Interview with Aida Mandić – Justice For Bosnia and Herzegovina
Aida was born on November 15, 1990 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, to a middle-class Bosniak family of intellectuals and liberals. Her mother, Sanija, was a lawyer (specializing in civil law) who was 2 inches away from death. Her father, Ahmet, was a mechanical engineer who was shot in his ankle by a Chetnik. She and her mother fled Bosnia and Herzegovina when Aida was only 2 years old because of war and genocide.
“I barely escaped Sarajevo in one piece. Chetniks looked directly at my mother. They were eager to kill us like mice. She saw their evil eyes, as cold as ice”
1. Can you talk to us about your background, where you were raised and family life when you were young
I was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. I was forced to escape my native country due to the Bosnian Genocide. I lived in Croatia, a refugee camp in the Czech Republic, France, Malaysia, and the USA. I am an only child. My family life was toxic, dysfunctional, and difficult. My father was extremely mentally abusive. He enjoyed degrading me even if I was bullied in school. I learned that the only person that I can trust in the entire world is myself.
2. Most people probably aren’t aware of the specifics of this conflict. Can you provide some perspective and insight? Was the conflict based on religion, ethnicity, politics or something completely different?
The Balkans are a very nationalistic region of the world. Serbia and Croatia want a “Great Serbia” and “Great Croatia”. Once President Tito died, Yugoslavia fell apart and went to hell. The true colors of Serbian and Croatian politics came up to the surface. Their nationalistic governments led to the slaughter of over 100,000 Bosnians. The United Kingdom and France betrayed Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to Taylor Branch’s book “The Clinton Tapes”, François Mitterrand (the former President of France) stated that “an independent Bosnia would be ‘unnatural’ as the only Muslim nation in Europe” and he had been “especially blunt in saying that Bosnia did not belong, and that British officials spoke of a painful but realistic restoration of Christian Europe”. This disgusting, evil, and cruel stance was just one drop in an ocean of hatred against the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Bosnian Genocide was a complicated conflict. It was based on many factors such as nationalism, politics, and ethnicity. It was centered around Serbians and Croatians who wanted to split up Bosnia and Herzegovina to take the land. 50,000 Bosnian women were raped. Shame on The West for not effectively preventing this atrocity.
“Imagine being in a situation like that. What would you do? What would you think? How would you deal with the intensity of being afraid to even blink?”
3. What types of books did you gravitate towards when going to the library after being bullied at school?
I loved reading about Disney, military strategy, penguins, Emily Dickinson and William Blake poetry, Bob Dylan’s song lyrics, history of inventions, neuroscience, biotechnology, microfinance, fencing, ping pong, bubblegum, ear muffs, postage stamps, Pomeranians, and survival strategies for natural disasters.
4. What inspires you?
Books, movies, TV, pictures of exotic and mysterious places. I inspire myself with art. I take different aspects of my personality and present them in an appealing way to the audience.
“If your inner light is a fierce shade. If you never let your fire fade. If you know how the game is played. Then you know how winners are made”
5. What is your bestselling book?
“What Is Life Anyway?”. https://www.amazon.com/What-Life-Anyway-Aida-Mandi%C4%87/dp/B094GNXXS5/
6. What is your writing style and do you have a specific methodology when writing?
I rhyme a lot. I write songs and poems that have a similar writing style to Jim Morrison, Bob Dylan, and Madonna. I consider Jim Morrison to be my songwriting soulmate.
“What is life anyway?
Is it a gate to worlds that are not yet known?
Is it a farm where ideas are planted and grown?
Is it a tiny seed that blooms into a beautiful rose?
Is it a time capsule of experiences that you chose?”
7. Where do you get your drive from?
I resist against norms and forms that restrict freedom of expression, individuality, and freedom. I think that women are treated like an inferior gender throughout the entire world and I rebel against that.
“I believe that racism, sexism, nationalism, ageism, anti-semitism, and Islamophobia cause conflict and that I am strongly opposed to all of those concepts as I believe that war can occur as a result.”
