Sunflowers and Snipers: Saving Children in the Balkan War

In this gripping memoir, the founder and leader of the humanitarian aid organization Operation Angel recounts her struggles to evacuate children from the war-torn Balkans. In April 1993, Becker, horrified by news coverage of the bloodshed in the former Yugoslavia, decided to go to Bosnia to help children caught in the crossfire. Once there, the British artist quickly abandoned her original purpose—to practice art therapy with the kids—in favor of delivering aid. Early successes won her the trust of locals, including the head of Croatian Military Health Authorities, who tasked her with evacuating wounded children from East Mostar, “one of the most dangerous areas of Bosnia.” In addition to the perils of walking a thin line between warring entities, Becker had to contend with hidebound aid agencies, snipers, rocket attacks, and her own shortcomings. Her candid discussion of the latter, combined with threads of romance and levity, allow Becker to emerge not as a saint, but as imperfect and human—someone desperately trying to do good. By concluding with some success stories of evacuees, “the Angel of Mostar,” as she was known by those she assisted, proves her resolve was more than a match for her flaws. Photos & maps. (June)