.Being Human in a War Zone by Meher Pestonji. Published in 2023 by Ukiyoto Publishing; www.ukiyoto.com. Pp: 118. Price: Rs 209.
In her collection of 14 short stories, Being Human in a War Zone, author, playwright, poet and social activist Meher Pestonji (pictured) portrays the "humanity” in human beings in war zones which encompass Afghanistan, the Ukraine, Sudan, Syria, Tibet and the USA as well.
Pestonji suggests it is impossible to get away from the war zone. In "Why Escape?” Nabeel is from a small town, an innocent boy who has come to the big city with his uncle in the hope of escaping to Greece. However, the earlier boat has capsized as it was overloaded and the same seems to be the case with the one Nabeel and his uncle are planning to travel by. All the uncle has left with is a single fare for Nabeel to travel back to his village. What should Nabeel do? Pestonji presents the options: both could result in death.
And where does a war zone end? In "Mother’s Fears,” mothers in the USA are concerned about sending their children to school on account of gun toting madmen. What is the answer to this problem? Should students stay at home and learn online despite being underage? Carry weapons to protect them?
That Pestonji does not mention the locations where the incidents take place suggests the war zone could be anywhere and everywhere. In the first story, "Curfew,” a soldier is trying to enforce curfew. Suddenly, he comes face to face with a man standing in a doorway with his arms crossed, refusing to obey the order to return indoors. The soldier reluctantly shoots him. His place is taken by another man who stands at the door in the same stance and refuses to move. The soldier is an ordinary farmer who joined the army merely because of his interest in martial arts. He follows the stranger into a room into which he is beckoned where he comes face to face with a situation that transforms him. He loses his "authority” and becomes a sensitive human being.
Who is the enemy? Pestonji poses the question: if two countries are at war does it necessarily follow that all the individuals are enemies as well? In "Heritage,” Dymtrus, a violinist with Lviv’s Symphony Orchestra, tries to keep Ukrainian music alive even during the Russian invasion of his country. When he is forced to take refuge in a bomb shelter, he is initially disturbed to find himself sharing space with Felix, the Russian trumpet player from the same orchestra. Dymtrus wonders why the Russian is still in the Ukraine.
The war between the Ukraine and Russia dominates yet another story, "Rivals,” where Mikhail from the Ukraine has to play a badminton match with Yuri from Russia. The match is fiercely competitive and Mikhail finally wins; but is Yuri an enemy merely because the two countries are at war? Yuri and his "special friend” Svetlana have both marched for peace with the Ukraine and Svetlana had even been arrested.
Similarly Tibet and China are at war in "Living as Exiles.” Thirteen-year-old Lhamo lives with her grandfather in India. Her mother is in Australia and being an Asian in a foreign country is very excited to see an Oriental woman; but when she meets her, she turns out to be Chinese. Though China and Tibet are enemies, can a Chinese woman who is a homemaker wanting only a decent life for her family be considered an enemy? For a group of Australian boys who enter the bus both the women are "Ching-ching, chong-chong” as they are unable to notice the differences between the Tibetan and the Chinese.
Occasionally, Pestonji asks if one can stand aside and merely look at war without feeling compassion for the victims. Andrew in "After War,” is an investigative journalist whose strength lies in unearthing financial frauds and scams. He has been sent to Bosnia to examine the effect of scattered, unexploded mines in the country. He interviews the mother of a 10-year-old boy whose legs have been amputated; the father of a young girl who was carrying freshly baked cakes for her grandmother and was killed when the bus she was travelling by explodes; a woman who has lost her left leg but still suffers from a "ghost pain.” Andrew is very moved by what he has seen and wonders whether he should continue with reporting on financial frauds or shift to the "less glamorous but more relevant” world of developmental journalism.
In "Educating Girls,” Gulnaz, the principal of a girls’ school is devastated when her star pupil is arrested and subsequently killed for carrying a poster with the words "Women, Life, Freedom.” Her friends decide to continue the fight. Gulnaz has "bred these brave women.” Does her duty end here?
In an epigraph to the book, Pestonji strongly suggests that thoughts worth keeping should be committed to paper, as these:
ignite minds
fuse ideas
into plans
for action
This is exactly what Pestonji has achieved in this collection. F. G.