When Muhamed Fazlagic (also known as Fazla) and his band took the stage during Eurovision 1993 in
Millstreet, it was a momentous occasion. Not only were they the first representatives from the newly
independent Bosnia & Herzegovina, but they took the stage during the middle of the Bosnian War. Their
mere presence, having battled sniper fire just to escape Sarajevo and be present at Eurovision, provided
European audiences with a face to the conflict, conveyed a sense (through song) of the grief of the
Bosnian people, and announced that the young republic was a legitimate European nation like any other
in the contest.
Fazla’s song told the story of a man writing his girlfriend who had fled the country—a story very similar
to that of Fazla and his girlfriend Sanda, who was living in Sweden during the conflict. The two married
just prior to Eurovision; the trip to Ireland was effectively their honeymoon. Following Eurovision and
the standing ovation his band received from the audience, Fazla returned home to the Balkans with his
new bride, using his new fame to raise money for humanitarian causes.
After the war, Fazla moved to the United States to study applied sociology. He ended up in Kentucky,
where he taught local university courses, founded a local soccer academy, and raised his and Sanda’s
daughter Sarah. He has continued to perform occasionally, with several singles posted to his YouTube
channel. After two decades in the US, he recently returned to Sarajevo, where he has become involved
in Gradjanski Savez, a new political party focused on social justice and an end to ethno-nationalism in
Bosnia.