days. I don't know the answer.
``But I also don't have the strength anymore. I'm not patient enough to knock on the doors of the humanitarian organizations and ask them to give me some food.
``We were on the list for aid in our local community, and we got one pair of shoes. I gave them to Suad. Maybe Emir and Sead will be able to wear them later. But winter is coming, and I need 10 pairs. Where can I get them?''
Vesaf, the father, says the most important thing is that they still have their home, that they are not refugees. That one little room is home for the Sultanovic family - the only one they have.
``I'm a photographer working for the BiH (Bosnian) army. It is hard, but they help me. I take food in lieu of a salary.
``It's a little easier with these older children. They can eat beans and macaroni. The biggest problem is baby food for Segmedina. For these nine months, we got baby food from humanitarianorganizations only a couple of times.
Everything else had to be bought on the black market.
``Once I found a box of baby food for 4 German marks. I bought one from the smuggler and hurried to borrow some money to buy more. When I came back, the smuggler told me, `Now the price is 6 marks for a box.' What could I do? I went home without food, and Segmedina had to have milk with a little rice.''
The Sultanovic family has only one wish. They want peace. It would be much easier then, they say.
Every time Djula looks at her children, her tired face becomes a little happier. When you have 10 children, it's unusual in Sarajevo to still have them all after three years of war.
As she hugs Ajsela and Dzejlana, she explains that they don't complain about anything.
``We are lucky, at least for now. The children are healthy, thank God. We survived these three years of war. There is a saying: Each child has his own lucky star. Everything will be OK. We just need peace.''
Vesaf says his main trouble now is not his children, but the winter. Without electricity and gas, it will be very hard to endure the cold. Firewood in Sarajevo is expensive, and it can be bought only with German marks - as is the case also with clothes, shoes and food.
The Sultanovics don't have marks, and they don't have relatives elsewhere in Europe who could send them money, as many Sarajevans do.
``Vejsil, Ismar, Samir and Suad are fortunately old enough to help,'' their father says. ``They were working from time to time in the market. But now school has started, and I don't want them to miss their lessons. I'm still strong, and I can work. There is no choice for me. I have to find a way to feed them. They are mine, and I must take care of them.''
All members of the family have assigned duties. Djula cooks, takes care of the baby and washes the clothes while Vesaf works. Sons Vejsil, Ismar, Samir and Suad go to school and work whenever they can. Daughter Samira, with her younger brothers Emir and Sead, bring water and collect anything that can be used to make a fire.
Ajsela and Dzejlana are too young to help. ``We try not to be in their way,'' they say from the floor, playing with a doll without arms.
And still there are smiles on their faces. The Sultanovic children make jokes all the time. Their parents say they are all their wealth.
All Djula and Vesaf want for them is that they are healthy and that they grow up and become good, honorable people.
They say, ``When we buy something, it has to be bought 10 times. If one of them has chocolate, he will share it with the others. We know we will never have enough money to buy them everything we would like to. But anyway, we have each other. We are happy with that.''
The night falls on Sarajevo. It's getting darker in the Sultanovic home. It's getting colder, too. Winter is coming. Vesaf looks at the gray autumn sky.
``Yes, the winter is in front of us again. But this is not the first or the last one. My children are not alone. They have each other.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color ASSOCIATED PRESS photo
A boy plays near a wall pocked by shrapnel and bullet holes in
Sarajevo. Also in the city, in one room, lives the Sultanovic family
- 10 children, a mother and a father - poor, but surviving.
by CNB