From the First World War to the conflict ended in 1996, Bosnian people have experienced the opening and the closing of an atrocious century for the violation of human rights.

More than 20 years after the end of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 34-year-old Adis Smajic still lives with the effects of the conflict. Adis lost part of his right arm and his left eye at the age of 13 in a landmine explosion and, after undergoing dozens of operations, he still struggles with “phantom limb” syndrome and has to periodically replace his prosthetic eye. “My prostheses only serve for others, those who look at me, but not for me,” says Adis. “Sometimes I feel I don’t have the patience for anything, not even for my son, Alen. My eye-nerves, the arm I lost; it’s just too weird, I don’t know what is going on. The problem is in my mind, my phantom limb is right here. I feel the need to clench my fist with my missing hand, to grasp something; those are the kinds of stimuli I feel most often, but I can’t satisfy them.” Sarajevo has the faded edges of a timeless city and in its outskirts, near to what was the front line, Adis’s family lives. A spectral city in many ways, with the marks left by the conflict still etched into the skin and the soul of its inhabitants. Your gaze gets lost among the mountains that frame the valley, beyond a blanket of fog that outlines a fairytale frame about to fade away bringing everyone back to reality. From youth unemployment exceeding the 40% threshold, to the nationalisms feeding on their own rhetoric, till the missing persons who keep surfacing from the ground. War injuries sometimes make people uncomfortable: for many it is not easy to see those maimed by violence, for some they are a reminder of a conflict they would prefer to forget. Adis’s arm and eye are missing, yet they are still present as a latent image – as phantoms that are also a metaphor of Bosnia’s identity.

The site of a huge mass grave (5,000 sq m large and 10m deep) found in Tomasica, one of the largest from the war in the 1990s. There were 435 corpses hidden and buried more then 20 years ago by Bosnian Serbs forces as a result of the ethnic cleansing operated against non-Serbs in the nearby city of Prijedor. The forensic teams found bullets in the grave, suggesting that some victims were shot on the site. Tomasica, Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
The site of a huge mass grave (5,000 sq m large and 10m deep) found in Tomasica, one of the largest from the war in the 1990s. There were 435 corpses hidden and buried more then 20 years ago by Bosnian Serbs forces as a result of the ethnic cleansing operated against non-Serbs in the nearby city of Prijedor. The forensic teams found bullets in the grave, suggesting that some victims were shot on the site. Tomasica, Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
A corpse covered in salt, to slow down decomposition, inside the morgue of the Krajina Identification project. The victim was found along with other 434 human bodies in Tomasica, one of the largest mass graves ever found in Bosnia. Sanski Most, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
A corpse covered in salt, to slow down decomposition, inside the morgue of the Krajina Identification project. The victim was found along with other 434 human bodies in Tomasica, one of the largest mass graves ever found in Bosnia. Sanski Most, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
Some guys play in a theater show organized together with some deaf and dumb children in a school. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
Some guys play in a theater show organized together with some deaf and dumb children in a school. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
Adis Smajić, 32-year-old, put in his eye drops. Adis was only 13 years old when, following an accident on a land mine, he lost his right arm, his left eye, undergoing dozens of operations in subsequent years. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
Adis Smajić, 32-year-old, put in his eye drops. Adis was only 13 years old when, following an accident on a land mine, he lost his right arm, his left eye, undergoing dozens of operations in subsequent years. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
A pacifier near a false limb on the sitting-room table in Smajic’s house. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
A pacifier near a false limb on the sitting-room table in Smajic’s house. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
Alen Smajić, 1-year-old, listening music on TV while his father Adis is dancing in front of him. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
Alen Smajić, 1-year-old, listening music on TV while his father Adis is dancing in front of him. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
Two girls walking while men at work are involved in the demolition of the former Hotel Zagreb, a national monument of BiH. During the war, Hotel Zagreb was hit by grenades, burned and fully destroyed. The building will soon be returned to its original state. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
Two girls walking while men at work are involved in the demolition of the former Hotel Zagreb, a national monument of BiH. During the war, Hotel Zagreb was hit by grenades, burned and fully destroyed. The building will soon be returned to its original state. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
A member of Krajina Identification Project walks between the corpses inside the morgue. The 435 victims were found in Tomasica, one of the largest mass graves ever discovered in Bosnia. It turned out that 270 of the skeletons were incomplete of limbs or skulls. The bodies are not very decomposed, due to the clay composition in the soil in which they were hidden and buried by Bosnian Serbs more then 20 years ago. Sanski Most, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
A member of Krajina Identification Project walks between the corpses inside the morgue. The 435 victims were found in Tomasica, one of the largest mass graves ever discovered in Bosnia. It turned out that 270 of the skeletons were incomplete of limbs or skulls. The bodies are not very decomposed, due to the clay composition in the soil in which they were hidden and buried by Bosnian Serbs more then 20 years ago. Sanski Most, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
