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Outlook: The siege and the cat that saved my life

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Composite image with Amra Sabic El Rayess in front of a destroyed building with a cat sillhouette

01/07/2021 GMT

The siege and the cat that saved my life

BBC World Service - Outlook, The siege and the cat that saved my life

Amra Sabic El-Rayess turned 16 as Bosnia Herzegovnia plunged into civil war

Amra Sabic El-Rayess was just 16 when war took hold of her hometown, Bihać in Bosnia Herzegovina. The city was bombed and blockaded for three years but Amra had a lucky charm.

Aged 16 Amra Sabic El-Rayess was a grade-A student with a bright future ahead but then one day when she got to school almost all her ethnic Serb classmates were gone. 

This was Bihać in Bosnia Herzegovina in June 1992 and the city was soon surrounded by ethnic Serb forces. The remaining mainly Bosnian Muslims, which included Amra and her family, would face a three-year siege. But amidst the death and destruction Amra found a lucky charm, a 'refugee' cat called Maci who adopted her and who she credits with saving her life.

Professor Amra Sabic El-Rayess now lives in the US and has written a book about her life called The Cat I Never Named.

Irma Thomas is known as the ‘Soul Queen of New Orleans.’ She celebrated her 80th birthday earlier this year and the multi Grammy award winner spoke to Outlook's Emily Webb about her extraordinary life and music career. This interview was first broadcast in 2018.

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com

Picture:  Composite image with Amra Sabic El Rayess
Credit: Courtesy of  Amra Sabic El Rayess + Gian Luca Salis / EyeEm via Getty Images

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