Women who spoke of Bosnia in the book

Swanee Hunt, former American ambassador to Austria, and professor at Harvard University, presented her new book in Zagreb last week. 'This was not our war: Bosnian women renew the peace', a unique analysis of the war in Bosnia came to be through the stories of 26 women who, in spite of the horrors they lived through, launched various actions to return peace to Bosnia.‘I intentionally chose different subject, in order to get an entire picture of Bosnia: from Irma Šaja, who was 12 when the war broke out, to Greta Ferušić-Weinfeld, who survived Auschwitz’

Dr. Swanee Hunt, former American ambassador to Austria and an expert in women’s issues in post-Communist Europe, a subject she teaches at Harvard University, visited Zagreb again last week to present her new book ‘This was not our war: Bosnian women renew the peace’. In this book, 26 different women warmly and emotionally speak to Dr, Hunt about the horrors they lived through, and how they condemn revenge and praise peace.

The book took four years to write and was published by the Sarajevo publisher, Dani.

Dr. Hunt is currently in negotiations with several American publishers to release the book in the U.S., and she has already presented the book in Zagreb, Sarajevo and Belgrade. This book, with its 620 pages, was written during her mandate as Ambassador in Vienna, from 1993 to 1997. That was when she became very interested in the war in Bosnia, and began to intensively deal with how to attain peace. After only four months she spoke with women from Croatian non-governmental organizations and then with women from Sarajevo, who were supporting peace.

26 women speak of the war in Bosnia

NACIONAL: What motivated you to write the book ‘This was not our war: Bosnian women renew the peace’. Many books have already been written on the war in Bosnia.

The voice of the women has not been heard. At the Vienna Negotiations in 1994, at which the Croatian-Bosnian Federation was formed, there was not a single woman. How was that possible? According to statistics, the former Yugoslavia had more women with Ph.D.s than any other European nation. Their stories deeply touched me, and their power, creativity and vitality made such an impression on me that I decided to help, as both a woman and a politician. I began to get intensively involved in humanitarian actions, and I tried to convince the NATO generals and President Clinton that the U.S. should intervene. When I read books about Bosnia after the war, I saw that they all showed women as the victims, and not as the subjects. I wrote this book to correct that injustice and to bring forth the woman’s experience of war.

NACIONAL: How did you select the 26 women you describe in the book?

I intentionally selected very different women because I wanted to get the whole picture of Bosnia from the woman’s perspective. But they were all strong, full of ideas and active. Mediha Filipović was the only woman in the Bosnian parliament; Tanja Ljuljić-Mijatović was an ambassador in Vienna, Alma Kečo an engineer, Fahrija Ganić a dermatologist, Suzana Anđelić a journalist. Ana Pranić was in her sixties, while Irma Šaje was only 12 years old when the war broke out. Greta Ferušić-Weinfeld survived Auschwitz; Katalina Atagić was born in the German concentration camp at Reutlingen. They are of various nationality – Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian and Jewish. However, they all felt that the war did not start out of ethnic, national or religious intolerance, but from greed.

NACIONAL: Did you become friends with these women out while interviewing them?

We met in my home, in my office in Vienna or in a hotel in Sarajevo, and we would talk for hours over a glass of water. I help the Bosnian women to found the Bosnian Women’s Initiative, and they were looking for someone to tell their story to. We had translators and we recorded everything on videotape. I talked to them about my children, they talked about theirs, and sometimes I would make them smile when I said something about my husband. Once I told Kada, who later organized the women of Srebrenica, that I felt horrible because I was asking her to talk about her horrible experiences and to relive that pain. She answered that she was living for her daughter and grandchild and that she felt no need for vengeance: “Vengeance is poison, but I am interested in justice.”

Women’s message to the politicians

NACIONAL: What can we learn from the fates of these Bosnian women?

All of these women suffered terrible experiences, but they did not let that destroy them. Their understanding of the causes of war and the wisdom with which they want to rebuild peace is inspiring to everyone who deals in conflict resolution. Many women in Bosnia have transformed their pain into a positive action with great motivations to make this world better. Instead of allowing them to take over the roles as leaders, we allow the leaders to be those who are only interested in profit and borders. We should allocate more budget money to finance such initiatives and support their candidacy for local and international forums.

