The Outlook Podcast Archive - The siege and the cat that saved my life

Download The siege and the cat that saved my life

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.

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com

Presenter: Andrea Kennedy
Producer: Thomas Harding-Assinder

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

Published on Thursday, 1st July 2021.

Available Podcasts from The Outlook Podcast Archive

Subscribe to The Outlook Podcast Archive

We are not the BBC, we only list available podcasts. To find out more about the programme including episodes available on BBC iPlayer, go to the The Outlook Podcast Archive webpage.