Not My Turn to die: memoirs of a broken childhood in bosnia
By: Savo Heleta
Summary:
In his autobiographical tale, Not My Turn to Die, Savo Heleta retells his childhood as a Serb living in a Muslim-controlled city amid the horrors of the Bosnian genocide. Heleta's account is an example of the often forgotten side of the Bosnian genocide: the backlash or revenge by Muslims on Serbs. The story chronicles the Heleta's experience as victims of discrimination, prejudice, and physical violence, that leads their family to be terrorized then kicked out of their home, imprisoned just blocks away, starved, and left exposed to the bombs showering their community by other Serbs. Eventually, after months of starvation and abominable living conditions, they are released from imprisonment in the building, but have no means to support themselves living on their own (as Serbs are forbidden from being hired for jobs), and so remained trapped and starving still within a town where they are unwanted, discriminated against, and terrorized. By the end of the novel, the family is able to escape by swimming down a river at the dead of night, making it to a Serbian-controlled area. The reader learns the power propaganda, war, and fear have in shaping a community. Perhaps the most important lesson learned was no individual who has survived such horrific actions could do so without the help of another person.
Themes:
**(see History tab for additional quote)**
Characters:
Savo Heleta-- narrator (and author)of the story. He starts as a young boy , and ends the book college-aged. The story is told in first person throughout the novel
Sanja Heleta-- Savo's sister, a couple years younger than him
Slavko Heleta--Savo's father, journalist and owner of several small businesses. He serves as a strong example for Heleta, pushing him at critical moments in his life to forgive and break the cycle of suffering and terror.
Gordana Heleta--Savo's mother, and a very strong presence throughout the novel. As Savo and Sanja are both very young when the novel and the war start, she is critical in their emotional survival, and never leaves their side.
Nikola Heleta--Savo's grandfather, and a well-respected individual in town. It is through the connections and unsolicited favors he did throughout his life that reap the kindness from others that save Savo's family.
Jovanka Heleta--Savo's grandmother. She doesn't have a huge presence in the novel, but is important simply because Savo's family is his everything, and she is an integral part of it.
Adem and Amra-- Parents of Savo's best friend, Muslims, neighbors of the Heletas, who risk their lives to help Savo's family numerous times (unlike most of their neighbors who, by the end of the novel, completely turn on them)
Erin's Review:
Not My Turn to Die was an easy read and would be appropriate for students grades 7-12. Even students with reading comprehension difficulties would be able to read this text. I was scared that this text, because of the context, would be graphic or to disturbing to get through. I was pleasantly (loosely defined) surprised at how easily I was able to understand the events. While most literature on the Bosnian genocide depicts the violence against Muslims by Serbs, Heleta's tale gives the flipside of the coin. I would not teach this text by itself. Like any genocide, it is important to put it in context. We, as teachers, need to show our students the importance of perception, point of view, and voice. By teaching Heleta's story in conjunction with Haass' Love Thy Neighbor, students would be able to form a more holistic understanding of this atrocity.
Jeanne's Review:
Why it’s great:
I would absolutely recommend Not My Turn to Die for teaching in the classroom, and for reading in general. It was an extremely smooth read, with easy-to-understand language and page-turning suspense. As a reader that struggles to swallow a lot of reading all in one sitting, Not My Turn was exciting and compelling enough to keep me in my chair and engulfed in the story for long periods of time. Also, for a genocide novel, it was definitely not as graphic as some can be, though it still accomplished emotionally-charged and eye-opening scenes depicting the horrible reality of genocide. It kept the themes of genocide, but took out potentially controversial material in a conservative, sheltering-prone school. It was definitely a book to look for if you find yourself teaching in a school that’s sure to put the ka-bosh on sexual or violent material, but still want to have a unit on genocide. The other thing I really loved about the novel is that its overall message and themes were clear and uplifting, rather than just completely devastating. Genocide is a devastating thing, and the story includes many devastating experiences, but the hopeful disposition of the author rings throughout the novel. I finished the novel a couple weeks ago, and, as cliché as it sounds, I still find myself thinking about the themes of forgiveness, peace, and love, and feeling inspired, myself. I think there are a lot of students that would latch onto this, as well. I was grateful to find a novel that exposed the realities of genocide, while at the same time providing practical and heartening messages for the world as a result of it.
