The President of the United States of America spoke to the people of Sarajevo in the National Theatre. As photographer of the Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra, I was able to get into the National Theatre for President Clinton's speech. A speech I will not forget. Let me recall to you those passages which are still with me:
... After such a hard war, fighting aggressively for peace is difficult. So many have lost mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, sons and daughters. So many wounds are deep and scars still fresh. Energy may be short, at a time when an extraordinary effort of will is required to wrench yourself from the past and to begin to build a future together. How many people who have suffered as Faruk has suffered, can stand clearly, unambiguously for the cause of peace and a common future. Many must, if you are to succeed. And many of you are trying to do that in religious and civic settings of all kinds. I thank all of those who are making organised efforts to build a common future, especially those who are mobilising women, because they know so painfully how important reconciliation and reconstruction are to your families and your children's future...
... I am persuaded, having served in this office for five years, that the real differences around the world today are not between Jews and Arabs; Protestants and Catholics; Muslims, Croats and Serbs. The real differences are between those who embrace peace and those who would destroy it; between those who look to the future and those who cling to the past; between those who open their arms and those who are determined to clench their fists; between those who believe that God made all of us equal and those foolish enough to believe they are superior to others just because of the colour of their skin, of the religion of their families, of their ethnic background. This is a very small nation on an increasingly small planet. None of us has the moral standing to look down on another and we should stop it...
... I was thrilled that the Sarajevo Symphony played before I was introduced to speak. Its violinist and cellist, percussionist and flutist, played together before the war, stayed together during the war, answered the mortars and shells with the sounds of music. Seven of the members were killed - Muslims, Croats and Serbs. Well, they're still here and they're still Muslims, Croats and Serbs. And to tell you the truth, I know the tuba players from the violinists, but I can't tell the Muslims from the Croats from the Serbs. The harmony of their disparate voices - the harmony of their disparate voices - is what I hear. It reminds me of Bosnia's best past and it should be the clarion call to your future...
... Here at the dawn of the new millennium, let us recall that the century we are leaving began with the sound of gunfire in Sarajevo. And let us vow to start the new century with the music of peace in Sarajevo...
