Account of an event · Sarajevo · May 17, 1992
Dr. Silva Rizvanbegović – a physician killed in an ambulance on 17 May 1992
On the night of 17 May 1992, at about 10:30 p.m., Primarius Dr. Silva Rizvanbegović, a physician of the Sarajevo Emergency Medical Service and shift leader, was killed in an ambulance on the road between the Koševo Clinical Center and the Emergency Medical Service. According to sources, the shots were fired by members of the JNA from the "Maršal Tito" barracks. She is remembered as the first woman physician killed during the siege of Sarajevo.
A physician of the Emergency Medical Service
Prim. Dr. Silva Rizvanbegović was a physician of the Sarajevo Emergency Medical Service and led a shift during the siege of Sarajevo. According to the recollection of her school and university colleague Bakir Nakaš, she enrolled in the Druga gimnazija in Sarajevo in 1962 and then graduated from the Faculty of Medicine in Sarajevo. She specialized in emergency medicine and trained young physicians. Nakaš also states that during the siege she organized a "wartime first aid school" and, through the media, taught citizens how to help themselves and others.
The shift in May 1992
During the siege, the Emergency Medical Service worked under great pressure. Silva Rizvanbegović had earlier been wounded herself while on duty, so on the night of her death she wore a bandage on her arm.
According to the testimony of her colleague Nedim Jaganjac, she replaced him on duty after he had worked for three to four days almost without sleep. The shift had 14 wounded people who needed urgent surgery; according to Jaganjac's testimony, two of them were in critical condition.
The ambulances waited for darkness in order to transport the severely wounded with their lights off – only the dark gave any chance that the transport could be carried out.
The night of 17 May 1992
At about 10:30 p.m. on 17 May 1992, Silva Rizvanbegović was in one of three ambulances traveling between the Koševo Clinical Center and the Emergency Medical Service. According to the testimony of Nedim Jaganjac, she decided to go with the driver so that he would not go alone. The route led past the "Maršal Tito" barracks, although, as Jaganjac testifies, he had advised avoiding that part of the road.
Silva Rizvanbegović was killed in the ambulance. According to sources, fire was opened by members of the JNA from the "Maršal Tito" barracks. The specific perpetrator has not been identified, and no one has been held accountable for this killing.
Remembrance
Silva Rizvanbegović is remembered as the first woman physician killed during the siege of Sarajevo. The International Humanist League posthumously awarded her its highest recognition. A street in Stup in Sarajevo is named after her, and a memorial plaque has been placed in front of the Emergency Medical Service building.
On 17 May 2022, the Assembly of Sarajevo Canton decided that the Institute for Emergency Medical Services of Sarajevo Canton would bear her name. The Sarajevo Emergency Medical Service marks 17 May as a day of remembrance for colleagues killed while rescuing others.