Last night the 2012 Olympic Games exploded with a fabulous ceremony held in London. Like billions of others across the world, we’re sure you were glued to your TV throughout the evening witnessing Danny Boyle’s close-guarded ceremony.
We at The History Press were delighted to see our author Sally Becker carry the Olympic flag out towards the ceremony’s end, alongside such dignitaries as Muhammad Ali and fellow human-rights activist Doreen Lawrence.
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 save the children from all sides.
When Milosevic ordered his troops into Kosovo her missions continued, this time on foot across the mountains, to bring sick and injured children and their mothers to safety. While doing so she was captured by Serb paramilitaries and sent to prison, but neither this nor being shot by masked gunmen could make her abandon her task.
Sunflowers and Snipers 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 Sally Becker, her response – ‘So why the hell didn’t they?’ – was typical of someone who acted while others merely talked.
Sunflowers and Snipers will be released in hardback and ebook format on August 6th.