In Phase II of our investigation, we examine the genocide in Bosnia. These are our burning questions about this genocide:
The narrator is constantly asking a lot of questions of his parents and older siblings about the political unrest in their area; does he actually understand what they're telling him? How much was he able to pick up?
Could the narrator foresee that there was going to be a greater issue? When little occurrences happened, such as his friends choosing him last when picking soccer teams, was that a tip off to him that he took as evidence that trouble could arise?
When did/where did all of this unrest come from? Was there a significant instigator? Or did multiple work towards what became, ultimately, the genocide?
Why is the tone at the beginning of the memoir so nonchalant? It seems more removed and less invasive into the imagination of the reader; was that intended?
What was the thought process behind going back and forth on the timeline of events?
-Evelyn Yee
What conflicts have these groups participated in in the past?
How did the children turn on their friends so quickly and without reason if they had never thought of their friends as entirely different for so long? If they had thought of their friends as different, why did they still socialize with them?
How were Serbians motivated to serve as "weekend warriors"? Was it simply out of nationalism, or were there incentives?
Why did it take ten years after Tito's death before any unrest occurred?
-Jeremy Hartman
Who was Marshal Tito?
What damage did Slobodan Milosevic do during his reign of power?
Do you think the division created in the club was similar to the division created during the war?
What did you think of the Serbians taking over the club?
What kind of feelings did Kenan express when he said that he was "becoming a minority on his own turf"? (p9)
What is the importance of Kenan constantly comparing the Bosnia ethnic cleansing to what Hitler accomplished during the Holocaust?
What could have been the true reason that Kenan's karate camp was cancelled?
Did his father know the true reason why it was cancelled? If so, why would he keep that from his son?
Do you think it was a positive thing for Kenan's brother to be straight up with him about what was going on?
-Angelica Hernandez
How did the children turn on their friends so quickly and without reason if they had never thought of their friends as entirely different for so long? If they had thought of their friends as different, why did they still socialize with them?
How were Serbians motivated to serve as "weekend warriors"? Was it simply out of nationalism, or were there incentives?
Why did it take ten years after Tito's death before any unrest occurred?
-Jeremy Hartman
Who was Marshal Tito?
What damage did Slobodan Milosevic do during his reign of power?
Do you think the division created in the club was similar to the division created during the war?
What did you think of the Serbians taking over the club?
What kind of feelings did Kenan express when he said that he was "becoming a minority on his own turf"? (p9)
What is the importance of Kenan constantly comparing the Bosnia ethnic cleansing to what Hitler accomplished during the Holocaust?
What could have been the true reason that Kenan's karate camp was cancelled?
Did his father know the true reason why it was cancelled? If so, why would he keep that from his son?
Do you think it was a positive thing for Kenan's brother to be straight up with him about what was going on?
-Angelica Hernandez
-How did Kenan and his family end up as the last ones in their neighborhood?
-What condition led the Serbs to become soliders? To commit genocide? To rip families apart and send adults to the concentration camps?
-Was there any history of hate between the Serbs, Bosnian Muslims, and other ethnic groups before this?
-After the bridge was bombed, the family still stayed- feeling as if they would not be harmed. They seem well informed about the conditions. Did Kenan know all this while the events were happening or later on? If it was during, why didn't they realize the danger of the situation?
~ Shannon Manzella
What precursors or signs did the narrator's father and brother experience that let them know that things were going to change soon?
Were there any customary differences or clear contrasts between the Serbs, Croats and Bosnians other than religious views and dialect? In other words, was there any other characteristics that set them apart from each other, or was it mainly an "ethnic cleansing?"
How will Kenan handle meeting the people that betrayed him after twenty years of being away? How would you (in general) or I handle that situation? Is this telling about his character or others'?
How would such betrayal experienced by Kenan and his family members affect them psychologically and in future relationships? His brother very obviously has issues with commitment, and Kenan struggled after being let down by the one woman he loved. Could this be because of the lack of trust that came as a result of the war?
-Sierra Pool
How did Milosevic gain enough power to turn the Serbs against so many other people?
Why was Yugoslavia made up of so many different countries? Why weren't they each their own, independent country?
Who is "Arkan"? What crime was he convicted of before leading the Maksimir Stadium riot? Was he just released from prison or had he been out for a while before the riot?
Why were the Serbs the group that committed genocide in this case? What conditions led to Milosevic coming to power and causing the Serbs to kill & persecute other groups rather than any of the other groups in Yugoslavia?
