SARAJEVO — the power of the narrative — Field Notes

Certainly, I have been aware of the power of a narrative for some time now. So too, the power wielded by the dominant narrative. And even the power that emerges when two competing narratives create paralysis to act in a governing body. In 1992, Bosnia-Herzegovena becomes a textbook case for the power of a narrative — for this lesson to be taught, an estimated 100,000 people lose their lives in a little more than 3 years.

The Power of Words

What becomes painfully evident is that a narrative begins much earlier than its visual rise to power. It fans itself in conversations that begin to scratch at the identity of a certain group of people. Remarks and tiny jokes, seemingly harmless, but like a good fire, they serve as the kindling for what eventually becomes a consuming flame.

Before the war, Bosniaks (muslim-ethnic heritage) and Serbs (orthodox-ethnic heritage) and Croats (catholic-ethnic heritage) lived side by side as neighbors. They intermarried. They worked together. But, as communism disintegrated in 1989, the 6 countries of the former Republic of Yugoslavia began to break away from the union. Of the 6, Serbia had always dominated the union — benefitting most economically and politically. As that power began to ebb, the narrative that grows and eventually dominates is that the Muslim…