What is
COURAGE?
The purpose of my study was to identify the preconditions that inspire courageous action through exploration of the choices made by four classroom teachers in Bosnia and Herzegovina who chose to not only teach during and after the war and genocide in their country, but to do so in courageous ways. Although there are a vast number of studies on courage in literature, there is little research that includes teachers who decided to re-enter their classrooms in transitional societies after their communities have experienced a war and genocide. This study incorporated bricolage, an emergent qualitative method that depends on unique tactics, referred to as a toolbox, that are employed for sense-making. In addition, I used techniques that integrate the five senses and memory artifacts into the interview process.
This digital archive is a visual representation of chapter four of my study. It enables readers to dive deeper into the stories and artifacts shared by the participants.
The
TEACHERS
In 1962,
M danced with Tito, “He complimented me during this conversation during the dance, and said that he was glad that we have such teachers. And that it is very important to have teachers like me to teach the next generation and there was this big photo that came out in the main newspaper of me. I was very popular.”
During the war she followed the instructions to continue to teach, “We had the working obligation. That was the legal status, working obligation. It's kind of a mobilization but I mean, basically you go to work as if it would be peacetime.”
“(Being courageous means) In critical moments, not to think about yourself. But just sacrifice yourself if necessary to save somebody else.”
In 1991,
J moved to Sarajevo and began her first year at the Art Academy during the siege of Sarajevo began and throughout the siege she continued her studies. “And it was amazing how powerful artists are, and it takes courage to be an artist. So in Sarajevo during the war, art was a way of coping and resisting the destruction of war, like creative energy. And we were trying to continue normal life under very abnormal circumstances.”
“Courage is not giving up. Despite, you know, we have fear. It’s so normal, but it takes true courage to overcome your fear and to be brave. Maybe overcoming fear, that is the definition of courage.”
In 1992,
“I was four when it all started. So my mom first wanted to stay and and my dad joined the force. But we had to leave when it was quite quite clear. So we went to Croatia first. I mean, not “went”, it wasn't like a tourist visit. But we had to go through several checkpoints. So it took obviously days to get there through the woods, and then we had to stay in some of the forest as well for some time. So through some older roads, unfamiliar roads, etc, in order to get obviously to a place where we could take shelter, because we had to leave in that direction because Sarajevo was already under siege…”
“To me courage would be defined as staying true to yourself and your humanity in both times of adversity and times of peace.”
In 1995,
A was born in Srebrenica, two months after the genocide ended, “So my mother was carrying me in her stomach during the most traumatic days of her life. And I grew up in this trauma until I was 10 I didn't really notice it, it was kind of normal. I started only later in my teenage years understanding how wrong the environment was in which I grew up. How this was not a normal environment. And this was not a normal situation. And I became aware of it only later in life when I was a little bit more conscious about what happened.”
“What I consider perhaps courageous, maybe I shouldn’t be saying this about myself... I never whisper in Srebrenica when I speak about genocide…I just don’t see why I should be lowering my voice or whispering about the truth. So I see this- where I live- that’s pretty courageous. And we will see, if you know, what will happen to me. I hope nothing, but we will see if my method is good or bad, we will see in the future.”
“The dice symbolizes our life in Sarajevo and represents the end of war because gambling games were over”.
- J
The following are the preconditions and the subsequent stories that I have identified as the elements that comprise courage:
The Seven Elements
“I was born two months after the genocide. So my mother was carrying me in her stomach during the most traumatic days of her life. And I grew up with this trauma. Until I was ten I didn’t really notice it, it was kind of normal”.
- H
“We had the working obligation. That was the legal status - working obligation. It’s kind of a mobilization, basically you go to work as if it would be peace time”.
- M
“I chose this photograph because it represents one very powerful moment in my life, and really, the power of art. Because for those two hours, we all felt that Sarajevo was a place where there was no war.”
- J
“They wanted to go home but I blocked the entrance with my body and I told them nobody leaves the building .”
- M
“And we will see, if you know what will happen to me, I hope nothing, but we will see if my method is good or bad, we will see in the future.” -H
“On my father’s side we belong to a very famous and noble family in Bosnia. Our cousin was Bosnia’s biggest hero who led the insurgency against the Ottoman Empire in 1830. And that was the atmosphere I was brought up in. In my family, in general, there was always this emphasis on a love for humankind and unity .”
- M
“Unfortunately, they (students) understand the concept of war because in Bosnia the situation is not very well. Everybody's afraid of war. Next war. So it's some kind of transgenerational trauma.”
- J
*This is not the final place for the Courage Artifacts
