Sarajevo

OK, one more blog inspired by my evening with the World Without Genocide event last week.  This wonderful organization awarded its 2017 “Outstanding Upstander” to United States Magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo:

From 1998 to 2002, Judge Kuo prosecuted war crimes and crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Judge Kuo was one of three prosecutors for the Foca ‘rape camp’ trial. In July 1992, Foca, a town in Bosnia, was overrun by Serb paramilitary forces. They separated the women and girls, took them captive in various locations throughout the town, and subjected them to rape and sexual violence over a period of many weeks. Kuo and the other female attorneys prosecuted three of the Serb leaders. The men were found guilty and convicted of crimes against humanity for their use of sexual violence. This was the first time that rape was labeled as a crime against humanity.[1]

Judge Kuo’s work in the tribunal was the subject of a PBS documentary “We Came to Testify.”[2]

Judge Kuo’s story is inspiring in itself, but as her work took place in the former Yugoslavia, it reminded me of another inspiring story from that war-torn country:  Vedran Smailovic, The 

Cellist of Sarajevo.

The New York Times reported on June 8, 1992:

As the 155-millimeter howitzer shells whistled down on this crumbling city today, exploding thunderously into buildings all around, a disheveled, stubble-bearded man in formal evening attire unfolded a plastic chair in the middle of Vase Miskina Street. He lifted his cello from its case and began playing Albinoni's Adagio.

There were only two people to hear him, and both fled, dodging from doorway to doorway, before the performance ended.

Each day at 4 P.M., the cellist, Vedran Smailovic, walks to the same spot on the pedestrian mall for a concert in honor of Sarajevo's dead.

The spot he has chosen is outside the bakery where several high-explosive rounds struck a bread line 12 days ago, killing 22 people and wounding more than 100. If he holds to his plan, there will be 22 performances before his gesture has run its course.[3]

This story also inspired my favorite singer/songwriter, John McCutcheon to write In the Streets of Sarajevo, a great song I know you’ll want to hear.[4]  In the final chorus, Mr. McCutcheon reminds us that Sarajevo is everywhere.

In the streets of Sarajevo
And in the streets of Tel Aviv
And in the streets of Jakarta
And in the streets of every city everyday

For me, there is nothing like an excellent song to make the message stick.  This is that song. 

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[1] http://worldwithoutgenocide.org/events-and-programs/a-world-of-upstanders/peggy-kuo-2017

[2] http://www.pbs.org/wnet/women-war-and-peace/full-episodes/i-came-to-testify/

[3] For the full Times story, click here. 

[4] For the lyrics to this great song, click here.  To see the video of John singing this song (disturbing images of war), click here.