Part 7 (2/2)

Then, one morning, his wife gets out of bed only to find him gone. Maybe theres a note telling her that he has gone to join some obscure military unit or other. If shes lucky, he will return to her and the children. It could take a few years, or just a few months. By then she will have heard that he has been shooting at civilians or herding people in front of execution squads or torturing prisoners. He might well have raped women and then killed them, or robbed houses and burned them down. But there he is, back home, ready to pick up his normal life where he left off.

Then what happens?

Ive written about it many times. For instance, in the Zigic article. Some men simply shrug the whole experience off. That was during the war, theyll say, and settle into peacetime life as if rape and murder couldnt be farther from their minds. Others never let go of the past. Theyve changed.

Are you saying that all men have a kind of war b.u.t.ton? Like, you press it and they start murdering?

Put that way yes, I am. Not all, but most men. Its a fact. If you dont believe me, just check out our library. Isnt that so, Malene?

Yes, it is.

Camilla is silent, but looks distressed at the turn their conversation is taking.

Iben is still fired up. She takes a slice of chorizo from one of the boxes and squeezes the plastic lid back on.

Ill tell you a story. When I was little, we had this dog, a German shepherd called Max. All the children in the street liked playing with Max, and at times it couldnt have been much fun for him. Wed pull his tail or poke him in the eye by mistake, or stick our fingers into his mouth, but he put up with it. Max had been with us for years when we took him for a long walk one day. We let him off the lead because we knew he always came when we called. She hesitates.

Anyway, that day we set out to walk in a nearby stretch of woodland. Suddenly Max was off. Calling him had no effect. When my father finally found him it was in the much larger adjacent wood. Max had killed a young deer and was wild with excitement. There was blood all over his head. He had never seen a deer before in his life, but he knew what to do. He had run the animal down and leapt straight for its throat.

Camilla listens, her mouth hanging open.

We spoke to the vet about what had happened and he said that Max was dangerous now that he had experienced bloodl.u.s.t. Hunting and killing had changed him. In a way, he had become another dog. We realized that we were more to blame than he was, but there was nothing else we could do. My mom and dad had to ask the vet to put Max down. All the kids in the street cried.

Iben and Malene exchange a quick glance. Anne-Lise realizes that Malene has heard all this before. After the break she and Iben will go into the kitchen or the copier room to talk privately.

Camilla has pushed her plate away. She looks at Iben. So what youre saying is that men are like the dog in your story?

Malene leans forward over the table. Iben thinks that were all a little like animals, dont you, Iben?

In some ways, yes, I think we are. We should have known better and not let Max run free in the woods. It was instinct he couldnt help himself.

There is something about all this that appears to make Camilla more excited than Anne-Lise has ever seen her before. She has dropped the charming voice she uses on the telephone. So you think Mirko Zigic is one of these men. Were to feel sorry for him, because hes got this instinct for say, hanging people upside down from branches?

Hes a frightening man, regardless of his motivation. Just like Max became a frightening dog, particularly around children.

Anne-Lise enters the exchange for the first time. If theres something in men that makes them all potential murderers, then is it present in women too?

Iben replies: It might be but you never read about all-female militias rampaging through the countryside, killing and looting and burning everything to the ground.

Camilla grasps a fork in her hands as if shes trying to bend it. In a way it sounds to me as if you are defending the man who has threatened to kill you. Or all of us.

All Im saying is that these men are victims of war as well. War reveals something inside them that normally would have gone undiscovered. When the war ends, theyre probably just as shaken as the survivors. In shock, if you like, wondering What happened? What did I do?

Camilla quickly looks around the group. Well, it doesnt make sense to me to compare the suffering of the executioner with the suffering of the people he has killed.

Malene sighs demonstratively. Here we go. Back to the familiar old debate: How much of human behavior is due to instinct and how much to free will?

Iben snaps at Malene: Old debate it might be, but I cant recall us ever talking about it.

Malene seems confused.

From a purely ethical point of view its important to hang on to what the victims have a right to demand Oh, forget it; I dont know where this is going.

All three have a new edginess to their voices. Is it fear of Mirko Zigic that has caused this tension? Whatever it is, they are different. Wilder.

Anne-Lise feels like retreating to the library. She senses that in a moment one of them could lose control and every chance of reconciliation between them would be lost.

Camilla puts the fork down. What Im hearing, Iben, is that you feel that everyone is a victim rapists, the lot.

I suppose I do.

And a man who rapes in peacetime what about him? His basic instincts are getting the better of him too, right?

All Im saying is that Ive been surprised by how many men seem to have this built-in tendency something thats normally suppressed.

And that means that we should pity them, does it? Be supportive and offer them therapy sessions because theyve n.o.body to talk to about the women theyve raped? Camillas usually gentle voice is tinged with anger. Were talking about men who might kill us!

Lets not talk about them then.

Malene speaks quietly. Iben wants to understand every point of view, regardless of whose it is.

Silence.

Iben thinks that Zigic has gone underground someplace, maybe here in Copenhagen, and is agonizing away. You know, like Ive raped my friends wives and daughters. Ive painted the Serbian eagle on the walls of their houses using body parts dipped in their blood as my brush but hey! Does that make me a bad human being?

Malene starts to laugh at her own irony, but n.o.body is smiling. He would be utterly disoriented.

Yes, of course.

Malene glances at Iben sympathetically, then she looks at Camilla. If we think he is in any way normal, then imagine what it must be like to live with all that and have no one to talk to about it.

Anne-Lise suddenly senses that something is being aimed at her. She wants to get up and leave, but being included by them is what she has always wanted.

Camilla interrupts Malene. No way would I let him talk to me, thats for sure! Im prepared to try to understand lots of people and make allowances, but that kind of thing no, thats where I draw the line.

Iben is more direct. I wonder, is his loneliness getting hold of him? Maybe hes simply writing these e-mails because hes so isolated? Maybe we could make use of that?

Anne-Lise pushes back her chair. As she stands up, Malenes words reach her. Softly.

Perhaps its only people like us who have this need to talk. Someone like him might not feel the same way.

Malenes eyes rest calmly, almost amiably, on Anne-Lise.

Anne-Lise turns to go but remembers that she should do her part in clearing the table. She reaches for one of the dishes and watches Malene smile blandly.

But then, were clearly different from some people. Speaking for myself, I could never bear to work the way you do, Anne-Lise. You know, alone all day long, year in and year out.

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