Saving Children in the Balkans
In May 1993, Sally Becker went to Bosnia to help victims of war, delivering medical aid and evacuating wounded children from the besieged city of Mostar. She was dubbed the 'Angel of Mostar', and was hailed for her efforts to treat the casualties on both sides. When Milosevic ordered his troops into Kosovo her missions continued, this time on foot across the mountains, taking refugees to safety. While doing so she was captured by Serb paramilitaries and sent to prison, but neither this or being shot by masked gunmen could make her abandon her task.
In Sunflowers and Snipers, Sally Becker tells her story, a singular personal account of the realities of the Balkans conflict. It reveals not only the suffering of the ordinary people and the bravery of those who helped them, but also the systematic inertia and ineptitude of government institutions and the often languid reactions of the United Nations. When the UN insisted they could have done it without Becker, her response of 'So why the hell didn't they?'
Credited with saving 170 lives during her time in the Balkans, Sally Becker's story is both uplifting and a warning of the true nature and price of war.
