In continuing with our theme of graphic narratives focused on wartime, my ASTU class recently read the graphic narrative Safe Area Goražde, a story of a journalist’s experience in Goražde, a Bosnian town shut out from the outside world as a result of the surrounding Serbian nationalist oppression during the War in Eastern Bosnia between 1992 and 1995. The journalist, Joe Sacco, presents his own experiences as an outsider on the inside: while he is privileged as an American, who “could leave” (65), he clearly tries to integrate and live the life of those trapped in Goražde, attempting to break down the thick wall between the ignorant, outside world and reality.
What struck me most about the situation Sacco presents in Safe Area Goražde is rather unconventional: simply, I was shocked by my complete lack of knowledge about the subject, even that a war in Bosnia had occurred at all. The horrifying attacks on the Bosnian people: burning down their homes, raping their women, murdering so many of their people, not to mention the oppression (which, itself is an attack on their freedoms, their ability to live fully) somewhat shattered the way I see the world, including how I remember the past. Living in the Western world, it’s so easy live everyday and every passing year in a bubble, sheltered from the reality of war and suffering occurring today, as I write this. Even then, there is a huge difference from knowing of an issue and understanding what each strife truly encompasses, as Sacco attempts to do in his journalistic expeditions. I appreciate Sacco’s attempt to break down the Western veil of ignorance, even if it is impossible for him to truly showcase the Bosnian pain and suffering, because of his status as and outsider.
Ignorance in the Western world has perhaps always been an issue, but I stand to argue that it is increased in recent years. For example, during the devastating U.S-Iraq war, it was so easy for the average American family, to be oblivious to the terror being wrought abroad (as an American, I speak from this point of view). Economically, the United States took out debt after debt, increasing the national deficit monumentally, keeping the people from truly understanding the trillions of dollars being spent on the war. This stands in stark comparison to World War II, where systems like Meatless Mondays and fundraisers to raise money for the war effort kept the American people active in the war.
As we brought up in our discussions, it is impossible to gain true understanding of reality from the an outsider’s perspective. Even those living the suffering and pain have a skewed understanding of the truth (in fact, as we discussed in class, the truth that we hope to discover is an impossible concept itself). How, then is it possible to truly understand the decisions of our country if we are not allowed to feel them? Ignorance does not point to a bright future in mass political participation.
This is of course not to say that we are lost. One of the benefits of being a university student is that we are exposed to the larger world that exists outside of our bubbles—kudos to us for attempting to be global citizens! I’d just like to put it out there that it is important to be wary of the veil of ignorance. Though it is inevitable, I think it’s important to act as Sacco did, and try to break it down as much as possible.
Thanks for listening, and sorry if I got a little too passionate at times–that itself can blind one’s rationality!
Kristen