The reflection on the different approaches that each of the four characters, Cellist, Kenan, Dragon, and Arrow would take to deal with the ongoing conflict are discussed below. The approaches are different because each character experiences the conflict in different ways(Jones &Fabian, 2006).
Arrow as he is described in the conflict is given the responsibility of protecting Cellist from other snipers. She is a female sniper and therefore has relevant skills and knowledge to protect Cellist from other fellow snipers. Arrow has same knowledge and skills of the surrounding areas as well as how to use sniper’s equipment. She can enhance capability of searching of searching other snipers who might attack Cellist (Jones&Fabian, 2006). She also has the skills of attacking snipers directly before they kill Cellist will take various approaches to ensure Cellist is safe. These include looking around to ensure that there is no incoming danger and if there be, she carries on an attack. She is highly trained and can operate a lone. She can use special optics and rifles, and sophisticated communication tools to feed important combat information from other snipers to Cellist. This will enable Cellist to escape in case of any attack. She will keep moving wherever Cellist goes to. This will enable Cellist to avoid being hit as moving object is very difficult to hit by other snipers. She should always be aware of Cellist’s surroundings while he is outside (Jones &Fabian, 2006).
Moreover, she should provide protective cover to Cellist. She would tech Cellist how to protect him from bullet by using things like pillars, concrete walls and large trees. She would use camouflage and choose her firing position strategically. She would attack other snipers from far before they reach Cellist. Arrow will act as ears and eyes for Cellist thus giving Cellist the necessary information to enable him protect him (Jones &Fabian, 2006). .
On the other hand, Kenan is a husband and father of 3 who is trying to ensure that his family has food and water. He would have various approaches to solve this conflict. He would have to make both ends meet to enable the family get basic needs which in this case are food and water. He would have to be careful in his dealing to avoid death as a result of the ongoing war. Kenan can seek employment in other parts of the country that are a little bit peaceful. Alternatively, he can take his family a way for refuge where the international organization provides food, water and other basic needs for refugees. It is also advisable for him to fetch water during the night when nobody can see him walk around easily. He can seek job outside the city and move with his family. This will enable him escape from any danger that may arise during the war like burning of the houses, gun shooting and murder.
Dragon is an older man. He is putting up with his sister and her family. He has the responsibility of protecting his family and sister. In the first case he sent his own family out of the city before the war started to protect them from the killings. He has to deal with this conflict carefully to protect his family. He should provide the safest means of sending his family out of the city.
My suggestions on dealing with this conflict include providing counter attack to the snipers. The snipers intending to kill the resident should be identified using the basic methods like defender monitor contact, and scanning the city to locate the positions of the snipers. Another suggestion to deal with this conflict is to hold peace negotiation between the Croats and Serbs so that they stop the struggle to annex Sarajevo. Alternative, the resident should be moved away from the city to safe places to prevent killings from the attackers (Jones &Fabian, 2006).
The character that I feel like I am most identify with is Arrow. She has all the relevant skills and knowledge to counter attack snipers. She is able to provide protection to the resident in the city using her sniper’s tactics.
The event in the book that most impacted and surprised me is the number of deaths in the city as a result of the siege. Over 12000 residents in Sarajevo were put to death. Another surprise is the battle of ethnic groups who are killing one another without good reason. It is surprising to see two neighboring ethnic group, the Croats and Serbs struggle to annex Sarajevo. I would expect them to be in good relationship and friends (Darity, 2008).
The effect that the constant confrontation of war and occupation has on each narrator is very painful. In the first case, there is killing of more than 12000 people. This called for Arrow to protect Cellist from snipers. It means that the narrators could die any time. Another effect of this war is forced migration. The narrator had to escape and move away from the city for fear of their lives. This is seen when Dragon the old man sent his family and sister far away from the city center before the war begun. The narrators could not get basic needs- water and food for their family during the war. They were forced with responsibility of looking for water and food regardless of the danger posed by the constant confrontation of the war. This was seen when Kenen struggled to provide for his three children (Darity, 2008).
Suffering, loss and violence didn’t normalize for Kenen, Dragon and Arrow. The affect and result of the war didn’t restore their lives conditions to normal state. The fact is that they had to lose some of their families and friends during the war, migrate to other places for safety purposes, and struggle to find basic needs for their families.
It is risky and fearful to live in this kind of anarchy—especially when symbols of peace and power have been extinguished. It means that war or violence can erupt anytime. The loneliness in the city after the war poses fear to stay in the city. People will be afraid to stay and carryout various activities in the city and this will mean no economic development (Darity, 2008).
The important of having beauty, color, vibrancy of flower and music introduced in the Kosovo Olympic Stadium are to act as remembrance for the deaths of cellist, music is to sooth the remaining resident and the flowers shows the how useful the late cellist were to the city(Darity, 2008).
Each of the narrators -Arrow, Dragan, Kenan views their fellow citizens as human being and should not be treated like other animals. They see their struggle will one day come to an end. They have positive attitudes to their struggle. They do not give up on each other because combined effort will one day bring them a change. Kenan’s classification of the three types of people ring true to me (Silber, 2008).
The three used rituals as ways to cope with their fear of what is happening in the city have enable the narrators to gain courage of staying in the city.
References
Silber, Nina. Gender and the Sectional Conflict. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2008.
Jones, Martin, and A C. Fabian. Conflict. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
Darity, William A. International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Detroit, Mich: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008.
