Author: Mirsad CausevicPublisher:
ISBN: 9781975610388
Category : Genocide
Languages : en
Pages : 288
Book Description
In May 1992, as Serb forces closed in on their village of Hambarine, the three Causevic brothers made the fateful decision to split up and go separate ways in the hope that at least one of them would survive. One brother, Mufid, perished in unknown circumstances, and his human remains have still not been identified. Another brother, Mesa, made it to Travnik, and perished fighting in the armed resistance against international aggression and genocide. The third brother, Mirsad, endured months of daily beatings and torture at the infamous White House in the Omarska concentration camp, as well as hardships at the Manjaca concentration camp, before his release was finally arranged by the International Red Cross. Mirsad Causevic survived the impossible conditions imposed by the Serb aggression by virtue of his fierce determination, and that same iron will has enabled him to find the courage to share his story of suffering and unlikely survival with the world in his book, Death in the White House. It is a story that must be told, as new details about the truth about the genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina are still coming out after twenty-five years. Now, through Mirsad's authentic witness account, the English speaking world will be able, in turn, to bear witness to the atrocities committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Serb forces, particularly in the villages and concentration camps in the area of Prijedor. Mirsad's book also tells of his struggles to help others survive the atrocities, and of his love and support for his parents, then as their only surviving son, when they were reunited in Croatia, and when they later decided to settle in Chicago as refugees. Again, Mirsad applied his indomitable will to the task of surviving and flourishing in Chicago, where he succeeded as an entrepreneur and has been able to provide support for his extended family as well as support for advocacy and activist groups in the community.Mirsad, among many other Bosnians of his generation, has kept his heart open to the hope that telling the truth about the genocide will lead to justice. He has dedicated every fiber of his being to bearing witness to that truth so that the world will know what happened in the Prijedor area and elsewhere. Mirsad's bearing witness is also, he tells us, a way to remember and to honor the memory of his brothers. In this way, his book is an act of resistance to genocide denial in Republika Srpska. The Bosnian Serbs routinely and cruelly deny their crimes and they have prohibited or actively discouraged the establishment of memorials for the victims while memorials for the perpetrators have been installed, for example, near the very site of the Trnopolje concentration camp. For Mirsad, this book is itself a memorial to his brothers and he has dedicated himself to seeing that there will be memorials erected to other victims, including 102 children who perished in the Prijedor area.Like Elie Wiesel, Mirsad writes that he harbors no hatred. And like Elie Wiesel, Mirsad writes that he only seeks justice: to achieve justice through memory. Mirsad's book, which honors the memory of his brothers and the memory of all the victims, is a profoundly important act of justice. We can only thank him for having the courage to tell his story. Now, when nationalist rhetoric continues to be on the rise in Republika Srpska, we must meet our obligation to read Mirsad's book and work together to fulfill its message of hope for justice: for achieving justice through remembering and honoring the memory of the victims.Prof. Dr. David Pettigrew, Professor of Philosophy and Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Southern Connecticut State University;Board Member, Bosnian-American Genocide Institute and Education Center, Chicago, IL.Steering Committee, Yale University Genocide Studies ProgramInternational Team of Experts, Institute for Research of Genocide CanadaNew Haven, August 18, 2017.