Possible weaknesses:
I would almost say that the book had such easy-to-read language, that it may be more appropriate for 9th graders or middle school students. However, the material is mature enough that it would still be appropriate for 10th-12th graders, especially if you have readers that are multiple grade levels behind in reading. The other weakness of the book, if you could call it that, is that it is from the largely ignored perspective from an event that is largely unfamiliar to begin with. Since it is from the perspective of a Serb, persecuted by Muslims, when the majority of the Bosnian genocide was perpetrated by Serbs against Muslims (Savo’s story was just the result of the backlash), it may be challenging within the class to cover this complexity—though again, if you can accomplish it, it is an invaluable story. Perhaps it would be a great book for half of the class to read, while the other read the other side of the story in another novel (like Love Thy Neighbor).
Overall, simple read, uplifting themes, and a great book for the classroom!
In his autobiographical tale, Not My Turn to Die, Savo Heleta retells his childhood as a Serb living in a Muslim-controlled city amid the horrors of the Bosnian genocide. Heleta's account is an example of the often forgotten side of the Bosnian genocide: the backlash or revenge by Muslims on Serbs. The story chronicles the Heleta's experience as victims of discrimination, prejudice, and physical violence, that leads their family to be terrorized then kicked out of their home, imprisoned just blocks away, starved, and left exposed to the bombs showering their community by other Serbs. Eventually, after months of starvation and abominable living conditions, they are released from imprisonment in the building, but have no means to support themselves living on their own (as Serbs are forbidden from being hired for jobs), and so remained trapped and starving still within a town where they are unwanted, discriminated against, and terrorized. By the end of the novel, the family is able to escape by swimming down a river at the dead of night, making it to a Serbian-controlled area. The reader learns the power propaganda, war, and fear have in shaping a community. Perhaps the most important lesson learned was no individual who has survived such horrific actions could do so without the help of another person.
Themes:
- Selflessness and hope: Without other peoples' generosity and kindness, Savo and his family would not have survived. The whole book is a series of ups and downs, but at the lowest points, a neighbor, stranger, or even perceived enemy would give the little they have to help his family make it through another day. "This event also helped me learn something very important about my grandpa. He must have left such a positive mark on Ibro's life to have him willingly give up his only food, the food he had planned to eat with his wife over the next few days" (p. 117).
- Propaganda: The media plays an enormous role in forming perception--Savo watches as neighbors begin using the term chetnik (a derogatory term for Serbs never before used to describe Savo and his family) to call his family, and even the town mayor begins to crack down on Serbs within the town. The little radio they are able to pick up from within the town only reveals how much the media spins the dire circumstances in their situation as victims in need of help, pinnng them instead as dangerous spies in need of confinement. "They can say anything they want. They are the only voice from the city. There is no one to tell the other side of the story" (p. 122).
- Consequences of actions: Serbs in Gorazde were persecuted as retribution for Serbian actions against Muslims. There are lots of things to talk about in this novel in class about how history is domino-effect of interactions, rather than unrelated, chronological events. "Sometimes, civilians were called collateral damage, and in other instances they were victims of revenge. There were also sadistic monsters on all sides who enjoyed torturing and killing people. Bosnia was a circle of death and terror. Not one side was strong enough to win the war, and no one was ready to surrender." (p. 97)
- Dehumanization: First by derogatory terms, then by refusal of human rights, then torture, starvation, and humiliation--slowly Heleta's family experiences the horrors of what happens when the process of dehumanization of a people occurs. Bosniaks, first, were dehumanized during the genocide that happens before and during the novel, and then the retaliation is where Savo's story picks up. "People don't have to be killed or physically tortured in order to suffer greatly and be humiliated. Verbal assaults, psychological pressures, stripping people of their human rights, and public dishonoring can sometimes be even more painful than actual torment or death" (pp. 127-128).
- Cycles of violence: the story's structure itself is formatted in a circle--and then breaks itself. As a Serb persecuted by Muslims because Muslims were persecuted by Serbs, Savo starts the book at a moment where he is about to continue the cycle, and kill a man that persecuted his family. But at the end of the novel, we revisit the scene and see his father talk him out of it, explicitly so that Savo could end the cycle of hate, pain, and anger. This decision completely breaks the cycle, and eventually leads Savo to college--and then leads to Savo writing this novel. "I had great parents who spent a lot of time urging me to remain a good person and never hurt another human being. When I was lost and thought that bloody revenge was the only way to move forward with my life, I was lucky to be surrounded by the people who had helped me never to give up on the promise of a better life" (228).
