To Know Where He Lies
continues into more depth on the exact nature of the effort to identify the
mortal remains of those killed in the genocide at Srebrenica. The author, Sarah
Wagner explores the theme of science as it relates to a social project and the
role DNA technology played in this project. In Chapters 3 through 5, she
outlines how the efforts of the Red Cross, ICMP, and other related groups
progressed from more anthropological attempts to identify the bodies to
DNA-based approach. At first, evidence was amassed by collecting lists of
names, anecdotal accounts and descriptions of the missing on the ante mortem
end, while trying to correlate those stories with the postmortem evidence from
remains and the objects collected with them. This method proved to be slow
going, and rarely successful. DNA technology was employed only as a way of
confirming or disproving conjectures. However, when they realized this
technique wasn’t getting them anywhere, they switched to a more DNA-based
approach and found more success though the process was still difficult.
Obstacles included the resistance of many of the relatives to DNA technology,
which hindered the procurement of blood samples for comparison, and other
cooperative efforts. Wagner highlights how foreign and unrelated all these
scientific explanations must have seemed to the relatives of the missing. To
them, the anthropological efforts made much more sense. But Wagner does not
discount the value of this memory-based evidence, which was used to corroborate
DNA evidence, and in some cases, served to make identifications on its own.
What’s more, it provided some level of comfort to the families, in providing
them with artifacts from their dead loved ones. Still, there were some
difficulties to this method as well, including the fallibility of memory.
Moreover, throughout this whole process, it has to be remembered that often the
end result of these scientific investigations was unwelcome news. The
caseworkers had to not only be scientists or forensic anthropologists; they
also had to navigate delicate social situations. Looming in the background of
Wagner’s book is the horrors of the genocide, and its own relation to science.
The method of digging up bodies and moving them to secondary mass graves to be
brutalized is described in chilling, scientific terms. At times, Wagner uses
this to contrast the dehumanizing actions of the genocide with the humanizing
capabilities DNA technology has in this project. At other times, she makes DNA
technology also seem dehumanizing in its reduction of humans to numbers and its
distance from the actual affected people.
In Chapter 7, Wagner takes a step
back and looks at the larger impact of the Bosnian project. The ICMP’s
expertise was called upon again to assist in body identification after the
tragedies of 9/11, the 2004 tsunami, and Hurricane Katrina. She also places the
project within the historical context of previous South American body
identification efforts. Finally, she moves on to why governments and
international agencies would even go through all this effort and expense. She
offers humanitarian explanations, but seems to side more with the argument that
practical considerations motivate governments. These considerations include not
just pleasing the public, but also accumulating evidence, and exercising
control over an uncontrollable situation.
Overall, Wagner seems to have mostly
positive feelings towards the implementation of DNA technology in post-conflict
situations, but remains a skeptical eye, always keeping in mind of how
scientific distance can ultimately be dehumanizing to the very people it is
trying to help.
No comments:
Post a Comment