{"id":4927,"date":"2021-02-22T15:09:10","date_gmt":"2021-02-22T15:09:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/?post_type=story&p=4927"},"modified":"2023-02-14T12:45:45","modified_gmt":"2023-02-14T12:45:45","slug":"bens-story","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/turning-25\/bens-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Ben’s story"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

This is the picture I found. It is from Sarejevo airport during the war in Bosnia. Around 1994. You can see in the back some UN armoured personal carriers and I am wearing a 20 kg flak jacket (bullet and shrapnel proof vest). The airport was controlled by the United Nations, but was surrounded by snipers and was actually a bit risky when you walked out onto the airfield. It would have been very cold, but I guess I am smiling because I was about to get a flight out of the city to Italy for a brief break. We were in conflict conditions there, often no electricity and water cuts and the fear of being caught in the crossfire of the war.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I would have returned to university the following academic year to complete my degree. I had not had much support from the local authority since leaving care at 16-but they did give some money toward my university costs. I guess I was optimistic about the future, but had not resolved much of the pain of the past or the fear of where I would turn to if things all went wrong. Somehow I thought it would all be okay in the end-and it was. I can see these mixed emotions in my eyes and face in this photo and the few other photos I have from my younger days.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","story-category":[],"class_list":["post-4927","story","type-story","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"Ben's story - IMO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/story\/bens-story\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ben's story - IMO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This is the picture I found. It is from Sarejevo airport during the war in Bosnia. Around 1994. 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