**(see History tab for additional quote)**
Characters:
Savo Heleta-- narrator (and author)of the story. He starts as a young boy , and ends the book college-aged. The story is told in first person throughout the novel
Sanja Heleta-- Savo's sister, a couple years younger than him
Slavko Heleta--Savo's father, journalist and owner of several small businesses. He serves as a strong example for Heleta, pushing him at critical moments in his life to forgive and break the cycle of suffering and terror.
Gordana Heleta--Savo's mother, and a very strong presence throughout the novel. As Savo and Sanja are both very young when the novel and the war start, she is critical in their emotional survival, and never leaves their side.
Nikola Heleta--Savo's grandfather, and a well-respected individual in town. It is through the connections and unsolicited favors he did throughout his life that reap the kindness from others that save Savo's family.
Jovanka Heleta--Savo's grandmother. She doesn't have a huge presence in the novel, but is important simply because Savo's family is his everything, and she is an integral part of it.
Adem and Amra-- Parents of Savo's best friend, Muslims, neighbors of the Heletas, who risk their lives to help Savo's family numerous times (unlike most of their neighbors who, by the end of the novel, completely turn on them)
Erin's Review:
Not My Turn to Die was an easy read and would be appropriate for students grades 7-12. Even students with reading comprehension difficulties would be able to read this text. I was scared that this text, because of the context, would be graphic or to disturbing to get through. I was pleasantly (loosely defined) surprised at how easily I was able to understand the events. While most literature on the Bosnian genocide depicts the violence against Muslims by Serbs, Heleta's tale gives the flipside of the coin. I would not teach this text by itself. Like any genocide, it is important to put it in context. We, as teachers, need to show our students the importance of perception, point of view, and voice. By teaching Heleta's story in conjunction with Haass' Love Thy Neighbor, students would be able to form a more holistic understanding of this atrocity.
Jeanne's Review:
Why it’s great:
I would absolutely recommend Not My Turn to Die for teaching in the classroom, and for reading in general. It was an extremely smooth read, with easy-to-understand language and page-turning suspense. As a reader that struggles to swallow a lot of reading all in one sitting, Not My Turn was exciting and compelling enough to keep me in my chair and engulfed in the story for long periods of time. Also, for a genocide novel, it was definitely not as graphic as some can be, though it still accomplished emotionally-charged and eye-opening scenes depicting the horrible reality of genocide. It kept the themes of genocide, but took out potentially controversial material in a conservative, sheltering-prone school. It was definitely a book to look for if you find yourself teaching in a school that’s sure to put the ka-bosh on sexual or violent material, but still want to have a unit on genocide. The other thing I really loved about the novel is that its overall message and themes were clear and uplifting, rather than just completely devastating. Genocide is a devastating thing, and the story includes many devastating experiences, but the hopeful disposition of the author rings throughout the novel. I finished the novel a couple weeks ago, and, as cliché as it sounds, I still find myself thinking about the themes of forgiveness, peace, and love, and feeling inspired, myself. I think there are a lot of students that would latch onto this, as well. I was grateful to find a novel that exposed the realities of genocide, while at the same time providing practical and heartening messages for the world as a result of it.
Possible weaknesses:
I would almost say that the book had such easy-to-read language, that it may be more appropriate for 9th graders or middle school students. However, the material is mature enough that it would still be appropriate for 10th-12th graders, especially if you have readers that are multiple grade levels behind in reading. The other weakness of the book, if you could call it that, is that it is from the largely ignored perspective from an event that is largely unfamiliar to begin with. Since it is from the perspective of a Serb, persecuted by Muslims, when the majority of the Bosnian genocide was perpetrated by Serbs against Muslims (Savo’s story was just the result of the backlash), it may be challenging within the class to cover this complexity—though again, if you can accomplish it, it is an invaluable story. Perhaps it would be a great book for half of the class to read, while the other read the other side of the story in another novel (like Love Thy Neighbor).
Overall, simple read, uplifting themes, and a great book for the classroom!