Impromptu Memorials

While researching Sarajevo, I found out about additional memorials that are/were similar to Vedran Smailović's memorial. Sarajevo roses are one of these memorials. The Sarajevo roses are places where mortars left craters (scars) in the streets of Sarajevo. Many of the craters were said to have a near floral look to them, and were filled with red resin–thus appearing similar to both red roses and the blood and scars left by the victims of the siege. They represent another form of witness and memorial and are present throughout the city of Sarajevo. Despite millions of dollars spent to restore the city, the deep scars left by the Siege of Sarajevo are still present. Another impromptu memorial I read about was the building where a Sarajevo newspaper, the Oslobođenje had previously been published. The building remained in its destructed state for years after the siege as a memorial to those who died. These efforts, Vedran Smailović's and even Steven Galloway's efforts to memorialize the victims of the Siege of Sarajevo will ensure it will never be forgotten.

SOURCES:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Sarajevo

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarajevo_Rose

http://www.dvnetwork.net/tdf/SarajevoRoses/Sarajevo_Roses_main.html