If Milosevic wanted to create an all-Serbian country, why didn't he just convince the Serbian provinces to secede from the rest of Yugoslavia? Why invade the other republics? Why didn't the Serbians in other provinces just move to Serbia?
Why did the Serbian citizens become so hostile, callous, and cold-hearted? Didn't the actions of the Serbians toward their neighbors and friends bother any of them?
Were Serbian citizens in Kenan's town forcibly recruited as soldiers? Were any Serbians in Yugoslavia forcibly recruited?
Why did Kenan say he was Bosnian, then Muslim if he remembered a Serbian politician saying the Muslims will be extinguished if Bosnians want independence? (P.32)
On P.39, one of Kenan's Serbian neighbors shouts that they are peaceful people and that everyone needs to be worried about the Croatians. How can he say that after the buses of Croatian refugees in town just weeks earlier? What kind of propaganda were they being fed?
When Kenan and his family started seeing how hostile people were being to them, why did they keep believing that no one would hurt them? Why didn't they leave even after the bridge connecting Bosnia and Croatia was bombed?
Why is the Balkan region so troubled?
-Elise Troemel
-Did the Bosniaks foresee the coming genocide? At many points, Kenan and his family understand the danger and possibility of death. Why did they seem to understand more about Bosnia's genocide than attacked individuals in other genocides?
-Did many survivors of Bosnia's genocide experience the same positive emotions after its end as Kenan and Eldin?
-In what other ways did Serbs suppress Muslims in Bosnia before the genocide began?
-Why do those who cause genocide attempt to say it never occurred after the fact?
Danielle Howard
What are the psychological ramifications of having people you know and love turn on you and kill all those around you?
Why was Serbia so powerful compared to the rest of Yugoslavia? Was it because of the League of Nations gave Serbia the upper hand after the war?
Why does it seem that the kids were so brainwashed? Did this relate to Serbia controlling school curriculums, history books, museums, and the media (pg 27)?
Was Bosnia declaring independence from Yugoslavia a precursor for genocide? Was this a power hungry leader inside of Bosnia or another nation? Or Both?
On page 49, the author explained, "I was startled by the intensity of my fury," this is similar to how Loung felt in First They Killed My Father, is this a cause of genocide that affects survivors?
Why did the Serbians hate the Turks?
Why is this portion of history not written in history books?
Why was the genocide concentrated to one particular area of Bosnia?
- Allie Back
- What are the main differences between Muslims, Serbians and Croatians? How do these differences influence each others' lives?
- What was said about Bosnians that made people shun the author and his family? Why were they shunned in the first place?
- Who explained to the authors' friends as children about the war? Was there propaganda? The author does not mention anything that explains how the children knew to hate Muslims at this time.
- So far, of the two books we have read in class, we have heard stories from families that were well off in the cities they lived in before the genocide. What would be different about these autobiographies if the authors were poor? Are there other stories of families that were not so well off in the time of the Bosnian genocide?
- Why were there Catholic prisoners at the concentration camp in the river port Luka? What role do Catholics play in this genocide?
- Why has the author and his brother never dated a woman of their same origin or background? What are the psychological implications of the genocide that bring them to date otherwise? Is it a psychological thing?
- What is the point in playing "The War Game" the author mentions on page 52? Why does the author need to be reminded of the different wars that happened in history?
- What are the psychological and biological effects of the father and brother after their time in the concentration camps? What happened in the Bosnian concentration camps?
- How would the autobiography be different if the author was not educated?
- In the first chapter, the author often mentions how language connects him to other Bosnians. I know that when languages die so can the culture. How close was the wipe out of all Bosnians? How much does it affect today’s Bosnian culture? Does the Bosnian language have changes caused by the Genocide? What other culture changes have happened because of the genocides
- What are in depth, more linear, events and beliefs that divide/d the Yugoslavia?
- Both books we have read are personal stories that come from survivors who, beforehand came from a wealthy, educated, respectful name. How do the survivors story change when the social class changes? Are there other resources we can find so that we can have a well-rounded idea? What of the well-off families that stayed in the home country?
- How much has the genocide changed the relationships in Bosnia in present day?
- I’m curious on the way being muslim and Bosnian and such connect. In other words, why are the Croatians roman catholic, Bosnians muslim, and Serbs Christian? What led to this defined divide?
- What prevented the families easily moving? With Cambodia, it happened too quickly, but with Bosnia it seems that they were restrained.
Cynthia Saavedra
How does genocide affect people of different ages differently?
How did the Serbians turn on the Muslim Bosnians so quickly? How could a teacher try to kill a student who simply greeted him?
