I have had the privilege of visiting Bosnia, a beautiful land with beautiful people.
I was able to visit the Potacari Memorial Cemetery to visit and remember the massacre of more than 8,000 Bosniaks, mainly men and boys, in and around the town of Srebrenica during the Bosnian War.
I have been to Auschwitz, and our visit to Srebrenica triggered morose memories of our visit to the Nazi concentration camps.
We visited the The Srebrenica Genocide Memorial, which is officially named the Srebrenica–Potočari Memorial and Cemetery for the Victims of the 1995 Genocide.
It was set up to honour the victims of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide.
The death count exceeds 8,000, and the number of bodies discovered rises continuously with regular grim discoveries of mass graves, mostly male Bosnians.
The permanent Exhibition “Srebrenica” Gallerija 11/07/95 at the Memorijalni centar Srebrenica-Potočari is based in what used to be a battery factory. Its sombre surroundings host the Wall of Death and portraits of the victims (Association of Mothers of Srebrenica and Žepa).
There is a Srebrenica portrayal which maps the genocide and also a genocide Film Library (Cinema for Peace foundation). Yes, a mass and horrific genocide took place in Bosnia as the world looked on in silence.
An art instalment sums up the mindset of those hell bent on dehumanising the vulnerable. It reads…
No teeth?
A mustache?
Smel (sic) like shit?
This is a controversial art piece titled Bosnian Girl by Šejla Kamerić and inspired by graffiti scrawled on the walls of army barracks in Potočari. This is the very location where thousands of victims were rounded up from neighbouring villages and detained before being sent to their deaths.
This is a vital monument for the future of Bosnia. The key in remembering the past to reshape the future landscape is education and awareness to ensure that future generations can learn from their history, work to unite in harmony and ultimately reject hate, banish intolerance and shun extremism.
It’s 25 years since the horrific genocide in #Srebrenica where over 8,000 Bosnians were murdered because of their faith.
We remember the dead, the survivors, their families, the community and pledge to never let this happen again!
No comments:
Post a Comment