I stood before the flame and couldn’t move.
It flickered not with fury, but with memory. The wind teased it, the traffic rushed behind me, but the fire held steady – unyielding, quiet, alive. Just like Sarajevo.
This is the Vječna vatra, the Eternal Flame, lit in 1946 to honour the liberators of the city after Wolrd War II. The inscription behind it speaks of unity – of Bosniaks, Croats, Serbs, Jews, and all who fought side by side. It’s a language of defiance and remembrance, written in stone and fire.
I took this photo not just to document a monument, but to preserve a moment: the tenderness of the wilted flowers, the scarred marble, they way the flame dared to glow even in daylight. In a city that has known both liberation and siege, this flame speaks a truth beyond politics.
It says:
We remember.
We endure.
We remain.
This image is a tribute to Sarajevo’s layered soul – burned, but not broken. And to the quiet fire that survives in every Bosnian heart.
This post is part of the “Imperfect Light” series – you can read the introduction here.
Monday Made Me Do It 