On this week’s 51%, a genocide survivor tells her story that began in Bosnia and crossed into the U.S. Plus, a filmmaker explores new ways of indigenous storytelling. I’m Allison Dunne and this is 51%.
In 1992, a teenager in Bihac, Bosnia, was told by her best friend they couldn't speak anymore. Her friend didn't say why, but she knew the reason: She was Muslim. Amra Sabic-El Rayesswas 16 years old when she saw the first sign her world was changing. Then Muslim refugees from other Bosnian cities started arriving, fleeing Serbian persecution. In her new book “The Cat I Never Named: A True Story of Love, War, and Survival” she recounts her childhood during the Bosnian War. After surviving ethnic cleansing and more than 1,100 days under the Serbs’ military siege, she immigrated to the United States and earned a BA in Economics from Brown University. Later, Sabic-El Rayess earned two Master’s degrees and a Doctorate from Columbia University, where she is a professor working on understanding how and why societies fall apart and what role education can play in rebuilding decimated countries. She has published extensively on education-related issues, and has lectured around the world. She spoke with 51%’s Elizabeth Hill about the days leading up to the siege.
“The Cat I Never Named: A True Story of Love, War, and Survival” is published by Bloomsbury.
Missy Whiteman (Northern Arapaho and Kickapoo) is a Minneapolis filmmaker exploring new ways of Indigenous storytelling with expanded cinema and new technology. “The Coyote Way: Going Back Home,” is a two dimensional short sci-fi film that is transformed into The Coyote Way: X - Expanded Cinema Experience.
It is shot in 360 degrees, uses virtual reality and sometimes includes video synthesizer, projection, performance, live score and audience participation. This story was produced by Dixie Treichel.
You can find more stories from MinneCulture on the KFAI website at KFAI.org
That’s our show for this week. Thanks to Tina Renick for production assistance. Our executive producer is Dr. Alan Chartock. Our theme music is Glow in the Dark by Kevin Bartlett. This show is a national production of Northeast Public Radio. If you’d like to hear this show again, sign up for our podcast, or visit the 51% archives on our web site at wamc.org. And follow us on Twitter @51PercentRadio
