Are you sympathetic to the plight of the Bosniaks in the Bosnian War?
I am sympathetic to the plight of any non-combatants in any war or conflict. It was not the majority of Bosnians, or any other nation, that created war, but rather the governments and ruling committees. I have never experienced what it is like to live in a war-zone, so cannot fully understand what these people have had to live with, but I have seen the aftermath of similar conflicts and so my sympathies go out to all innocent parties. However, there is a difference between sympathising and feeling guilt. I noted, in the UK news today, that Mr Blair is apologising to African peoples for slavery. While I sympathise with their plight, as was, I do not feel guilty because neither I nor anyone I know or have known has ever been involved with or condoned slavery in any form. And I actually get quite cynical when African people alive today suddenly decide that they are due monetary reparation and that I should help to pay for some intangible collective guilt. I owe them nothing, just as they
