--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In Sarajevo in 1992, while being shown…" description: "\"“In Sarajevo in 1992, while being shown around the starved, bombarded city by the incomparable John Burns, I experienced four near misses in all, three..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/christopher-hitchens-117_1992_in-sarajevo-in-1992-while-being-shown-ar_1952816.jpg" --- # In Sarajevo in 1992, while being shown around the starved… ![“In Sarajevo in 1992, while being shown around the starved, bombarded city by the incomparable John Burns, I experienced four near misses in all, three of them in the course of one day. I certainly thought that the Bosnian cause was worth fighting for and worth defending, but I could not take…” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/christopher-hitchens-117_1992_in-sarajevo-in-1992-while-being-shown-ar_1952816.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/christopher-hitchens-117_1992_in-sarajevo-in-1992-while-being-shown-ar_1952816.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/19d/christopher-hitchens-117_1992_in-sarajevo-in-1992-while-being-shown-ar_1952816.jpg) > ““In Sarajevo in 1992, while being shown around the starved, bombarded city by the incomparable John Burns, I experienced four near misses in all, three of them in the course of one day. I certainly thought that the Bosnian cause was worth fighting for and worth defending, but I could not take myself seriously enough to imagine that my own demise would have forwarded the cause. (I also discovered that a famous jaunty Churchillism had its limits: the old war-lover wrote in one of his more youthful reminiscences that there is nothing so exhilarating as being shot at without result. In my case, the experience of a whirring, whizzing horror just missing my ear was indeed briefly exciting, but on reflection made me want above all to get to the airport. Catching the plane out with a whole skin is the best part by far .) Or suppose I had been hit by that mortar that burst with an awful shriek so near to me, and turned into a Catherine wheel of body-parts and (even worse) body-ingredients? Once again, I was moved above all not by the thought that my death would 'count,' but that it would not count in the least.”” [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Witnessing danger can make one question the value of personal sacrifice versus the cause, highlighting the absurdity of seeking meaning in near‑death. **In simple terms:** Danger makes us doubt the worth of dying for a cause. Key Takeaway Question the purpose of personal risk. Themes war mortality heroism Mood grim introspective Type essay philosophical When to use this quote - combat reporting - activism - personal risk assessment Key Concepts existentialism absurdity psychology Questions to Reflect On - What truly motivates you in conflict? - Is survival more valuable than martyrdom? A Different Perspective Personal sacrifice may not advance the cause. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [1992](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-1992-479/) [Bosnia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bosnia/) [Bosnian Cause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bosnian-cause-3179699/) [Bosnian-war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bosnian-war/) [Bullets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bullets/) [Burns Experienced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burns-experienced-3179700/) [Causes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/causes/) [Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/churchill/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Martyrdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/martyrdom/) [Near death experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/near-death-experience/) [Sarajevo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sarajevo/) [Sarajevo 1992](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sarajevo-1992-3179697/) [Thought Bosnian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-bosnian-3179698/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [“During the 1992 election I concluded as early as my first visit to New Hampshire that Bill Clinton was hateful in his behavior to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/during-the-1992-election-i-concluded-as-early-as-my-first-visit-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Yet isn't it all—all of it, every single episode and detail of the Clinton saga—exactly like that? 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