Approximately 1,000 images of missing persons from the area of ​​Prijedor hung on a wall inside the morgue of the Krajina identification project. Here the ICMP staff conducts human remains analysis and DNA sampling, coordinating the identification process for cases from the Krajina, located in Northwestern BiH. Sanski Most, Bosnia and Herzegovina 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
Approximately 1,000 images of missing persons from the area of ​​Prijedor hung on a wall inside the morgue of the Krajina identification project. Here the ICMP staff conducts human remains analysis and DNA sampling, coordinating the identification process for cases from the Krajina, located in Northwestern BiH. Sanski Most, Bosnia and Herzegovina 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
The fingerprints of Alen Smajić, 1-year-old, on his father car glass. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
The fingerprints of Alen Smajić, 1-year-old, on his father car glass. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
Adis Smajić, 32-year-old, listens to the Imam pray call sitting in his car, during a raining evening. Since his son birth he became an observant Muslim, he is praying 5 times a day and he doesn't drink alcohol anymore. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
Adis Smajić, 32-year-old, listens to the Imam pray call sitting in his car, during a raining evening. Since his son birth he became an observant Muslim, he is praying 5 times a day and he doesn’t drink alcohol anymore. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
A model is seen during the fashion performance "Sarajevo assassination", wearing old-fashioned dress of the period 1914-1918. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
A model is seen during the fashion performance “Sarajevo assassination”, wearing old-fashioned dress of the period 1914-1918. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
Adis Smajić, sweetly gives the pacifier to his son Alen. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
Adis Smajić, sweetly gives the pacifier to his son Alen. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
A man touches one of the trucks carrying the bodies found in the mass grave of Tomasica the day before the collective funeral for 284 victims identified. Prijedor, Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
A man touches one of the trucks carrying the bodies found in the mass grave of Tomasica the day before the collective funeral for 284 victims identified. Prijedor, Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
A chair between the human remains and personal items in the morgue of the Krajina Identification Project. Family members of the victims come to talk with the ICMP staff, and can see for the last time their loved ones. Sanski Most, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
A chair between the human remains and personal items in the morgue of the Krajina Identification Project. Family members of the victims come to talk with the ICMP staff, and can see for the last time their loved ones. Sanski Most, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
Naida's mother inside the car of her son-in-law Adis Smajić, on a way to Institute where she is hospitalized for psychiatric illnesses. Her eldest daughter Naida started to take care of her two younger sisters Edna and Zerina since their mother was no longer able to take care of them. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
Naida’s mother inside the car of her son-in-law Adis Smajić, on a way to Institute where she is hospitalized for psychiatric illnesses. Her eldest daughter Naida started to take care of her two younger sisters Edna and Zerina since their mother was no longer able to take care of them. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
A view of the mountains around Fojnica. Fojnica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
A view of the mountains around Fojnica. Fojnica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
Some people in line to receive food at the headquarters of the Catholic organization "Saint Antonio", in the Dobrinja district. According to the World Bank, 1 in 5 Bosnian lives below the poverty line. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
Some people in line to receive food at the headquarters of the Catholic organization “Saint Antonio”, in the Dobrinja district. According to the World Bank, 1 in 5 Bosnian lives below the poverty line. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
Some Bosnian rom in the vicinity of the tents where they live, at the feet of the Sarajevo City Center, a shopping mall built with a considerable capital investment of the Arabic Al-Sulejman Shiddi, the owner of the namesake investment group that formally owns the building. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
Some Bosnian rom in the vicinity of the tents where they live, at the feet of the Sarajevo City Center, a shopping mall built with a considerable capital investment of the Arabic Al-Sulejman Shiddi, the owner of the namesake investment group that formally owns the building. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
Some members of the Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra before the concert organized on the reopening day of the restored city hall Vijećnica. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
Some members of the Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra before the concert organized on the reopening day of the restored city hall Vijećnica. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
A young boy walking near ditches dug to bury the 30 victims of the village found in a mass grave in Tomasica. Of the 435 victims exhumed, 284 bodies have been identified so far. Zecovi, Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
A young boy walking near ditches dug to bury the 30 victims of the village found in a mass grave in Tomasica. Of the 435 victims exhumed, 284 bodies have been identified so far. Zecovi, Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
People in the vicinity of the tram stop in front of the Latin bridge that across the river Miljacka, where in 1914 was killed the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sofia. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
