Among the places where survival was possible were river valleys cut off from one another by hills and mountains, so that people who were not that far away from each other in terms of miles, were strangers to each other, and their encounters were likely to be hostile. Back in Roman times, the poverty-stricken hill tribes of this region stole each other's animals and children, often to trade them to the Romans for things they needed. The mutual hatreds of the Balkans have very deep historical roots. Many people believe this is why there is open talk among Serbs of the inability to live ever again alongside Muslims and Croatians--and this seems heartily confirmed by Croats and Muslims as well. According to Seska Stanojlovic, a journalist for a Croatian magazine based in Belgrade (now defunct), all Serbs and Croats think alike--and this is what has kept the current feud going. Both groups are very proud and each thinks the other breaks their word.
During the Middle Ages, the more advanced peoples of Europe raided this part of the continent for slaves. Bosnians were among the vast number of Slavs so widely sold as slaves that the very word "slave" in English derives from their name--as do words for slave in German, French, Ita
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