Travels with Baby: Soldier Boy
Sarajevo, Bosnia, teaches us about war, real and pretend.
by Ayun Halliday
July 10, 2007
The newsstand vendor didn't betray any particular opinion she may have had regarding the little American boy's choice, but neither did she offer to bag his purchase. Fortunately, I never travel without a nylon shopping bag, and the one I had on me was just big enough to contain this blister-packed monstrosity. I let Milo carry it himself, telling him that though I was happy for him, he should be discreet. "See, some really bad things happened to the people here. There was a war, and there were real explosions and real guns and a lot of people got killed. So, while you and I know it's just a toy, it might be the kind of toy that could make the people who live here feel bad. And I know you wouldn't want to make anybody feel bad."
Dumbing things down in that way makes me cringe, but Milo, bless his heart, seemed to get the message. When he handed his treasure off to Greg, who would be dropping stuff off at our guesthouse before our excursion to the Siege of Sarajevo Museum, he gave explicit instructions that the contents should be kept under wraps. He didn't want to hurt our hostess, who had introduced him to her pet Dalmation and invited him into the kitchen to help her make pancakes.
As to the museum, it was excellent, though perhaps not so much for children. There are plenty of photos
He spent the better part of two hours happily maneuvering his plastic commandos around the bedsheet frontlines.
of children there, of course, but also photos of people lying in their own blood, their bicycles toppled nearby. Again, Milo, who initially was quite taken with the displays of munitions used by the Bosnian Resistance, seemed to get the message. "I don't like this museum," he announced in a quavering voice, and retreated to the stairwell with one of his sister's Archie comics.
Later, in the privacy of our own room, he spent the better part of two hours happily maneuvering his plastic commandos around the bedsheet frontlines, the danger of their missions implied by a non-stop stream of whispered sound effects. Even though I've never been able to make those noises myself, I could appreciate this for the peaceful situation it was.
©2007 Ayun Halliday and Nerve Media
About the Author
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Ayun Halliday is author of The Big Rumpus and No Touch Monkey! and the popular zine East Village Inky. She is a columnist for Bust and a frequent contributor to Babble. Visit AyunHalliday.com.
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