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Necessary Targets is based on the stories of the women I met in Bosnia. It was their community, their holding on to love, their insane humanity in the face of catastrophe, their staggering refusal to have or seek revenge that fueled me and ultimately moved me to write this play. When we think of war, we think of it as something that happens to men in fields or jungles. We think of hand grenades and Scud missiles. We think of the moment of violence -- the blast, the explosion. But war is also a consequence -- the effects of which are not known or felt for months, years, generations. And because consequences are usually not televised, by then the war is no longer sexy -- the ratings are gone, consequences remain invisible. .. As long as there are snipers outside Sarajevo, Sarajevo exists. But after the bombing, after the snipers, that's when the real war begins. When we think of war, we do not think of women. Because the work of survival, of restoration, is not glamorous work. Like most women's work, it is undervalued, underpaid, and impossible. After work, men are often shattered, unable to function. Women not only work, but they create peace networks, find ways bring about healing. They teach in home schools when the school buildings are destroyed. They build gardens in the middle of abandoned railroad tracks. They pick up the pieces, although they usually haven't fired a gun. |
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About the Book | From the Author | Excerpt Copyright © 1995-2008 Random House, Inc. All rights reserved |
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