"Genocidal Geography"

Mon., Nov 26

This past summer, Philosophy Professor David Pettigrew continued his research on the geography of genocide, visiting several villages in Bosnia that had been "ethnically cleansed" and destroyed, along with the DNA labs at the International Commission on Missing Persons in Sarajevo.

"I visited one village where a few Muslim families had returned but now have fled again because last year someone built a Serbian Orthodox Church at the entrance to the village," Pettigrew wrote. "There are no Serbs in the village who would attend the Church but it has become the site of gatherings where the men fire their hunting weapons into the air. This frightened the Muslim families so they have left."

He also met with survivors of the genocide in Srebrenica who told him their harrowing personal stories. On July 11, at the commemoration and burial of 520 victims of the 1995 genocide whose remains have been identified, Pettigrew helped bury three brothers who were cousins of one of the students he had taught in a Summer University course in Srebrenica last year. Summer University is a two-month program for postgraduate students and researchers on topics related to genocide, transitional justice, post-conflict studies, and human rights.

Pettigrew presented a paper at this year's Summer University -- "Genocide and International Intervention: The Problematic Legacy of the Dayton Peace Accords 1995-2012" -- which was accepted for publication (in translation in the Bosnian language -- Bosanski) in a volume edited by the Institute for Research of Crimes Against Humanity and International Law at the University of Sarajevo. 

Pettigrew's paper and his research were also the basis for an article roughly translated as "Genocidal Geography" in Dani, a prominent Bosnian magazine. He was also interviewed  on the Arabic news network  Al Jazeera  concerning  a letter he wrote to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton concerning the election law in Srebrenica. Earlier this fall, Pettigrew returned to Srebrenica as an accredited international observer for the Oct. 7 municipal elections in the city.

Below: David Pettigrew is interviewed at the Al Jazeera newsdesk. The subtitle, translated into English, reads, "I became involved in a project that is trying to tell the truth about the genocide."