A note on political injustice. 8. June 2006

Some of you might notice that I used a poem by Peter Handke in this fiction. "Song of Childhood" - I think it's appropriate to post this addendum here now, considering the controversy currently surrounding this talented poet.

Peter Handke is an Austrian novelist who was recently nominated for Germany's prestigious Heinrich Heine Prize, a literary award with monetary compensation attached to it. He was, however, slated to be spurned for the award due to his 'political stance' on Serbia. Here it is, straight from Wikipedia:

---

"In 1996 his travelogue Eine winterliche Reise zu den Flüssen Donau, Save, Morawa und Drina oder Gerechtigkeit für Serbien (A Journey to the Rivers: Justice for Serbia) created considerable controversy, as Handke portrayed Serbia among the victims of the Balkan War. In the same essay, Handke also frontally attacked Western media for misrepresenting the causes and consequences of the war. This controversy still rages. Former Yugoslavian president Slobodan Milošević asked that Handke be summoned as witness for the defense before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, but the writer declined. He did, however, visit the tribunal as a spectator, and later published his observations in Die Tablas von Daimiel, (The Tablas of Daimiel).

On 18. March 2006, Handke spoke at the funeral of Slobodan Milošević in front of over 20.000 visitors. His speech in Serbian caused much controversy over what he said, and has wrongly been translated as expressing his happiness at being close to Milošević, who defended his people. What he actually said was: "I don't know the truth. But I look. I listen. I feel. I remember. This is why I am here today, close to Yugoslavia, close to Serbia, close to Slobodan Milošević."

---

Because of this, he has rejected accepting the award to stem the controversy surrounding his political views. Anyone who reads my fiction and enjoys it knows that I agree with Mr. Handke on one very important point: There is no black and white, no clear cuts between good and evil. There's only what we know, what we strive for in our attempts to make wrongs right; all of us might make mistakes, but the important thing is that we try.

Sometimes we all need to look, listen, feel and remember. Here's to you, Mr. Peter Handke, from at least one appreciative author who thinks you deserved that award.