Did the animosity carry over to the US and other countries after/during the war?
When did the war end? Is it really over?
Are certain countries more prone to war and genocide or could it happen anywhere?
Do people see genocide coming or are they blindsided? Why don't people leave before the worst comes?
Did all of Yugoslavia share one government? Who was in charge?
Did the rest of the world not know what was happening? Why was no help sent?
Did the take over of the country really happen that quickly or were we just seeing it through the innocence of a child?
Did WWI ultimately lead to the Bosnian genocide?
-Amy Duke
How did the Serbians turn on the Muslim Bosnians so quickly? How could a teacher try to kill a student who simply greeted him?
Did the animosity carry over to the US and other countries after/during the war?
When did the war end? Is it really over?
Are certain countries more prone to war and genocide or could it happen anywhere?
Do people see genocide coming or are they blindsided? Why don't people leave before the worst comes?
Did all of Yugoslavia share one government? Who was in charge?
Did the rest of the world not know what was happening? Why was no help sent?
Did the take over of the country really happen that quickly or were we just seeing it through the innocence of a child?
Did WWI ultimately lead to the Bosnian genocide?
-Amy Duke
Who or what was the power behind the Bosnian genocide?
How important is the Bosnia List that the author is creating and how much does he actually accomplish?
Who was the actual target for the genocide?
What made the people turn on one another so quickly?
What is the significance of the bar that the author keeps coming back to?
~Jen Pintoy
How important is the Bosnia List that the author is creating and how much does he actually accomplish?
Who was the actual target for the genocide?
What made the people turn on one another so quickly?
What is the significance of the bar that the author keeps coming back to?
~Jen Pintoy
After struggling with the psychological burdens of the war for so long, Will Kenan’s form of justice really help him cope?
How were Eldin and their father released from the concentration camp without being harmed or dying?
Did the United States indirectly support the Serbs by only suppressing the Bosnian retaliation against the Serbs rather than stopping the Serbs from starting the genocide in the first place?
If the West and Nato had not intervened would the Bosnians have overthrown the Serbs on their own?
What is a “turncoat”?
-Justin Rink
Who was responsible for generating and spreading the anti Muslim propaganda?
When did Yugoslavia break up and how was that related with the political atmosphere that led to the ethnic cleansing?
What sparked the beginning of the genocide?
Was Kenan’s experience of the genocide different at all because of his age? His father’s role in their community?
There were three defined groups: Croats, Bosniaks, and Serbs. Where two of those groups working together to team up against the third, or were all equally at each other’s throats?
How were those in charge able to turn people so quickly against their own close friends with whom they had relationships and deep connections?
-Emily Longman
-How long has the father wanted to return to Bosnia?
-On page 55 the author states, "no academic curriculum told the truth about our tribe. I didn't know if it was censored so much as never written." Why is it that many Americans have never heard of the truth of the Bosnian genocide?
-The author expresses that it was unfortunate that the United States and Britain intervened (59). Is this an opinion held by the majority of genocide survivors?
-Why did it take six attempts for the author's family to leave Bosnia? What was different the sixth time that made it successful?
-What happened that made people, who were lifelong friends and neighbors, turn on one another seemingly over night?
-Emily Butler
How did the Bosniaks understand that a change was coming, and where did the motivation com from that sparked people to turn against good friends and neighbors they have known for years?
What were the religious differences within Yugoslavia, and how were these manifested through the decades or centuries of conflict that afflicted this area of Europe?
I found it interesting that the Bosniaks represented a very small portion of Muslim within a continent that was predominately Christian. Did this factor play into how the Serbs and Croats felt about them, and even why the United States and Europe were more likely to step in to resolve things quickly rather than allow them to continue to a foreseeable end of a war?
What are the lasting psychological effects of going through a war and overwhelming genocide? The author mentions that he and his brother can not find love for a long time, what effect did the genocide have on that factor of their life?
The author and his family discuss often the revenge they seek on those who turned on them, how will they actually react when confronting their enemies for the first time since fleeing to the United States? Will they act the same way that Loung did when witnessing the execution or will they find relief in their revenge?
How does one cope with the past enough to return to a place where you felt the most agony and turmoil?
Why is the Bosnian history seemingly erased (as shown by the brother and father filling in missing parts of the history during the documentaries)?
What effect did World War 2 have in strengthening or weakening the Yugoslavian territories, and how did that play into the eventual up rise of the Serbs against the Bosniaks?
Why did the Croats attack the Bosniaks when they had a presumably neutral relationship for years?
- Otyllia Abraham