HAPPY THANKSGIVING/BLACK FRIDAY EVERYONE!
The Cellist of Sarajevo takes place in the early 90’s, when the city of Sarajevo was under siege from Bosnian military forces. All of the main characters are on different paths; however, all of their stories are told in the book, and are intertwined in one way or another. Kenan is perhaps the most innocent out of any of the characters; he is on a journey through town to collect drinkable water for his family. Dragan is on his way to work. However, it is important to remember the circumstances surrounding Sarajevo: total chaos, destruction, and mutiny in the city streets of Sarajevo. Finally, there is Arrow, a Sarajevan sniper who is struggling to maintain her independence throughout the story.
During the course of all the chaos and violence in the streets, a bomb goes off outside a Sarajevan bakery, killing 22 people. The cellist, who is deeply affected after viewing these tragic events, decides to play Albioni’s Adagio on the site of the bombing. He decides to play for 22 consecutive days, one day for each life lost due to the bombings. One point worth mentioning is the symbolism of the cellist to the Sarajevans. To them, he symbolizes hope and opportunity. This helps explain why Arrow, a former champion of the university shooting team, is assigned as a sniper to help defend the cellist; to lose the cellist would mean losing everything.
Welcome to Sarajevo begins with Michael Henderson, a reporter, traveling to Sarajevo in the hopes of getting stories and pictures. Their voyage allows them to truly see the suffering and pain that the people of Sarajevo were going through. Eventually, Henderson visits an orphanage and is shocked at the deplorable conditions the children of Sarajevo are forced to live in. He eventually comes into contact with an aid worker, Nina, and they work to smuggle several children out of the country.
While the situations surrounding the two wars are/were completely different, several comparisons can be made regarding the siege on Sarajevo and the continued occupation of Iraq by American military troops. In both situations, the civilians, who are not involved directly in the war or violence, are being hurt. There have been multiple reports from Iraqi citizens of bombings, shootings, and abuses by soldiers of citizens that include shooting without provocation, beatings, and even allegations of rape. Lawlessness and chaos has taken over. While not nearly the same extreme, we saw this, in a way, after Hurricane Katrina. Looters had taken to the streets, stealing anything they could. Regular citizens were shooting suspected looters, which included people who were taking food from grocery stores because there were no other options. All of these examples show that when lawlessness and anarchy occurs, chaos and violence ensue. It is indeed sad, but it almost seems to be unavoidable.
I enjoyed reading about the comparisons you made between the siege of Sarajevo and other devastating events in recent history. I definitely see the comparison you make between the occupation of Bosnian Serbs in Sarajevo and the American forces in Iraq. It is arguably the innocent civilians who bear the effects of war the most, civilians whose very survival is at risk in spite of the fact that they have no direct involvement in the war and violence going on around them. Your comparison to Katrina was also sound. While indeed not the same extreme as the siege of Sarajevo, “lawlessness and chaos” do resonate in both scenarios.
ReplyDeleteReading your comparisons affirmed in me why we educate ourselves on history and made me wonder why humanity continues to let events occur that contain similar elements. In educating ourselves on history, we (hopefully) bring ourselves to a place where we are no longer doomed to repeat it. However, seeing the elements of Sarajevo playing out in recent events such as Katrina and the Iraq war, I wonder if our education on history has made any difference. Or, has our education on history, especially history of crimes against humanity, been too lackluster? It seems to me that we should place more emphasis on the human aspect and the value of human life when educating ourselves about mass killings in recent history rather than reading about them from a detached perspective. Maybe then can human beings get one step closer in making sure events like these are prevented as much as possible.
Otto - Comment on Miller Blog: Sarajevo
ReplyDeleteI agree with both of your arguments on Iraq and the post-Katrina times. It is ridiculous to think that murdering hundreds of civilians is actually helping as well as turning native against each other out of fear. People change drastically through war times and it is important to note the effects that war actions can have on not only a society as a whole, but individuals as well. Some people just try to get through, others, terrified and angry, while others appear to just glide through life, accepting the changes and merely dreaming of better things. Then there are the heroes who step in, the real ones who are able to change lives through pass-aggressive acts that only serve to inspire and give hope to the community which is being damaged. The Cellist in the novel does just this, for twenty two consecutive days, while characters in the film also help, trying to get the message to the world just how horrible life has become in Sarajevo.
