DNA and the Details of Identification

In these chapters Wagner looks at the process and role of DNA identification in the lives of surviving family members of those killed in the genocide and the wider context of the Bosnian and global society.

            Wagner analyzes the killings performed by the Bosnian Serb forces and notes that they engaged in a form of mechanized killing in which the victims were dehumanized and stripped of all identifying information. As a result of the action of the killing machine, really, that was the Bosnian Serb military, loved ones that survived the genocide were left with a stark gap in their knowledge of the whereabouts of those killed. Family members were initially unaware of the fate of their loved ones and, when they came to the conclusion that these men in their lives had died, they had no indications as to the circumstances of their death or their final resting place (especially considering that this resting place was often changed in the use of secondary graves). Wagner’s main argument is thus that “identification of mortal remains presents the single abiding resolution to this absence of knowledge” experienced by a family surrounding their loved one’s disappearance and death (159).

            The implementation of DNA identification systems in Bosnia made the victims of this genocide socially relevant. It supported individualism by giving identity to those formerly treated as a collective loss. Instead of just speaking about the victims of the genocide, the technology allowed us to relate these victims to families and to tell the stories of their deaths. It is also important to note that the identification of so many victims would have been entirely impossible without the use of DNA matching technologies. Prior strategies using solely anthropological information and tips from family members were only able to identify a few of the more than 8,000 victims and were incredibly time intensive. In a conflict where international involvement had done nothing to prevent loss of life, identifying the missing became a form of international humanitarian aid to make up for complacency at the time of the killings.

            While DNA identification is an effective way of giving names and relationships to those remains found in the various gravesites throughout the area, it is important to remember that the process of identification requires so much more than just the samples and the computers that run them. The media presents a reductionist view that only seems to value the technology itself in the identifications made. In reality, identifications involve many very human factors such as antemortem interviews about the victim’s past injuries and dental records and the recognition of objects and clothing found with the remains. The use of these objects helps fill some of the voids that the sheer technological data cannot explain. For many family members, the anthropological analyses of the remains provide some guidance as to the circumstances of death and the acceptance that these remains belong to the loved ones they remember. In order for identifications to be successful people must come to believe in the technology through its transparent use and trust that the results are accurate by viewing the supporting evidence of material belongings.