My teacher became my torturer
When Mirsad Solakovic’s teacher turned against him at the start of the Bosnian war, he was traumatised by what happened and had to learn to put his trust in teachers again.
Mirsad Solakovic grew up in a Bosnian Muslim family during the 1980s, in a country where people from a range of different ethnic groups and religions lived side by side. This harmony was shattered for Mirsad at the age of 13, when his Serbian teacher turned up at school one day in military uniform and pointed a gun at him. As war descended on his town, he and his family were rounded up and Mirsad was singled out and tortured by that very same teacher. They were then sent to a concentration camp on the school grounds as part of a wave of ethnic cleansing. They escaped to England as refugees, but Mirsad was by now experiencing severe PTSD – Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He found it hard to adjust, suffered bullying and wouldn't speak, until two of his new teachers asked if he would talk about his life in the school assembly. It would be a life-changing moment for Mirsad. He’s written a book about his experiences called The Boy Who Said Nothing.
Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com
Presenter: Emily Webb
Producer: Edgar Maddicott
Picture: Mirsad Solakovic (left) with his family
Credit: Mirsad Solakovic
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The Outlook Podcast Archive
True stories of ordinary people and the extraordinary events that have shaped their lives