To the extent of this class so far, we have had the opportunity to read the book titled, The Bosnia List. This book is much more than just an autobiography of Kenan Trebinčević, but an educational book on what life was like in Bosnia during 1991-1992. Kenan did an excellent job of constructing this book by not only sharing his experience in Bosnia during the tragedy, but also during his revisit to Bosnia in 2011. With nearly two decades passing by, Kenan knew all that would change in Bosnia including: physical structures, religious tolerance, technology, moral, the economy and especially personalities. During their time in Bosnia, A Serbian family moved in downstairs from Kenan. His new neighbors were named Miloš and Zorica, and their son Dejan, …show more content…
During the initial visit, Zorica had shared the story how her uncle had assisted Murat during World War Two and in return, to thank him for the safety, Murat promised to buy his milk from then on, even when the milk costed more than the milk at the market. Both families respected each other. It as if their history had reunited their families yet again; this time it was Zorica’s family’s turn to take care of the Trebinčević’s. Zorica said, “Whatever my child eats, yours will eat as well.” (166) As the days went on, Kenan would play with Dejan. One day Miloš came home and Dejan asked if his father had killed any Muslim that day. This predicament made Kenan wonder why Miloš was sparing his family’s life. As Kenan and Dejan continued to play, Dejan asked to touch his father’s rifle, which led to Miloš taking out the ammo clip and letting the boys play with his gun. When it was Kenan’s turn to play with the gun, he noticed how the barrel was still warm. Even as a child, Kenan knew exactly what was going on around him, he knew that Miloš had just been recently shooting Muslims like himself. As the time came to escape Bosnia, Keka told Zorica of the plan to flee at five in the morning, so at midnight, Zorica gave a few hundred Austrian schillings plus a bottle of moonshine to bribe the bus driver. Even …show more content…
After the visit, Kenan viewed Miloš and Zorica quite different. Since he had last seen them nineteen years ago, he still viewed them as young Serbian citizens, but after their visit he now knew how their image had changed over the years. Once he heard the story why they ended up in Brcko he viewed their family and his family as similar because both families had to flee their homes. Kenan now viewed Miloš as a man doing what was required of him to keep his family safe since he now had an understanding of what Miloš was fighting for. I believe Kenan now viewed Zorica as a reflection of his mother because nineteen years ago, Zorica and his mother looked quite similar and I believe that he thinks his mother would have looked comparable to her today. Kenan shared how her meals reminded him of his mother’s meals, and since Kenan’s mother’s possessions still remained in her home, it was as if he was visiting his mother’s house. Once Zorica told Kenan that his mother told her to take whatever they could to their apartment, that his mother realized that Miloš and Zorica were good, respectable people, and if his mom thought that, so should he. For this, he gained the utmost respect for Miloš and