NACIONAL: What did they propose to the politicians responsible for the world order? Do they say that the world would be a better place if women were in charge?

Mirjana Marković-Milošević and Biljana Plavšić refute the theory that men are greater nationalists. But women often give a certain advantage and they deal with concrete problems of everyday life. They worry that children go to school every day, that they study, read their books, educate themselves. Does the society respect their work? And where is the border between their private and social roles? Women have a special skill in conflict resolution: women’s coalitions are important factors in conflict situations. African war leaders do not want women in politics because they are afraid that they will bring a compromise to the bargaining table which they will not want to consent to. But that is the point. Negotiating is full of compromise. There is much evidence indicating that women approach social situations differently than men, and they try to find ways to cooperate instead of having their perspectives pinned down by geographical maps. I have been a part of negotiating teams, and I know what I’m talking about: a map is spread out on a table and the main question is what will be where.

Clinton’s Support

NACIONAL: What was your cooperation with Bill Clinton like? In his foreword, he wrote that Bosnia was one of his greatest challenges.

Clinton and his wife have been my friends since the early 1990s when we fought together against poverty and racial discrimination in the U.S., and for public schools. I was involved in his presidential campaign and he invited me to become a part of the state administration. Even though I had no great experience in international politics, I became the American Ambassador to Austria. I have always been aware of social injustice and I could not ignore the suffering of the people in the Balkans. I will never forget the faces in surrounded Sarajevo.

NACIONAL: Did your ambassador’s function make it more difficult for you to talk to women in Bosnia and in your humanitarian work such as renewing the book fund of the torched Sarajevo National Library?

At first, it did since the Bosnian women did not have much trust in the politicians. But I decided to jump that hurdle, I told them not to call me Ambassador Hunt, but Swanee. I conducted the most interviews after 1997, after my mandate in Vienna was completed. Of course, some of my friendships with Bosnian women started in the beginning of my mandate, in 1994.

NACIONAL: In the book, you are fairly critical of American policy. What do other American politicians think about your activities in the Balkans?

Clinton absolutely supported them. He feels that women in the Balkans are an inspiration to us all, because in spite all everything, they still have the courage to hope. The Bosnian women were also supported by General Wesley Clark. Petar Galbraith, American ambassador to Croatia, brought together some 40 women in 1994 to tell me about the war. However, some people at the middle levels of the American administration opposed what I was doing. They told me to stick to Austria and to never mind the Balkans. But I ignored them.

NACIONAL: Did you have any prejudices about the Muslims as many did who came to Bosnia during those years, and how much did you actually know about the historical and political situation in the former Yugoslavia?

I read and studied much before, especially when I became ambassador. However, I didn’t learn from historians or cultural anthropologists, but mostly from my personal contacts with people. I didn’t have any prejudices about Muslims, as I don’t have any with any other religious groups. I did my Master’s thesis on psychology and religion and my doctorate in theology, and among my students I have Jews, Christians and members of other religions. My husband is also Jewish.

NACIONAL: You are from a wealthy family which had strong anti-Communist ideas. What was your childhood like and how did that anti-Communism affect you?

I grew up in Dallas, in a very conservative part of the U.S. My parents were born on a farm, and I tried to learn the very best from them, simplicity their natural nature. In the 1950s and 60s, my father was a strong anti-Communist activist. He believed that the American society was threatened by the “pinks” who were helping the “reds”. As a teenager I feared the Communist threat, but with time I overcame this feeling. My heart passed over political boundaries. In spite of everything, my fondest memories of childhood are tied to my summers on the farm.

NACIONAL: You are not a conservative, neither politically nor socially?

When I was a teenager, Martin Luther King was killed, as were John and Robert Kennedy. I began to intensively think about life, society and politics. The wild 60s really affected my. My generation was opposing authority and we wanted radical political changes. That turned me into a philanthropist who wanted to correct social injustice. In Denver, I spent more than two decades focused on improving conditions in public schools, housing and institutions for mental health.

