In 1993, as shells rained down on Sarajevo, a group of young women gathered in a basement nightclub to hold a beauty contest. Their gowns were stitched together from curtains and scraps of fabric, their makeup lit by candlelight. Above their heads, the city was under siege, but in front of the cameras they unfurled a banner that read: “Don’t let them kill us.” The Miss Sarajevo contest was not about glamour. It was an act of defiance, a way of insisting that life continued even under bombardment. For the world outside, the image of smiling contestants in a war zone became one of the most haunting symbols of the siege. For Sarajevans, it was a reminder that survival meant more than breathing. It meant holding on to dignity, joy, and the stubborn belief in a future beyond the gunfire.
Bosnian History 