8. In what direction do you see your career going in the next 5 years?
I plan to become a actress. I have done a lot of research on acting techniques, agents, managers, publicists, and successful actresses and actors. I also want my songs to be in movies and on TV shows so there is a lot of networking that I will do. I have my work laid out for me in 2024. This is going to be an extremely busy year. I also plan to be in music videos and commercials. Writing and publishing books will always be one of my passions
9. What is the most difficult personal challenge you have had to overcome?
I had a 15-year friendship that ended because he chose drugs over me. He was my best friend for 15 years. I met him when I was 13 years old in my U.S. History class. That loss of having him as my friend is something that still haunts me to this day. He is irreplaceable. I have never had a friendship like that nor will I ever have one like that. He was like an older brother to me when I was at my lowest and bullied in school. He believed in me and he supported me. He had extreme personal tragedies that led him to be self-destructive. I don’t judge him. I will always love him. I hope that he is doing well and I wish him the best.
10. Do you find it hard to have personal relationships because of everything you have experienced in your life?
Yes. I don’t trust people and I have intense hatred, pain, anger, and resentment towards my father because he was toxic and didn’t care about my health or happiness. He was an abusive monster who lacked morality and a conscience. He was shot in his leg by a Serbian Chetnik sniper and blamed me for the incident because he was trying to bring me milk at the time. He expunged all of his poison and frustration onto me. He said that I was the “worst child that ever lived”. My ex-boyfriend backstabbed me because he was looking for a Catholic woman on Badoo (a European dating site) while he was dating me. I had 4 of my friends get raped while I was a college student. I have a very cautious attitude towards people in general.
“If you have gone through pain
If you ever went against the grain
If you thought you might go insane
Then you have the power to reign”
11. What do you think about war in general? It seems to have gotten worse since the 90’s as there are currently several wars happening at this moment.
Conflict is something that occurs in individuals, families, schools, and countries. It is everywhere. We cannot avoid the fact that it exists and causes harm. Sugarcoating and whitewashing facts provokes hatred and violence.
A society where the individual becomes isolated and loses their spark to create, question, and speak up is a society that has lost its soul. I think that bullying in schools and mass shootings are evidence of this type of behavior. 50 percent of all marriages end in divorce. It’s tragic. I think that war is idiotic, useless, and barbaric.
12. If you could live in your idea world, what would it look like?
I would erase the trauma that I endured at the hands of my father because the only thing that he can bring to me and to the world is pain, venom, abuse, and horror. I would utilize law enforcement, the CIA, and the FBI to make bullying in school an international crime. I would also inform students, parents, and teachers that emotional abuse is a crime that will not be tolerated. People have a serious attitude towards physical and sexual violence, but they condone emotional abuse. It is accepted as something that is normal and that every family has its “problems.”
That is unacceptable and outrageous. If your parent is threatening to slit your throat with a knife, they must be persecuted in a court of law. Abuse is abuse, period. If we condone emotional abuse, why don’t we all start walking around with snipers? Why don’t we urinate on someone’s lawn? Why don’t we break windows and steal everything that we can? Morality keeps society functional. If you do the crime, then you do the time. You can’t constantly disrespect someone and be evil, sadistic, and cruel without expecting a slap in the face from the law. My mother tried to tell me that my father was not the “worst” and that I should care about my reputation more than myself. After all, I must be a “good girl”, correct? I place my integrity, dignity, mental health, and self-respect above any and all social constructs that degrade me. If you don’t talk about important subjects in a public context, then you are censored. Nobody has the right to censor me or disrespect me because I speak the truth.
I would also change society’s views towards authors, publishing, and awards. Authors are not treated like celebrities. That should be changed. They deserve more respect and recognition. Awards such as the Nobel Prize and Pulitzer Prize are awarded to authors who are not self-published. This means that we allow monopolies in facts and opinions to occur. This also means that major literary agencies and agents hold most, if not all, of the power. They call the shots and make the decisions. I despise that kind of mentality because there are many voices that are not heard. Credibility, relevance, and loyal readers are only some of the things that an author gains from winning a major literary award.
13. What is the most important lesson you have learned?
Be extremely persistent and resilient when you are struggling. Don’t strive for perfection. Just keep working towards your goal.
14. How can people reach you or learn more about you?
https://www.tiktok.com/@aidawesome
https://www.youtube.com/@aidawesome
https://www.aidamandic.com/
https://www.facebook.com/aidamandicbooks
https://twitter.com/Aidawesomeee
https://www.instagram.com/aidawesome/
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