BULLETIN - Serbian Unity Congress

WASHINGTON SCENE
IN MEMORIAM - DESA TOMASEVIC WAKEMAN
On June 13, 2007, the Serbian community suddenly
lost one of its most extraordinary members, Desa Tomasevic
Wakeman. Gracious, generous, kind and always looking for
the best in others – Desa was a humanitarian in the truest
sense of the word. At her funeral, Father Dusan Bunjevic
of St. John’s Church in San Francisco, brought tears to
everyone’s eyes when he described Desa as our “Kosovo
Maiden.”
Desa did not have an easy life – even before the horrors
of World War II. Born in Vocin, Slavonia, she was the second
of five children. My father Nikolas was the oldest. When
Desa was five, their father died. Her mother never remarried and Desa and the rest of
the Tomasevic clan were left to be raised by two incredible women, their mother Mara
and their grandmother Milica. I am convinced that it was life in this unusually matriarchal
Serbian family that made Desa oblivious to the glass ceiling that she unwittingly
shattered during her very successful business career in the US.
Because of Desa’s modesty, few of you probably realize that Desa was a very successful
business leader. Indeed, she was widely regarded as the founder of a multibillion
dollar global industry -- the lease financing industry. That’s the industry that
puts planes in the air, trains on the railroads and super tankers on the seas. When
she finally retired – at age 71 – she enjoyed reminding everyone that she had to be
replaced by TWO men.
Desa often credited her training as an anthropologist as the secret to her business
success. She believed her understanding and appreciation of diverse cultures and
values helped her navigate a male dominated business environments smoothly before
the term “diversity training” had even been contemplated.
Although Desa was very “satisfied” (she never used the word “proud”) of her professional
success, Desa’s greatest satisfaction came from helping others. Desa’s
life experiences could have made her bitter and selfish. No one would have blamed
her for that. Instead, though, these experiences gave her extraordinary empathy and
compassion throughout her life for those less fortunate than her.
During her retirement, she was busier than ever, often serving as a translator in the
hospital or showing up in court of behalf of refugees from all sides of the conflict that
led to the break up of Yugoslavia. She would sometimes call me for free legal advice
and, to be honest, I was sometimes critical of her working so hard. But then she would
say to me “But Dusho, I remember what it was to come to this country helpless, not
knowing the language, afraid and alone. I have to help these people.” And so I would
dispense as much legal advice as I could muster. Who could resist a plea from Desa!
Ask John Boskic. Tiny little Desa literally grabbed him by the arm and said “Dusho, you
must move to Washington and help the Serbian Unity Congress.” And here he is!
If there is a legacy to Desa that we can all embrace, it is to see the good in everyone
– but especially fellow Serbs. Desa was deeply saddened by the rivalries and jealousies
that divided the Serbian people. She wanted nothing more than true Serbian
unity, and I believe that is why she was so devoted to the SUC.
So many of us have benefited from Desa’s love, kindness and generosity. She was
my north star, my lighthouse in the storm - always there to show me the safe passage
and way home. I realize that she was the same north star and lighthouse for countless
others. We are all a little disoriented now. But if we listen carefully, we can
still hear her gentle voice guiding us – guiding us to honor and respect one another
despite our flaws, to work towards justice not just for Serbs but for all people and to
finally achieve that elusive dream of true unity for the Serbian people.
the US, victims of the Bosnian Muslim
“ethnic cleansing”.
Several parents contacted their
respective schools, called the Jacob
Burns Center, and notified the SUC
of the issue, resulting in the following
letter sent to the institutions involved:
“As the diaspora of a country that has
succumbed to a tragic civil war, we are
very sensitive to the featured subject
and unequivocally support open discussion
of this topic. Only awareness
can bring healing and ultimately preclude
repetition of such tragedies. A
productive discussion is first and foremost
rooted in facts. We know that
facts can be elusive, that they evolve
and take time to be revealed and researched.
In reading the pamphlet of
your film marathon we came across
the descriptions of the Bosnian conflict
with many factual inaccuracies
and outdated statistics. Your write up
does not do justice to the complexity
of the Bosnian conflict and all of its
victims.” The letter also provided the
corrected information citing the State
Department and the UN statistics.
On the subject of WWII victims, the
parents wrote: “Moreover, we would
like to point out that along with Jews,
Gypsies, Poles, homosexuals, handicapped,
Jehovah’s Witnesses, Soviet
prisoners of war, all of whom are listed
in your pamphlet, Serbs were also
targeted victims of the World War II
Holocaust perpetrated by the Nazi
regime of Germany and should be included
in your genocide description of
“WWII - The Holocaust - 1933-1945”.
For more information on this topic,
we refer you to the Simon Wiesenthal
Center for information on Jasenovac
concentration camp (citing the Encyclopedia
of the Holocaust).” Parents
also asked for the write up to be retracted,
and for the corrected version
to be redistributed to schools and students
with appropriate explanation.
Jacob Burns Film Center responded
with the following statement: “We
have had an opportunity to meet and
discuss the issues you brought forth
to our attention yesterday regarding
6 www.serbianunity.net
Serbian Unity Congress Newsletter, No. 282, Summer 2007