Robert Urbanski is a Polish photographer who is trying to find Adisa, a 13-year-old girl whose tragic eyes deeply touched him through a Facebook page.
He photographed Adisa during the siege of Sarajevo more than 20 years ago, and is now trying to find information about her in order to tell her story to the world.
“I have been searching for Adisa for 12 years. I was trying to find her through friends in Sarajevo earlier, but I failed. Now, many of those friends died, and I lost contact with others because 23 years is not a short period“, said Urbanski.
The Polish photographer photographed more than 100 children in Sarajevo, and he now wants to make an exhibition that will tell the world about the suffering of children experienced in the besieged city, and Adisa’s photo would have the key role.
“I met her in January, 1993 at the bus station in Sarajevo. There were problems with the bus when she was with her brother. We talked for several minutes, and I photographed her then. Now, 23 years later, I want to complete that story, if she is still alive“, said Urbanski.
The Facebook page “ADISA Program 1993-2015“ is where Ubanski stated that ever since his meeting with Adisa, he hasn’t stopped asking himself whether or not she and her brother survived the war, and if they did survive, he wonders exactly what it is that they’re doing now with their lives. He said that when he heard about the news in BiH, he had to come to the war-torn country. Although, despite his determination, he was well-aware that he was risking his life.
“When I had arrived for the first time, it was ‘action and reaction’. I saw bloody scenes and people who needed help; I went to work as a volunteer reporter.”
Ubanski reminds people that the atmosphere in the capital of BiH, that was present even during tragic moments, impressed him especially, and continues to impress him today.
(Source: novi.ba)