The VW Golf: The car, the myth, the legend.

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The Volkswagen Golf: symbol of Sarajevo. The sporty hatchback is a veritable Sarajevo institution, and not least because there is a VW factory just outside of town. During the war, the Golf won the hearts of Sarajevans as an indefatigable workhorse. Favored for its small size, maneuverability, speed and, above all, reliablity, Golfs were distributed around the city in an elaborate rapid-response ambulance system. According to one account, you might witness someone succumb to a sniper and barely a minute later, as you still stood dumbfounded, a Golf would suddenly come tearing in, swoop the injured into the back, and screech off, leaving you wondering if it had ever happened.

According to an article in Bosnia Daily last week, an astonishing 34% of cars in Bosnia are VW Golfs. People are so attached to their Golfs, or even just the abstract ideal of perseverence that the Golf represents, that the car has achieved mythological status. I have been told several times the story of so and so's friend who, when they ran out of diesel fuel during the war, poured a bottle of vodka into the Golf's tank, and would you believe it ran like a dream and saved their lives?

Adnan was elated last month when his cousin donated her old Golf to him - his first car. He proudly showed me his new beat-up 1980-something VW Golf. It is bright pink. A week later, the doorhandle tore off in his hand. But no matter - it made it through the war and says Golf on the back, and that is good enough.