The comparisons made to modern times are clear, and it is sad to think that destruction of the human race still goes on like it does.
You bring up an interesting point when discussing the significance of the cellist. It is important to note that he has affected the lives of all the people in the city. He is portrayed in both the movie and the book as bringing happiness and hope to people’s lives. This is why he is so important and why Arrow is sent to protect him. She is the best sniper and therefore assigned the most important job. In the book we are given the points of view of three very different people who view the city in various ways. They are affected by the events happening around them in distinct manners and therefore deal with their problems differently. However, each of them is in one way or another affected by the cellist. His music gives them hope and what they need to keep going. It seems that none of them expected to be touched by the music yet they all were. In the movie the cellist is shown playing at the end. In this scene Michael and Flynn give each other a look and smile. This shows that with the music in the background both of them have come to some sort of realization that it will all be okay.
ReplyDeleteSo what course of action do you propose for the Americans in Iraq? Yes, there are reports of terrible actions taking place in Iraq, but there are the same amount of soldiers in Iraq as a small city. I bet on a whim if someone did the math on crimes committed by soldiers to similar crimes committed to similar sized city, the city would have a lot more. Let us say they pack up and leave tom. The result would be the same exact thing that happened in Sarajevo would happen in Iraq, but probably on a much larger scale. There are three groups of people in Iraq. All of which have some sort issues with each other or the countries around them. So they start killing each other, and the final result would be the return of the American Soldiers along with the same small statistic of war crimes.
ReplyDeleteIt is good though to create awareness of others actions. It gives people the feel that they are being watched. During war it is easy to do something wrong because there is no consequence for their actions. There is no one to report the problem. When there is no control there is usually lots of problems as seen in Katrina. Now even when control is getting better there are problems still going on in New Orleans. The police are corrupt, and people in the city are still doing terrible things. New Orleans even though it is a fun city, it still lacks control.
I thought it was so interesting how Henderson went there to get a "story" but ended up wanting to desperately helping the children in the orphanage.
ReplyDeleteAs a journalist, ones job is to get the story not really get involved with the story. Henderson even goes as far as the promise the young girl he will help her. He offers her his home in England and risks his life to lie and say she is visiting him and his family. With many of the different genocide stories too many people try to avoid getting involved but there are the few that risk their lives for others. While the other reporters were content with just getting the story, Henderson truly wanted to help.
Alex, this isn't a required comment, but I feel compelled to respond to you. I wasn't trying to make a political statement. I was merely pointing out that many innocent Iraqis are caught in the crossfire, even though they want nothing to do with the war that is going on around them. I actually disagree with you that the exact same thing in Sarajevo would happen in Iraq, but I'm not really interested in debating theoretical situations. I agree with you when you say that when there is no control, opportunity for crime is rampant; I think the best example of this is the Danziger Bridge shootings, with the officer's defense being that it was the chaos of Katrina which caused them to shoot an unarmed, mentally handicapped person. I DO NOT think that it is our job as a country to play policeman everywhere else, including Iraq. But that is just my personal opinion.
ReplyDeleteYour commenters are enthusiastic about your linking Sarajevo to Iraq. You might develop your analysis of the book and the film more fully because then you could make more explicit comparisons with Iraq.
ReplyDeleteI think that you make an excellent point overall by linking the lawlessness and chaos of Katrina to the situation the the people dealt with in Sarajevo. In both instances the fact that the law was non-effectual led to people trying to make gains out of other peoples hard work. I also agree with your opinion about America's police nature. I feel that the role of a great country should be in helping people who are being victimized not in modeling their culture to match our own, or installing rulers that are little less than mouth pieces. I think that the book showed the level of corruption that can come of war very well. When a cigerette becomes currency that has a greater value than food during a time of general famine the criminals have taken over. I also felt that the film showed how this system of corruption was used by reporters who had plenty of those high end items that were given out to locals to buy information or as tips.
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