"FATHERLAND" by Nina Bunjevac - CHETNIKS challenge author on depiction of General Mihailovich

www.generalmihailovich.com ^ | May 30, 2015 | Aleksandra Rebic

[Ravnagora]

Aleksandra's Note: In full disclosure, I have not read this book, FATHERLAND, by Nina Bunjevac. This post is about a challenge to the contents of this book that was first published in 2014, and is now available in several languages. The book includes illustrations by the author who is also a graphic artist.

"Fatherland", which tells the tragic story of a Serbian family's struggle after WWII changed their homeland forever, has received a number of favorable reviews that can be found by searching the internet, as can the summary of the contents. The following brief summary is found on Amazon:

"Standing alongside Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis and Joe Sacco's Palestine, Nina Bunjevac's Fatherland renders the searing history of the Balkans in the twentieth century through the experiences of the author and her family. In 1975, fearing her husband’s growing fanaticism, Nina Bunjevac's mother fled her marriage and adopted country of Canada, taking Nina—then only a toddler—and her older sister back to Yugoslavia to live with her parents. Her husband and Nina's father, Peter, was a die-hard Serbian nationalist who was forced to leave his country in the 1950s. Remaining in Canada, he became involved with a terrorist organization bent on overthrowing the Communist Yugoslav government and attacking its supporters in North America. Then in 1977, while his family was still in Yugoslavia, Peter was killed in an accidental explosion while building a bomb.

"Through exquisite and haunting black-and-white art, Nina Bunjevac documents the immediate circumstances surrounding her father's death and provides a sweeping account of the former Yugoslavia under Fascism and Communism, telling an unforgettable true story of how the scars of history are borne by family and nation alike." [Amazon]

Because I want to highlight the response/challenge to this book that a member of a Chetnik group in Canada has issued, and the response he received from author Nina Bunjevac, I will keep my comments brief.

1. The "terrorist organization" that is referred to in this story is the group "Serbian Homeland Liberation Movement" (SOPO), of which the infamous Nikola Kavaja was a central figure. I strongly feel that the goals and activities of this group, regardless of how you may feel about those goals and activities, should NEVER be conflated with General Draza Mihailovich and the legitimate Chetnik organizations in the Diaspora.

2. General Mihailovich, though a true Serbian patriot, was far more "inclusive" and fair than allegations of chauvinistic "Serbian nationalism" wrongly and unjustly attribute to him.

The effort being made to challenge and address the premises found in and implied by "Fatherland" is a worthy and important effort, and this is what the Chetnik organizations should be doing.

Many thanks to Mr. Momcilo Dobrich, Vice President of the Organization of Serbian Chetniks Ravna Gora, Hamilton (Ontario, Canada) chapter, for following through with this initiative.

The response of the author of "Fatherland", Ms. Nina Bunjevac, will follow Mr. Dobrich's letter. Pay close attention to that response. She says a lot in a few words, and much that is not said is implied. All of it is revealing on a much wider level than just one family's story, as compelling as it is.

In fairness, I recommend that any interested readers whose attention and curiosity is peaked by this posting, go seek out "Fatherland" for themselves, or at the very least, read the reviews and descriptions of the contents. Mr. Dobrich's letter goes a long way in providing balance to what is out there now.

Sincerely,

Aleksandra Rebic

TO READ THE TWO LETTERS, PLEASE GO TO:

http://www.generalmihailovich.com/2015/05/fatherland-by-nina-bunjevac-chetniks.html

*****

[Ravnagora]

Ping!