FOB
Briefs
Vol. 10, No. 1, December,
2003
Exhibit
on the Aftermath in Bosnia
Award-winning photographer and
writer Sara Terry is completing a book and exhibit of photographs
on reconstruction in Bosnia. “Aftermath: Bosnia’s
Long Road to Peace” examines the country’s struggle
to rebuild a civil society and, says Terry, “explores
the human costs and consequences of war — not on the
battlefield, but in its aftermath, which is where the painful
work of true peace making begins.” FOB cosponsored a
fundraiser for “Aftermath” in September 2003,
and we are planning to cosponsor an exhibit of Terry’s
work in Boston next spring. Here is an excerpt from Terry’s
writing about her exhibit:
“Since the fall of 2000, I have been documenting the
social, political, and economic upheavals that have been part
of Bosnia’s struggle to deal with the aftermath of a
war marked by ethnic cleansing and the worst genocide in Europe
since the end of World War II. Although photojournalists provided
remarkable images of that war, I believe they did not tell
the whole story —that the media must also be responsible
for documenting what happens after the guns and bombs and
the madness of violence have finally been stilled. War is
only half the story. It does not teach us about peace. That
part of the tale unfolds only in its aftermath, and I believe
that it is as newsworthy as war itself .…So I went to
Bosnia to cover the aftermath of war — to try to capture
the images that are the all too often forgotten companions
of the vivid pictures of war itself .…I went to Bosnia
with the desire to document the incredibly difficult period
when humans move out of war’s desperate struggle to
survive, and begin another equally mighty struggle —that
of learning to live again. In the two years I’ve been
working on this project, I’ve become convinced that
we need post-conflict images to remind us of our humanity
— to testify that war is not the final word on who we
are as human beings, or the final image of our spirit.”
For more information about “Aftermath,” visit
www.bosniaaftermath.com.
|