“I was shot by a sniper in 1993. The bullet hit me in the back and passed through my stomach. I was airlifted to a hospital in Croatia, and then I lived in Italy until the war finished. I moved back to Sarajevo after the war. There was a real sense of community here in Sarajevo during and after the war. We all suffered. But that seems so long ago. The political situation started going downhill here in Bosnia in 2000, and everything became more corrupt. The economy is so messed up now. I trained at a university to become a crime scene investigator, but I’m working as a waiter. There are no job openings for crime scene investigators, unless you have political connections. I’m divorced and have a kid. Some people tell me I should move to another country where the economy is doing better. But I can’t imagine leaving and starting over again at age 37. If war starts again here, I’ll leave the next day. I just don’t care anymore.”

Driss: “I love my work because it gives me a chance to meet interesting people from many countries. I feel like I’m on vacation when I’m taking people around to see sights. I hope to start my own tour agency some day. But even if I have my own agency, I won’t just stay in the office and be a manager. I still want to give the tours myself. I get nervous if I stay home or in the office for more than a couple of days. I need to be out working with the people.”

Fatima: “I have lived in this cave house my entire life. My family has been living here for more than 100 years. Everything happened in this room. I had seven children here. This room has seen a lot of activity. Electricity came in 17 years ago, and life is much easier now. My life has been an ordinary life. I just live my life from day to day.”

“I’ve been bringing this music to the Saturday market for five years. I love this job. The music sheets are from the 1920s. They don’t make them anymore.”

Broer (Leiden, Netherlands)

“I’ve done this for two years. When I got my certificate I said I’ll stay here at this mill. The miller was very busy and he has two young kids, so I said I can take one Saturday for you. I have a technical education, and I’m always interested to see how things work. The mills must turn because when they don’t turn it’s not good. You don’t hear things that could be wrong. Every mill has a certain sound, and when it sounds different you look into it. Is there something the matter? You have to know what kind of weather is coming, that’s really important. When the weather is going to change it happens very fast. That’s why as a miller when I’m not working with the grain, then I’m outside always watching the weather. Accidents do happen, but it’s always human failure.” 

Toon (Leiden, Netherlands)

“I always wanted to work outdoors. I’ve known that since I was a child. The only time I ever worked indoors was at a greenhouse. Even when I was a child I had this vision of becoming a gardener. After I ride my bike home, I will do more gardening at home. It’s so relaxing. I love to be surrounded by nature, to listen to the birds sing. On a day like this it’s heaven.”

“I made a kayak at school when I was about 12. I’ve just always loved the water. And I love a bit of adrenaline. Back home in Australia If you head out on an outgoing tide toward the ocean, or if you’re coming back in on an outgoing tide, you have to really work hard to get back home. You really have to dig deep and keep it going beyond the comfort zone. And the mouth of the river is notorious for great white sharks and the conditions are quite rough, so you always have that tension that you don’t want to fall in and it’s touch and go. I kind of like that. I still get scared. But I love the independence of it, too. And I love teaching as well. I love seeing people enjoy it. My best client that I ever had was a guy that I thought was going to be my worst client. He was Korean, and when he first rang up I asked if he’d done much kayaking, and he said ‘kayaking is my favorite sport.’ Then I asked where are you from, and he said ‘a small village a long way from the water.’ So I said have you been kayaking? No. Can you swim? No. But the smile on his face once I got him going was just priceless. To get people doing that sort of thing is just amazing.”