One thing repeated in Sarah Wagner's ethnography on the Srebrenica genocide is the idea of "identity." It's a not a question that identity plays a main role in the history of this genocide--the lives of the suffering families and of those lost in the genocide. What I find especially poignant is Wagner's emphasis on collective identity versus individual identity, and how these two types of identity illustrate themselves in the postwar aftermath of Srebrenica.
Collective identity is an integral aspect of recognizing the Srebrenica genocide. In fact, the use of the word "genocide" evokes the aggregate element of such an event. Those killed and lost had their lives taken not necessarily because of their individuality, but because of who they represented within a group and community. In terms of social justice, we can see the importance of a collective identity even more--it rings a certain kind of affect when messages are expressed by groups of people. When Wagner depicts the Women in Srebrenica protest where they embroider pillowcases with the names and other information of those who were lost and killed, it is so powerful because of the shear number of women and pillowcases that are put on display. The act is not gone unnoticed because of its inherent community aspect; you cannot ignore a large group walking along the street. In this case, a collective identity is constructed for those names on the pillowcases as well as for the women holding the pillowcases.
The strive and aim for all these women and families, though, as depicted by Wagner, is a confirmed and recognized individual identity of those lost in the Srebrenica genocide. Through the war and genocide, the identity of those killed was aggressively and suddenly stripped away from them--their belongings that evoked an individual identity were taken away from them, and they were seen as no different from those around them. For the families who lost someone through the genocide, their loved one's individual identity was stripped when they never returned, when they became a number in a statistic, when their definite (or indefinite) end happened in an unexpected manner. And of course, the DNA testing to match the deceased with their names and their families is an effort to reconcile their individual identity lost throughout the genocide.
Both of these identities form an important role in understanding how the war and genocide are depicted to those uninvolved and those involved. To someone uninvolved, collective acts like protests and jarring statistics may have more of a "wow" factor. To someone involved, a reconciliation of knowing their loved one has been found, even though deceased, provides a sort of comfort and peace (although I'm sure an overwhelming amount of sadness as well). I'm interested to continue to reading this book to see how collective and individual identities play a role in how the war and genocide is structured and understood.
Collective identity is an integral aspect of recognizing the Srebrenica genocide. In fact, the use of the word "genocide" evokes the aggregate element of such an event. Those killed and lost had their lives taken not necessarily because of their individuality, but because of who they represented within a group and community. In terms of social justice, we can see the importance of a collective identity even more--it rings a certain kind of affect when messages are expressed by groups of people. When Wagner depicts the Women in Srebrenica protest where they embroider pillowcases with the names and other information of those who were lost and killed, it is so powerful because of the shear number of women and pillowcases that are put on display. The act is not gone unnoticed because of its inherent community aspect; you cannot ignore a large group walking along the street. In this case, a collective identity is constructed for those names on the pillowcases as well as for the women holding the pillowcases.
The strive and aim for all these women and families, though, as depicted by Wagner, is a confirmed and recognized individual identity of those lost in the Srebrenica genocide. Through the war and genocide, the identity of those killed was aggressively and suddenly stripped away from them--their belongings that evoked an individual identity were taken away from them, and they were seen as no different from those around them. For the families who lost someone through the genocide, their loved one's individual identity was stripped when they never returned, when they became a number in a statistic, when their definite (or indefinite) end happened in an unexpected manner. And of course, the DNA testing to match the deceased with their names and their families is an effort to reconcile their individual identity lost throughout the genocide.
Both of these identities form an important role in understanding how the war and genocide are depicted to those uninvolved and those involved. To someone uninvolved, collective acts like protests and jarring statistics may have more of a "wow" factor. To someone involved, a reconciliation of knowing their loved one has been found, even though deceased, provides a sort of comfort and peace (although I'm sure an overwhelming amount of sadness as well). I'm interested to continue to reading this book to see how collective and individual identities play a role in how the war and genocide is structured and understood.
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