Now living in Auckland, sisters Hana Schofield and Atka Reid were caught up in 1992 in the middle of the civil war which tore Yugoslavia apart. Then aged twelve, Hana boards one of the last UN evacuation buses to flee the besieged city of Sarajevo. Her 21-year-old sister Atka stays behind to look after their five younger siblings. Atka's daily life is punctuated by sniper and mortar attacks and desperate food shortages as she and the family struggle to survive. The authors of Goodbye Sarajevo talk with Lynn Freeman about the events which brought them and their family to New Zealand.
Recent stories from Writers and Readers Festivals
- Word Christchurch festival 2018: four adventurous women talk about their lives
- 125 Years: Are We There Yet? Kim Hill leads a discussion about gender equality at WORD Christchurch 2018
- Word Christchurch festival 2018: Dame Anne Salmond’s bicultural interests deeply rooted in her life experience
- Word Christchurch Festival 2018: A family memoir jolted into being by the 2011 Christchurch earthquake
- Word Christchurch festival 2018: Ed Husain debates his book The House of Islam
Get the RNZ app
for easy access to all your favourite programmes
