The ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslavia came as a shock to many around the world. Thousands of people were slaughtered not only by the Serbian government, but also by their neighbors and former friends. Although a tragedy the genocide was not much of a surprise looking at the history of the region. Tensions had been running high between the Serbs, Croats, Bosnians and Ethnic Albanians. The reason for the Genocide was similar to many before it; kill the unwanted minority in order to create a pure race and space for that race to exist. And when it came to the genocide in the Balkans the intention was to create a greater Greater Serbia with a Serbian population. The genocide impacted many individuals in different ways. The way women were
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Where the Olympics had just occurred not an underdeveloped country where tragedies of this sort are expected to take place. There are many differences in the experiences of those who were impacted by the genocide. However, two factors were true for most victims – living in constant fear and experiencing harm from neighbors and trusted individuals. There had always been discrimination against those who were not Serbs even though no one dared to speak about it. Serbs were involved in political affairs and had the upper hand when it came to jobs. The minority mainly Muslims and Croats were forced to take jobs no one wanted and were forced to go outside the country to look for work. The situation of job discrimination only got worse with time in 1989 Serbia took over Kosovo and left thousands of Kosovar workers without a job. Jones describes in his book “ Serbs initiated a large repressive drive in Kosovo that ended the province’s autonomy within Serbia, dismissed tens of thousands of Kosovars…from their jobs, and made Kosovo ‘one large militia camp’” (Jones 319). Many people throughout Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina were also dismissed from their jobs at times without getting paid. This of-course only escalated the problem and grew the …show more content…
No one was safe from harassment and the threat of death. The usage of snipers and spies left many living in great fear and in a state of paranoia at all times. Children of Croatian and Muslim descent were harassed in schools; they were beaten and bullied not only by other Serbian children but teachers as well. This state of panic turned neighborhoods against each other. Unlike other genocides the Serbian people were used to threaten their neighbors to instill fear in minority groups. As seen in Shot Through the Heart this was not just strangers but long time friends turned against each other. Rabija – survivor of the genocide states, “Serbian neighbors constantly threatened to burn our house, mosques…to kill us all. We lived in constant fear” (Barstow
Where the Olympics had just occurred not an underdeveloped country where tragedies of this sort are expected to take place. There are many differences in the experiences of those who were impacted by the genocide. However, two factors were true for most victims – living in constant fear and experiencing harm from neighbors and trusted individuals. There had always been discrimination against those who were not Serbs even though no one dared to speak about it. Serbs were involved in political affairs and had the upper hand when it came to jobs. The minority mainly Muslims and Croats were forced to take jobs no one wanted and were forced to go outside the country to look for work. The situation of job discrimination only got worse with time in 1989 Serbia took over Kosovo and left thousands of Kosovar workers without a job. Jones describes in his book “ Serbs initiated a large repressive drive in Kosovo that ended the province’s autonomy within Serbia, dismissed tens of thousands of Kosovars…from their jobs, and made Kosovo ‘one large militia camp’” (Jones 319). Many people throughout Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina were also dismissed from their jobs at times without getting paid. This of-course only escalated the problem and grew the …show more content…
No one was safe from harassment and the threat of death. The usage of snipers and spies left many living in great fear and in a state of paranoia at all times. Children of Croatian and Muslim descent were harassed in schools; they were beaten and bullied not only by other Serbian children but teachers as well. This state of panic turned neighborhoods against each other. Unlike other genocides the Serbian people were used to threaten their neighbors to instill fear in minority groups. As seen in Shot Through the Heart this was not just strangers but long time friends turned against each other. Rabija – survivor of the genocide states, “Serbian neighbors constantly threatened to burn our house, mosques…to kill us all. We lived in constant fear” (Barstow