Surviving More Than Death

Let me ask you this, which situation is worse: being killed during war or surviving?

From an early age, I've contemplated this question a great deal and as I've gotten older I've grown convinced that survival is worse. Despite people facing heinous deaths, the people who are laid to rest at least have an end to the pain, while those who survive, do not.

My parents are survivors of the Bosnian war during the '90s. To have two parents come out of the war alive, I know, is beyond luck. It’s practically divine intervention. However, because of what they endured, their minds constantly transport them to horrific memories of when their country was overrun by genocide. They starved in concentration camps, witnessed loved ones bloodied on the streets, walked many miles in dark corn fields to hide from snipers, and even jumped out of three story houses to escape assault. Their neighbors were hunting them.

Many did not survive. Entire towns were decimated. Mothers who once had four sons now only had themselves and their sorrow. Houses that once had three generations living within their walls were now reduced to rubble. Sadly, this is a familiar story for far too many families.

Often, when war and genocide are discussed these losses can be photographed and quantified —…