Grbavica is a neighborhood just across from the building where I live. During the war this area was held under siege by the Serbo-Montenegrin Army, and transformed into a special war camp where the population was tortured.

When you walk through Grbavica today you can see typical buildings from the socialist regime, local residents, shops, children, dogs... but at the same time you can feel the presence of something unspoken and invisible, this strange feeling that you have when you are in a place that was marked by big human suffering.

Grbavica is a microcosmos that Esma, and other heroes, belong to. Etymologically, the word Grbavica means woman with a hump. Although it is a bit difficult to pronounce - I thought that these unattractive letters give a very good sound picture of Esma's world.