I’ve been reading up on Beirut and Bosnia. I especially recommend “Seasons In Hell” and “Love They Brother” about Bosnia 1992-3. The boozing and pork eating secular muslims of Bosnia were in for a might rude shock when their world of peaceful coexistence went right over the cliff in 1992. THey could not believe how their comfortable modern world was just turned upside down, and it became a struggle just to survive the madness.
Which is why I don’t want to live anywhere NEAR an ethnic fault line. What is “peaceful coexistence” today can turn into Rwanda/Bosnia/Beirut overnight. And you do NOT want to be a minority surrounded by an angry majority when it happens.
Thanks for the references. I’ll see about getting that book, as it certainly seems that that is where many of our cities are headed. Hardly anyone remembers that Sarajevo, once the host of the 1984 Winter Olympics and often referred to as ‘the jewel of he Adriatic’ descended into a flame-shot hell during the 4 year seige of that same city during the Biosnian War in the early 90s. I don’t know how much hope they had, but they sure got change. Just like we’re going to get.