Their Paths Crossed in a War. Iberia has brought them together

It’s now a little more than 26 years since a humanitarian flight with volunteers from Spain’s Iberia and Aviaco airlines helped to save a number of families during the cruel Balkan Wars, bringing them to a new life in Spain. This is the story of Amar Basic. 

Amar was born in Macedonia during the fighting over the conflicting of former Yugoslavia. 

It was 1992, the height of the war in Bosnia, and the Comisión Española de Ayuda al Refugiado (CEAR) –an NGO devoted to helping people displaced by war-- along with the Movimiento por la Paz, el Desarme y la Libertad (MPDL) [“Movement for Peace, Disarmament, and Freedom”], managed to help rescue more than 1,500 refugees. 

Amar was one of the lucky ones who, thanks to the Spanish expedition, managed to escape from the horror of war aboard an Aviaco (subsidiariy of Iberia) flight  with volunteer cockpit and cabin crews from both companies.

On 30 November of that year, at Skopje airport, Amar and he parents boarded the MD-88 “Torre de Hércules”. Of the 154 passengers, Amar, just 15 days old, was the youngest. 

“It was by chance that we ended up on that flight. My parents had been assigned another flight to a different country on 14 November, but since I was born on the 13th, we had to wait for another flight”.

Aurora Aznar –a long-haul cabin attendant and the next most important character in our story-, was a volunteer on that flight. “More than half the passengers were children, since families with children had priority. I remember nappies were everywhere!” she recalls. “They were leaving the war behind, but not the fear and uncertainty over a future in a country which most of them had never heard of.

We were headed for La Coruña and of all those kids, the one I noticed the most was a newborn baby with enormous eyes and who was wearing clothes much too big for him”. She didn’t know then that fate would link their lives forever.

“As soon as we arrived in La Coruña, my parents knew they’d have to learn Spanish,” says Amar. “They didn’t know how long we’d be there, perhaps months, or perhaps our whole lives. My father, a professional musician, eventually found work in Bosnia, and for the next twelve years he travelled back and forth. My mother, a nurse, found a job in a dental clinic in Spain”.

The years passed. Amar’s parents rarely spoke of the war. “It was too painful, and the wounds had not yet healed; I was six years old when I first set foot in Bosnia, and it was a shock. From being an only child I found myself surrounded by people and I discovered I had another family far from Spain.

I lived a normal life in La Coruña. I graduated from high school and started my career in aviation when I was 18. My first base as a flight attendant was in Belgium, where I lived for three years, followed by two years based in Madrid, which was good training. But I was always on the lookout for new opportunities in Iberia, and here I am, flying long-haul!”

Since joining Iberia, Amar felt that he was following in the footsteps of the crew that had brought him to a new life in Spain. “I managed to get in touch with Aurora, the only member of that crew who was still working, and we began to exchange texts. It was amazing that fate had brought us together again. But we never managed to actually meet until the company arranged it.”

A quarter of a century had passed when Iberia brought Amar and Aurora together for the second time. 

Amar and Aurora remain in touch and their friendship has deepened. As soon as he joined the long-haul fleet, he tried to arrange to fly with Aurora, and has done so on a number of occasions. “I treat him as a son and I try to inculcate Iberia values in him and to give him the best advice I can, based on more than 35 years in this profession”. 

Amar is very aware of the important role played by Iberia in his life. “For me, Iberia is my family. It took me in, took care of me, and introduced me to wonderful people like Aurora.

My job as cabin attendant means a lot to me. I remember how much I admired the cabin crews on trips to visit my Bosnian family. They were always smiling and pleasant --they were an important connection for me. And now I am an important connection for others as they fly towards their futures!”