Today I had a perfectly fantastic meeting with a women's group here in Sarajevo called Žene Ženema (˝women to women˝) that provides direct support to women, but also is involved with the empowerment and funding of other women's groups, local organizations, and smaller NGOs. They are working on a number of projects, but focusing on the implementation of human rights laws such as the Geneva Convention and specifically making sure that women's human rights are respected at every level of society in BiH.
I showed them my book (unfortunately I don't have anymore to give out and I had to borrow the copy I had already given Sarah to show to people!) and they were really impressed. It seems to really open doors because the book shows the comittment I have to the issue. The woman, Theresa, whom I met with asked me to send her a copy and I wil definitely do that. It is still somewhat shocking that people actually WANT to read it!
I also have improved at not spitting out all my ideas in the first minutes of a meeting (although often the first question they ask is: ˝what do you want?˝). So this has drastically improved the quality of my meetings, because even though they are asking, they don't always want to hear it before they have a chance to get to know me. So we talked for a good long time before I pulled out the book and we talked about many things before we talked about the subject of rape. It is much better this way.
Tomorrow Sarah and I (and our translator, Lejla) will take the bus to Zenica which is about 2 hours north of Sarajevo and have a meeting with a women's clinic there. Then we will sleepover there in a hotel or something (there aren't really hostels in that part of the country) and the next day we will take another bus to Tuzla (about 3 nours north of Sarajevo and about 2 hours east of Zenica) to meet with women's groups there. It is so wonderful to have Lejla with us, because she makes everything easier, from ordering lemonade to getting fertility statistics from the Federal Statistics office (which she and Sarah did this morning while I watched crappy TV).
In some ways, I wish I could stay longer, but at the same time I feel ready to come home. This has been an incredible trip!
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This is the reconstructed bridge connecting Croat and Muslim communities on either side of the Neretva river.
If You Are Interested in My Work
The Old Bridge of Mostar
This is the reconstructed bridge connecting Croat and Muslim communities on either side of the Neretva river.
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International Association of Genocide Scholars Conference
I have been invited to present my work at this conference, which focuses on understanding and thus preventing genocide. The conference is held biannually, and it alternates between a US location and an international location. This is the first time the conference has been held in a place where there was a recent genocide, and the conference has shifted appropriately to give homage to the atrocities that happened in Sarajevo and Bosnia-Hercegovina. For example, we will be spending the entire day on Wednesday participating in a memorial at Srebrenica (where 8,000 Muslim men and boys were slaughtered and women and girls were forcibly removed and assaulted). The memorial includes a reburial of remains that were excavated/identified in the past year (they have this memorial with proper reburial of remains discovered each year). If you want to learn more about the conference or read about the presentations I will be attending, you can check out the main website at http://www.isg-iags.org/ and the conference website at http://www.isg-iags.org/events/2007iags.html.
Ruby's Book is Available!
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The Contemporary Problem of Mass Rape
Sexual assault is used as a tactic of war and genocide because of its consequences for individuals, families, and communities. The physical and emotional impact of individual assaults are magnified when rape is committed on a mass scale, as in Bosnia-Hercegovina, Rwanda, and Darfur. Forced sexual penetration with insemination and impregnation represents a symbolic conquest of the woman by the rapist and by extension the raped woman’s community, family or culture.
This symbolic conquest becomes applicable to the whole population as survivors, witnesses, families and communities internalize rape as an assault on their collective identity. Although social welfare is uniquely suited to respond to the problems of rape, the topic of mass rape has been neglected. This book makes a plea for deeper engagement by social welfare and social work scholars and professionals in responding to the problems of mass rape.
This symbolic conquest becomes applicable to the whole population as survivors, witnesses, families and communities internalize rape as an assault on their collective identity. Although social welfare is uniquely suited to respond to the problems of rape, the topic of mass rape has been neglected. This book makes a plea for deeper engagement by social welfare and social work scholars and professionals in responding to the problems of mass rape.
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