Satisfied Feminist

NACIONAL: Did your husband, Charles Ansabacher, conductor of the Symphony Orchestra, support your humanitarian actions in Bosnia?

Absolutely! At that time, he was organizing a concert for peace in Sarajevo, and now is the guest conductor of the Sarajevo philharmonic. My travels through Bosnia were tied to his conductor’s arrangements. When we would return at night to our hotel room – he after a rehearsal, I after my interviews – I would retell him what I had heard, and I would often cry. He was very proud of me. That’s why I gave the book to him first to read, and for five full weeks, line by line, he carefully studied the book, in bed, in the car, everywhere, and when I was traveling, we would discuss it by phone.

NACIONAL: You mentioned in the book that it is a family affair.

My mother was proud that I was helping the women of Bosnia, even though she couldn’t find Bosnia on the map. But I am most grateful to my kids, Lilian and Teddy, who put up with my frequent trips to Bosnia and who showed me upon my return that they no longer wanted to compete with refugees. I read excerpts of the book to them, and I think that their comments contributed to the quality of the book.

NACIONAL: Do you have any artistic inclinations?

I really love music, especially choral, I play the piano and the harp, and I compose cantatas. My ‘The Witness Cantata’ has been performed in Vienna, Salzburg, Washington and Denver. I feel a need to compose, writing music is a small but persistent part of my soul. I also love photography, I have had many independent exhibitions, and my ‘Sarajevo Soccer Field’ is permanently at the Brooklyn Museum in New York.

NACIONAL: Do you consider yourself to be a feminist?

When you come to Eastern Europe and ask women that question, not one will raise her hand, because there they think “put the woman on the tractor, shoulder to shoulder with the man”. Many women claim that they are not feminists, and insisting on equal rights for women is something that I would call feminism. I am a feminist because I don’t allow anyone to push me to the side. I don’t claim that women can do everything better, but I don’t want to not have the opportunity because I am a woman.

NACIONAL: You have two Master’s degrees, a doctorate, you founded the organization Women Waging Peace and you are a Harvard professor. Are you satisfied?

I am happy and satisfied, healthy, financially independent, I am not ugly and I have enough smarts for happiness and success. No one has to be perfect. Perfect people are very often unhappy. But you have to be smart enough.

Doctorate in Theology

NACIONAL: What is your specialty at Harvard?

I run the Kennedy School of Government where I teach Inclusive Security. This school stressed the active role of women in politics and public life, and we help various projects which contribute to greater education of women, especially non-whites. I think that women have to be included in foreign policy and that in problems of national security we have to take the woman’s perspective in mind, starting from ending wars to stabilizing the situation. This year, we have focused on the exploitation of the female body for commercial purposes and the trade of women and children.

NACIONAL: What was key in your decision to do your doctorate in theology?

I never waned to teach theology, but I chose it for my own spiritual growth. The knowledge I’ve attained gives me depth and understanding in life, which I consider important.

NACIONAL: What do the Women Waging Peace and Hunt
Alternatives, organizations which you’ve founded, deal with?

We found women in 21 zones of conflict and brought them together so that they could exchange strategies, and deal with issues such as use of the media, self-organization, working in the government, military, etc. Thus, we’ve created ties which enable exchange, and we’ve put everything on the Internet and analyzed what they’ve done. We took that to policy creators as a great source of ideas. Hunt Alternatives is my private foundation to help various projects such as Cambridge Conversations, which takes place in my home. Up to fifty people gather together to consider issues important to our society and to build ties to better solve problems together.

NACIONAL: DO you believe that women really can change the world?

Absolutely! But they need many good men to do that with.

Swanee Hunt
Grew up in Dallas, Texas in an oil family

Education

Graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy, Master’s Thesis in Psychology and Religion, Doctorate in Theology

Career

In Denver, for years she was a civil activist working to correct social injustice

From 1993 to 1997, American Ambassador in Vienna

From 1997, director of the program Women in Public Policy at the J.F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University

Founded the organizations Women Waging Peace and Hunt Alternatives

Awarded the prize ‘Woman of Peace’ from the Roman Foundation, Together for Peace

Married to conductor Charles Ansbacher, three children