"There was a plan so that this boy could never be born, so that my children would never be born, so that none of our children would ever be born. Their laughter is our greatest revenge", published on social media Emir Suljagic, head of the Srebrenica memorial center, the Bosnian town where more than 8,000 people were murdered by Serb paramilitaries in July 1995. He also attached a photograph of the players of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team celebrating their qualification for the World Cup and their elimination of a giant like Italy. And in the center of the image appeared the young Esmir Bajraktarevic. A footballer, son of refugees who fled Srebrenica, the scene of one of the most recent genocides in the history of Europe.

Born in Bosnia to Croats, the writer Ivo Andric died in Serbia, where he was buried. He wrote in Serbo-Croatian and considered himself Yugoslav. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature, and many people say he was one of the great storytellers of a state that no longer exists: Yugoslavia. It's true that Yugoslavia no longer exists and that today it's difficult to find people who speak Serbo-Croatian, but we must bear in mind that his stories are immortal. He used to write stories of the past, from the years of Ottoman rule, and he remains a good travel companion through the Balkans, regardless of flags and borders. A land that seems impossible to unite. He believed it could be done, perhaps that's why in his great book he speaks of a bridge.

Having to step through mud is no reason to stop wearing new shoes when burying a brother. Even if it's thirty years late. Under a sun that seems to defy the solemnity of the ceremony, Mensur Mujicic throws the first handful of earth where the Amir will be buried. The men gathered around the grave finish burying the wooden planks that protect the coffin. With each shovelful, a small wound closes. Then, the comfort of a singing voice. The air vibrates to the rhythm ofAllahu Akbar and an arm surrounds Mujicic's shoulder.

Priscilla Morris (United Kingdom, 1973) lives between Ireland and Romanyà de la Selva, but spent all the summers of her childhood in Sarajevo, her mother's hometown. Morris was 19 years old when the Bosnian war broke out and her grandparents and other relatives were trapped in the capital, which remained under siege for 1,425 days in what is known as the longest siege in modern history. Now she recounts these experiences in Black butterflies (Periscope, 2024; translated into Catalan by Marc Rubió), a debut novel that she has spent thirteen years writing and which has earned her many accolades. Among them, a nomination for the Women's Prize 2023 and a place among the 10 best historical fiction books of 2024 seconds The New York Times.