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(left to right) Mirza Mujkic, official athlete escort for Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Timothy Shriver; Lidija Topic, Deputy Foreign Minister; Eunice Kennedy Shriver; Ossie Kilkenny, Special Olympics Board member; walk through the old town of Sarajevo on their way to a lunch with families. [All photos by Vladan Radmilovic] |
New friendships began unexpectedly several days before the official start of the Special Olympics Southeast Europe Friendship Games in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, when 40 Special Olympics athletes from Bulgaria, Romania, and Serbia and Montenegro met in Belgrade to make the two-day bus trip south.
"We could not understand each other when we spoke, but sitting together on the bus and listening to each others' music we found a common language that brought us all closer together," said Yavor Mitev, a Special Olympics athlete from Bulgaria. This was only one example of how 500 Special Olympics athletes from 10 countries brought real meaning to the word "friendship" and all that it embodies — respect, cooperation, selflessness, joy — during the first large-scale Special Olympics event in the region, held 24-27 April 2004, and considered the largest sporting event to be held in Sarajevo in 2004.
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Eunice Kennedy Shriver (center) and Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia Managing Director Michael Smith (left) meet Special Olympics athletes from Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina during a visit to the athletics venue in Tuzla. |
While the Special Olympics athletes had trained hard for competition in aquatics, athletics, football and table tennis, they seemed to have an understanding that their participation in the Games had a greater purpose, offering a glimpse at what the world could be like. "Our friendships break down borders," said Milan Stojicic, a Special Olympics athlete from Serbia and Montenegro. "Competition is friendship," added Tadej Kramberger, an athlete from Special Olympics Slovenia.
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Zlatko Hasonovic, National Director, Special Olympics Bosnia and Herzegovina; John Manley, Special Olympics supporter; Eunice Kennedy Shriver; Adnan Terzic, Prime Minister; Mirza Mujkic, official athlete escort for Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Timothy Shriver; Ossie Kilkenny, Special Olympics Board member. |
Organized by Special Olympics Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Games were honored by the patronage of Prime Minister Adnan Terzic. The host cities of Sarajevo, Mostar, Tuzla and Banja Luka opened their doors and hearts with a resounding "Dobro Došli!" (Welcome!) to its Special Olympics visitors, which not only included the official delegations but also Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Founder; Timothy P. Shriver, Chairman and CEO; Ossie Kilkenny, Board Member; and John Manley, supporter.
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"The Friendship Games are enabling Bosnia and Herzegovina to promote itself as a factor of stability in the region."
Adnan Terzic, Prime Minister, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Family members, like Mirjana Vujinovic, from Pale, whose son Boris is a Special Olympics athlete, wanted to welcome Mrs. Shriver and not only tell her about what a difference Special Olympics had made in their children's lives, but to personally wish her well.
Mirza Mujkic, 18, a Special Olympics athlete from Tuzla, served as the official athlete escort for the Shrivers, and his dignity, charm and vitality, as well as his ability to speak English, had journalists from leading newspapers wanting to interview him alongside Timothy Shriver.
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Timothy Shriver and Eunice Kennedy Shriver (at head of table) meet with athlete representatives from 10 countries to discuss athletes' interest in sports and other activities. "If people say athletes cannot contribute to society, we say, let them come to Sarajevo!" said Shriver. |
Throughout the Games, already overflowing with hospitality and good will, there were more offers of support and cooperation: like Husuija Kasmovic, an assistant instructor at the Academy of Physical Education in Sarajevo who wanted to volunteer as a coach, and Bosnian businessman Gavrilo Bobar, whose company generously supported the Games but still offered to make contacts with business associates to garner support for Special Olympics Programs in Romania and Serbia and Montenegro. At the same time, in an arena where National Directors could have easily showcased their individual Programs' impressive achievements, they instead spoke excitedly about their collective plans to organize more Friendship Games.
Opening Ceremonies was held 24 April at Zetra Hall in Sarajevo, the site of the 1984 World Winter Olympics, and broadcast live on national television to an estimated 1.5 million viewers. In Timothy Shriver's address, his final words to athletes were simple yet a profound call to action for all who heard him: "Go back and tell them you want a world of friendship."
Below, National Directors meet with Timothy Shriver to discuss Special Olympics program development in Southeast Europe. Among the guests attending the meeting were Prof. Mujo Demir, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Education. Science, Sport and Culture (seated, second from right) and Gavrilo Bobar, President, Bobar Group, whose company was the Games general sponsor (seated, far right). U.S. Ambassador Clifford G. Bond (not pictured) also attended.
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