People in the vicinity of the tram stop in front of the Latin bridge that across the river Miljacka, where in 1914 was killed the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sofia. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
Adis Smajić, 32-year-old, is seen working on a laptop in his house. He is unemployed like 40% of the population and lives with a disability pension, but he tries also to gain some money doing small jobs on electronic devices. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
Adis Smajić, 32-year-old, is seen working on a laptop in his house. He is unemployed like 40% of the population and lives with a disability pension, but he tries also to gain some money doing small jobs on electronic devices. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
Two women in a stadium used to store the coffins for a collective funeral of the 284 victims of Bosnian Serbs ethnic cleansing in Prijedor. The bodies were exhumed from a huge mass grave discovered in Tomasica 22 years after 435 human beings were killed and hidden on that site. Kozarac, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
Two women in a stadium used to store the coffins for a collective funeral of the 284 victims of Bosnian Serbs ethnic cleansing in Prijedor. The bodies were exhumed from a huge mass grave discovered in Tomasica 22 years after 435 human beings were killed and hidden on that site. Kozarac, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
Family members of a victim lay the coffin of their beloved one in a grave. On the anniversary of the massacre of Prijedor, 284 victims found after 22 years in a mass grave in Tomasica were returned to their relatives. Zecovi, Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
Family members of a victim lay the coffin of their beloved one in a grave. On the anniversary of the massacre of Prijedor, 284 victims found after 22 years in a mass grave in Tomasica were returned to their relatives. Zecovi, Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
3-year-old Alen Smajic, is seen playing with a water gun by the pool. Velletri, Italy 2016. © Matteo Bastianelli
3-year-old Alen Smajic, is seen playing with a water gun by the pool. Velletri, Italy 2016. © Matteo Bastianelli
3-year-old Alen Smajic, in the play area of the Italian Ocular Centre, while his father Adis takes his picture. Rome, Italy 2016. © Matteo Bastianelli
3-year-old Alen Smajic, in the play area of the Italian Ocular Centre, while his father Adis takes his picture. Rome, Italy 2016. © Matteo Bastianelli
Adis Smajic’s old prosthetic eye on the worktable in the examination room at the Italian Ocular Centre. For humanitarian purposes, Adis travelled to Rome at the invitation of the clinic for the free provision of his new prosthetic eye. Rome, Italy 2016. © Matteo Bastianelli
Adis Smajic’s old prosthetic eye on the worktable in the examination room at the Italian Ocular Centre. For humanitarian purposes, Adis travelled to Rome at the invitation of the clinic for the free provision of his new prosthetic eye. Rome, Italy 2016. © Matteo Bastianelli
Alessandra Modugno, ophthalmologist specialized in prosthetic eyes, inspects 34-year-old Adis Smajic in the examination room at the Italian Ocular Centre. For humanitarian purposes, Adis travelled to Rome at the invitation of the clinic for the free provision of his new prosthetic eye. Rome, Italy 2016. © Matteo Bastianelli
Alessandra Modugno, ophthalmologist specialized in prosthetic eyes, inspects 34-year-old Adis Smajic in the examination room at the Italian Ocular Centre. For humanitarian purposes, Adis travelled to Rome at the invitation of the clinic for the free provision of his new prosthetic eye. Rome, Italy 2016. © Matteo Bastianelli
The catalogue showing the possible shades of colour for the iris when the artisan makes prosthetic eyes, at the Italian Ocular Centre. Rome, Italy 2016. © Matteo Bastianelli
The catalogue showing the possible shades of colour for the iris when the artisan makes prosthetic eyes, at the Italian Ocular Centre. Rome, Italy 2016. © Matteo Bastianelli
A laboratory technician is seen busy making the prosthetic eye for Adis Smajic at the Italian Ocular Centre. For humanitarian purposes, Adis travelled to Rome at the invitation of the clinic for the free provision of his new prosthetic eye. Rome, Italy 2016. © Matteo Bastianelli
A laboratory technician is seen busy making the prosthetic eye for Adis Smajic at the Italian Ocular Centre. For humanitarian purposes, Adis travelled to Rome at the invitation of the clinic for the free provision of his new prosthetic eye. Rome, Italy 2016. © Matteo Bastianelli
Naida Vreto Smajic kneading the pita dough, a traditional Bosnian speciality. Velletri, Italy 2016. © Matteo Bastianelli
Naida Vreto Smajic kneading the pita dough, a traditional Bosnian speciality. Velletri, Italy 2016. © Matteo Bastianelli
34-year-old Adis Smajic is being examined by the ophthalmologist, who measures the exact position of his iris in order to make his final prosthetic eye. Rome, Italy 2016. © Matteo Bastianelli
34-year-old Adis Smajic is being examined by the ophthalmologist, who measures the exact position of his iris in order to make his final prosthetic eye. Rome, Italy 2016. © Matteo Bastianelli
Naida feeds her 3-year-old son Alen who sits by the pool with his father Adis. The Smajic family travelled to Rome for the replacement of Adis’ old prosthetic eye. Velletri, Italy 2016. © Matteo Bastianelli
Naida feeds her 3-year-old son Alen who sits by the pool with his father Adis. The Smajic family travelled to Rome for the replacement of Adis’ old prosthetic eye. Velletri, Italy 2016. © Matteo Bastianelli
Adis Smajić, 32-year-old, looks at his shadow on the bottom of a collapsed street. Adis was 13 years old when he had an accident on a land mine. Since one year he became father and now he is living the best time of his life. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli
Adis Smajić, 32-year-old, looks at his shadow on the bottom of a collapsed street. Adis was 13 years old when he had an accident on a land mine. Since one year he became father and now he is living the best time of his life. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2014. © Matteo Bastianelli

BOSNIAN DIARIES (2014-2016)