Concentration Camp Survivors

This morning we met with the Association for Concentration Camp Survivors and the meeting went very well. They are an association that provides vocational training, compensation, and general support for concentration camp survivors in Bosnia-Hercegovina. The office that we visited had 6,000 registered members (5,000 men and 1,000 women) and that was only for the canton (regional area) of Sarajevo. The Federal Association has more than 54,000 registered members. Keep in mind that is only the number of *survivors* of concentration camps (not people who died there or after), only people who stayed in Bosnia (many more left the country), and only people who are registered with the association. So there are probably at least 10 times that many people who were in concentration camps during the war, maybe more.

The office we visited offers a lot of great services to survivors. One of the most important and successful rehabilitation programs is occupational therapy (teaching people skills for working). They had 5 computers donated and now they have trained 300 survivors in computer skills which they can use to get work.

Also they teach the women sewing and have a small room with sewing machines that the women use to make clothes, stuffed animals, slippers, bags, purses, hats and everything else you can imagine. The main woman to whom we spoke said that sewing is good therapy and helps to keep their minds off the trauma, but it is also great because they can make some money selling the things they make.

We actually got to buy some items from the women (I bought a bear puppet one woman made, and I love to think about using it in my work at home with kids who have been through trauma). The women were so proud to show us what they were working on and they seemed very pleased to meet us. When I asked if it was OK to take photos, they were extremely excited and posed for many pictures.

One woman in particular seemed keen on being in the photos. She would run to wherever the camera was pointing and pose, smiling ear to ear, and proudly displaying her handiwork. I bought a small purple dress from her that I am hoping will fit Christa's baby girl (Ella).

The woman we met with was very excited about my book and even told Sarah that next time Sarah contacts her, she should say she came to visit last time with the girl who wrote her own book! I told them I would send them a copy, and I am now thinking that I might even see about having it translated into Bosnian, because so many of the organizations I met with were interested in having a copy. I thought I could send one in Bosnian and one in English as a sort of "thank you" for the amazing things I learned from each organization I visited.


Months Later...
In the Spring of 2008, I received a comment that the women in the photos that were included in the original version of this post were not clear about the fact that these photos (with faces removed) would be posted.

When I asked for permission to photograph, I told the woman who was translating where the photos would be, and I gave the women my cards which had the blog address so they could see it, but I think something must have been lost in translation, because I just received the following comment (which is not from the women in the photos but she seems to know them):

I would like to request that you remove these photos from your blog. You stated that you asked if it was ok to take their photos and received their approval. Did you tell them what they were going to be used for? That they were going to be identified on the internet, for all to access and labeled as wartime rape survivors with details of the city, association and group in which they could be found? I know these women quite well and I can identify them. I also know that they had no idea that their photos were going to be placed on the internet. So as a researcher, I would ask that you take into consideration the ethical implications of your actions and their privacy and remove the photos.

I immediately took the photos down from the post, and reposted this to the top of the blog.

Of course I did not mean to use anyone's images in a way that would be uncomfortable or not consented to by them. The worst thing possible would be for me to make these women more unsafe or to feel more unsafe. I thought I had made sure that they understood, but clearly I did not make sure enough. I also thought it would be OK since I had completely blocked out their faces with white circles, so I thought they were not recognizable--I was wrong, and I feel terrible about the miscommunication. Since the person who left this comment left it anonymously without any way for me to contact her/him, the only thing I can do is to re-post this without the photos and hope for the best. I will be more careful and conscientious in the future about the use of images, and more clear in my communications about my intentions.