Elizabeth Neuffer - The Key to My Neighbors House: Seeking Justice in Bosnia and Rwanda

A reporter from The Boston Globe humanizes two of the worst tragedies of the 1990s.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Elizabeth Neuffer is a brave and gifted reporter who personally hunted down those she believed responsible for massacres. It is hard not to be possessed of a cold fury while reading this.

The Times (London)

Gives a human face to the horrors of Bosnia and Rwanda.

The Economist

Neuffer juxtaposes scenes of almost unbearable suffering with daring accounts of the inaction of world leaders.

Salon.com

A revealing portrait of the two international tribunals where survivors eventually sought justice.

The Nation

The Key to My Neighbors House captures the human drama at the core of the [war crimes] trials. Neuffer manages to convey in intimate and sometimes painful detail the trauma of [the victims] personal ordeals and the importance of their search for justice. Prodigious research and excellent reporting.

The New York Times Book Review

A moving, heartbreaking, and distressing look into the functions and dysfunctions of the machinery of international justice, from the perspective of the victims in whose name that machinery has been erected harrowing and intense.

The Boston Globe

Its a terrible thing to want justice. Very few besides the victims think it is necessary or cost effective. But tell that to the victims of the Balkan wars or the horrors of Rwanda; tell that to the subjects of Elizabeth Neuffers compelling documentary in words on the quest for justice by those who think it is an essential ingredient for humanity. Her book will convince you that were doomed if we dont seek justice.

Leslie H. Gelb, President, Council on Foreign Relations,
former editorial page editor, The New York Times

A gripping human journey through the landscape of atrocity of the early 1990s whose moral compass is the newly revived laws of armed conflict, and the impassioned drive by jurists, prosecutors, and forensic pathologists to apply them. As the story moves from the mass grave to the courtroom, the reader is left not with drama, but, almost incredibly, a certain feeling of triumph. Superbly researched and written.

Roy Gutman, Pulitzer Prize-winning author

A tremendously valuable comparative study, with all its shameful conclusions in place.

Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

A compelling journey Award-winning journalist Elizabeth Neuffer weaves an intricate tale of hostile criminals, trial systems, and those left in their wake. The victims determination to rectify the wrongs done them, no matter the cost, is a triumphant testimony to the power of human will.

Gotham

Goes beyond the standard news reports of genocide in Rwanda and Bosnia to present the victims and villains in this astonishing look at human cruelty Very personal and painful interviews This is a very graphic, disturbing look at the failure of foreign policy and the difficulty of administering justice.

Booklist

Elizabeth Neuffer

Seeking Justice
in Bosnia and Rwanda

PICADOR NEW YORK

THE KEY TO MY NEIGHBORS HOUSE . Copyright 2001, 2002 by Elizabeth Neuffer. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address Picador, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Neuffer, Elizabeth.

The key to my neighbors house : seeking justice in Bosnia and Rwanda / Elizabeth Neuffer.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

eISBN: 978-1-250-08271-8

1. Yugoslav War, 1991-1995Atrocities. 2. Yugoslav War, 19911995Bosnia and Herzegovina. 3. RwandaHistoryCivil War, 1990-1993Atrocities. 4. RwandaHistoryCivil War, 1994Atrocities. 5. Neuffer, Elizabeth. I. Title: Seeking justice in Bosnia and Rwanda. II. Title.

DR1313.7.A85 N48 2001

949.703dc21 2001036342

First Picador Paperback Edition: November 2002

In memory of my mother, Meredith, my father, Robert,
and my brother Dan, for all they taught me.
And to my brother Mark,
my teacher, guide, and inspiration still.

I do not know that you could give me a complete answer, but perhaps you can help me to understand since I am not from that area. How could you explain some of the atrocities that we have heard that have been committed? Given your background, your experiences, knowing that Serbs and Muslims lived together, went to school together, how did that happen? asked Judge Gabrielle Kirk McDonald of the witness before her in the first international war crimes trial since World War II.

Hamdo paused. It is difficult to answer, this question, he replied. I am also at a loss. I had the key to my next-door neighbors [house] who was a Serb, and he had my key. That is how we looked after each other.

Testimony of Hamdo Kahrimanovi before
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia