Scan barcode
xxstefaniereadsxx's review
informative
slow-paced
3.0
The author of this book, Courtney Angela Brkic, joined a forensic team that was contracted by the United Nations to help with body recovery and identification of the victims of the Srebrenica massacre. She was led to this work because she was interested in the work, and also had acestral ties to the land and people. The Srebrenica massacre was perpetrated against Bosnian Muslim males by the Bosnian Serb military. Something like 8,000 were killed in this particular event. The United Nations certainly bears some of the responsibility for these deaths, because they declared the area a safe area and then offered no protection. Body identification has continued through the years, thanks to advanced in DNA. Over 6,000 of the bodies were identified as of 2013.
I have read a couple of other books about this particular genocide, most notably Endgame. I find genocide to be absolutely repulsive, and I also find it ironic that genocides are still taking place today (Uyghur's in China) even though in the post World War II climate the whole world just swore NEVER AGAIN. It happens again and again and people look the other way again and again. The book conveyed a sense of horror, learning how to do that particular job, the state of the bodies, the scars on the community. She was also able to convey a sense of longing for cultural roots and nostalgia for her personal history. I learned some good information about the genocide itself, so that was also welcome. This was a pretty good book, and certainly worth the time it took me to read it.
I have read a couple of other books about this particular genocide, most notably Endgame. I find genocide to be absolutely repulsive, and I also find it ironic that genocides are still taking place today (Uyghur's in China) even though in the post World War II climate the whole world just swore NEVER AGAIN. It happens again and again and people look the other way again and again. The book conveyed a sense of horror, learning how to do that particular job, the state of the bodies, the scars on the community. She was also able to convey a sense of longing for cultural roots and nostalgia for her personal history. I learned some good information about the genocide itself, so that was also welcome. This was a pretty good book, and certainly worth the time it took me to read it.
More...