Tregre: Week 6, Sarajevo

The Cellist of Sarajevo and Welcome to Sarajevo both portrayed the longest siege in modern history in very different ways. The attack of modern warfare and dehumanization of people was shown explicitly through four main characters to describing their personal terror, and with an orphanage of innocent children.

In The Cellist of Sarajevo, four characters were used to show their independent struggles that each were a direct result from the siege attacking the city. It was the early nineties and the Bosnian Serb forces were basically holding the city hostage. 

The first character used to describe the terror and effects was Kenan. He had to travel across town to collect drinking water for his family. He has a wife and two small children and tried to avoid the conflict for four days until he had no choice but to leave to get water. It truly shows his courageousness when he also went to get water for his selfish, mean elderly neighbor. He has to make a long route in order to help his family survive. However, no one is safe. He must face gunfire in the open, but it also is not safe since buildings are being bombed daily. One feel how he feels hostage. He has to leave to survive and seems to has his entire family's lives in his hands. He is between a rock and a hard place and must risk his life and face likely death to get water, an essential to survival. 

Next is the character, Arrow. She will not face her real name because it reminds her of who she was before the war and how happy she was. One can see her attempt to cope with this dark time. Her name is Arrow "so that the person who fought and killed could someday be put away." She struggles with her personal morals, however, feels that this is the only choice that she has. She is chosen to protect the Cellist who plays for 22 days in memory of the 22 people killed. She must eventually face who she is. When the war is over, she wants to die under her old name and be her old self who "hated nobody." However, she must face who she really is and see if her old self will even still exist.

Then there is Dragan. He sent his wife and son out of the city at the start of the war. He often thinks about them and avoids friends for survival. His goal is to cross the street in order to survive. He is paralyzed by fear. The reader can feel his terror. If he does not cross, he will surely die, if he does he can be shot. 

Ironically, the character who the novel did not discuss the most, was the Cellist of Sarajevo. It was a man who saw a shelling attack from his window. They victims were his neighbors and his friends, so in their honor, he decides to play the cello for 22 days, a day for each victim. His passion to honor the fallen and to keep his humanity alive was amazing. His life was at risk and it was surely a death sentence, however, he kept playing in spite of the "men on the hill." 

These characters are normal, everyday people who have to act as heroes in order to survive. It is the flight or fight method. Whether it is going across town to get water or to kill the enemy. They each reacted a different way, but chose to survive and let their will shine through and not let it steal their humanity. The "men on the hill" threaten their lives, but they continue to live and value their chance at life. They do what it takes and the cellist even looked death in the eye to show his courage. They were not humans scared by death into hiding, they would do what it took to survive this siege. These four people were the exception. Haunted by memories of a bright past as they slowly slip away day by day. But the Cellist represented the light of the past. There was hope for survival and not all would die in vain. Death could be surpassed by the spirit and bravery.

In Welcome to Sarajevo, it is about two journalists named Flynn and Henderson. They meet during the beginning of the Bosnian war in Sarajevo. This movie had a very different take than the book, but both included the cellist who left an impact on the world forever. When the journalists find an orphanage near the front line, they cannot help but take action to help these innocent children, especially Emira. Henderson gets her away from the war then had to bring her back because her "real" mother wanted her back in her life. He risks his life in order to protect these children against the siege. Each character in the movie, along with the book, all risked their lives in order to keep humanity alive. Whether it was to simply survive or to save lives, characters put their lives at risk. These were heroes. They would not let the enemy take their will to live. Henderson was able to eventually adopt Emira and save her life. However, at the end is when the cellist plays. Though it was under different circumstances (when the Sarajevo became the number one worst place instead of the fourteenth), he played in the middle of the city. People were going to die listening to his music, but he did not want everyone to die in misery and in vain letting the enemy win.

Both these pieces discuss in detail the city under siege in different lights. Some were about people who had to chose between life and death, while others made the choice to help others. Regardless, each character chose not to let it beat them and dehumanize them. They kept their spirit. Modern warfare is not the same as it was back in let's say the 1800s. People would face each other and fight. Now, it is much more strategic and not as honorable. People are help captive. For example, instead of going into the city and killing its citizens, they surrounded it and just shot and bombed them. This kind of siege can be more frightening since there is no honor system, much like the Holocaust. People were shoved into gas chambers thinking that they were going take a shower. Honor and honesty does not exist. It is to eliminate people fast and swiftly, no matter what the way or how. It is scarier and more tragic. Modern warfare can be much more deadly and devastating than back then. People's sense of lack of safety and insignificance shown by the enemies desire to just dispose of them like garbage, proved to be very dehumanizing. It makes people question their right to survive. When empathy is not shown and one's life is in danger for no specific reason besides their geographical location, dehumanization occurs. They just have to pray to be lucky. People are capable of cruel things, much like what these citizens of Sarajevo witnessed.