The Bosnian Genocide
The Bosnian Genocide started in 1992 and lasted until 1995. The Bosnians gained their independence on March 3rd, 1992. Their independence was soon followed by a genocide. This genocide was caused by Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, in order to have a majority of Serbians in Bosnia. President Milosevic started his 'ethnic cleansing' around early May 1992. He started this by surrounding Bosnia's capital, Sarajevo. After Sarajevo, the Serbs proceeded throughout the cities of Bosnia and evacuating Bosnians from the cities. Although the Bosnian Government was aware of such events, they were unable to control nor defend their territory because the majority of the people in Bosnia were now Bosnian-Serbs. By the end of 1993, Bosnian-Serbs controlled about 3/4 of Bosnia. They threw Bosnian women into 'Rape Camps' and murdered Bosnian men on sight. In July 1995, there were 8,000 Bosnian men who died in the town of Srebrenica. These men were killed by Bosnian-Serbs and is considered the largest massacre in Europe after the Holocaust. Based upon the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the death count was around 100,000 people and 80% of the deaths were Bosnians. |
"You have to understand what caused genocide to happen. Or it will happen again." - Tim Waltz |
Authors Purpose"Why does genocide occur?"
Is the driving question that has been brought upon our attention once students entered the Genocide class. This led to picking a genocide and having to research the causes of genocide and the effects of genocide. I wanted to research about the Bosnian Genocide and to understand the genocide, students with the same genocide read a book about a victim of the Bosnian War, articles about the Bosnian War, and documents related to the Bosnian War. The answer towards, "why does genocide occur," in my opinion would be because bystanders aren't willing to take action towards preventing wrong acts that violate human rights and allowing ethnic tension grow. Why? There are many reasons, one of which would be fear. Tim Waltz once said, “You have to understand what caused genocide to happen. Or it will happen again." This quote means that because we aren’t able to identify the cause of genocide, we aren’t able to prevent it from occurring again. Relating the quote back to genocide, anything can be stopped if bystanders stop being the observer and start to become a participant towards spreading the word of genocide and towards ending any genocide. Photo The photo I decided to include in my multi-genre project would be an image of a Bosnian soldier running into war to save Bosnia. This supports my answer towards being a participant who plans to stop the war instead of being an observer with knowledge that human rights are being violated. This photo can present thousands of words and hundreds of stories, but one thing that is pointed out would be, the man is running to save Bosnia. This source represents a Bosnian soldier who is running into war with full knowledge that the chances of dying has never been higher. The photo helps towards showing a Bosnian soldier who is participating towards saving Bosnia. Today, there aren’t many people who would stand up towards speaking out and helping one another out. Just because a genocide isn’t happening where you live, doesn’t mean that the genocide isn’t happening. Bullying is a fine example of being an observer instead of a participant towards stopping it. Only a handful of people are attempting to prevent bullying; and similar to genocide and war, only a handful of people are attempting to prevent genocide from occurring once again. Poem The poem presents perspectives of victims during the Bosnian War. The first poem, “Tainted,” shows the perspective of the protagonist, S. in the Book, S. by Slavenka Drakulic. The book presents the victim’s perspective of the Bosnian War. S. the main character has been deported to an isolated location, is forced into the ‘Women’s Room,’ and is raped by Serbian soldiers every night. This helps towards the driving question because the poem was able to show the victim’s lifestyle while during the Women’s Room in Bosnia. This piece connects well with the overall answer towards the human rights being violated. She is a Bosnian women, trapped in a isolated area with no help and all of her rights have been disposed of. There are many people today who have been suffering because their human rights have been disposed of or taken away. However, how can people besides politicians and soldiers do in a situation like it? Spreading the word towards the human rights violation can be a simple solution and the most effective. As a free choice, I decided I wanted another poem about the victims after the war is over. The poem “Not Really,” represents the victims who think they’re ‘free’ however because of the war, they aren’t free and they’re memories will forever be stuck in the war. I felt like this point of view is needed because memories can stay until the death bed. Victims after the war are usually stuck in the past and unable to find a way to improve towards the future because the impact from the war was just too large. Their bodies, their soul, their mind has been violated and that's something that's unforgettable. This can relate to the first poem because it's a way of showing a before and after. Many people after a genocide or a event that relates to violation of human rights suffer memories that don't leave until the very end. Perspective Writing The perspective I chose to show in my multi-genre project would be the perspective of E. She is one of the characters in the book who played a role as a bystander (in my opinion), because she was just a Serbian women who tended to the wounds and the daily needs of the Bosnians in the Women’s Room. The perspective writing is in the point of view of E., who is regretting her actions and who wishes for the war to end so that the girls in the Women’s Room can return to their lives. This writing piece can relate to the regret of those who don’t take action. I personally feel awful when I feel like I missed a chance to change the world or to at least change a person’s life. This point of view allows the feeling affect E., who is silently tending to the Women’s Room in the camp. She connects to the poem "tainted" because in the poem she is unable to change her life and E., is the one who is keeping her alive. E., is the one who is feeling the regret from being unable to say anything towards helping the girls out. Primary Source The primary source that I decided to use would be the Dayton Accord. The reason why this is important is because in someway, shape, or form the word spread about Bosnia and the United States took action to create a peace agreement. Due to this action, many Bosnians were allowed to go back to their country, attempt to recreate the normal lives they had in the past, as well as plan for the future of innovating their country once more. This piece provides a political standpoint because this document had the President of Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia at one place to sign the Dayton Peace Accords that ended everything. Throughout history, many wars have ended in a peace treaty, however it doesn’t completely end the tension between the two groups. If another event such as the Bosnian Genocide were to occur, then the pieces from the perspective writing, the poem, and the image would have to repeat once more. |