One Step Beyond – Bosnia – People – Dejan Babalj
Dejan Babalj
Because of the war, I didn't have many clothes; we didn't even have enough money for food. And so I was wearing some old worn-out Nikes. And I had on tattered green jeans. I don't know what kind of shirt I was wearing.
I have this picture of my shoes and my jeans, because when I stepped on that mine, it blew my leg off. I remember how the shoe looked. The brick was red. You know: How I stepped on that brick, and the mine destroyed the brick, too. The tattered jeans on my right leg. I have that picture in my mind. Still. It's a vivid picture. I'll never forget that the rest of my life. Definitely not.
When I stepped on the mine, my two friends started running around. Because thought somebody was shooting at us. They hid. I started to yell: "Come back! Come back! I need your help here!"
One friend of mine ran away to call for help. Somebody to drive us to the hospital. And the other went to find a piece of wire. He tied my leg with the wire. I was lying on the concrete. On my back. And my friend held my leg as high as possible to slow down the bleeding. At that moment, I realized what had happened to me. And I took myself by my hair and started to pound my head against the concrete: "Oh! Do you know what you've done with your life? It's over! Nothing to live for anymore! You're going to be in a wheelchair!" And stuff like that. My friend tried to calm me down. At that moment the car arrived, and they put me into the car.
The road to the hospital was in really, really bad shape. I felt every pothole on that road. The front part of my foot was connected by just one small strip of skin. And at every hole, it felt like my skin was being torn off. And that's such strong pain.
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