Tomorrow I fly out to Bosnia with the organisation Remembering Srebrenica after being selected as a participant on their programme for the coming year. The trip is an educational one designed to highlight the horrors of the 1995 genocide, during which 8372 Bosnia Muslim men and boys were killed – the youngest of who was only two days old. Whilst in Bosnia I, along with the other delegates, will be taken to visit the International Commission on Missing Persons HQ in Sarajevo, along with the Podrinje Identification Project, to see the tireless work that is still being done in order to identify the remains of the missing. In addition we will also meet with the Mothers of Srebrenica, most of whom are still searching for the remains of their sons and husbands. While I am deeply honoured to be selected to be a part of all this, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t also apprehensive.
The reality of the Bosnian genocide and the wider ethnic conflict within the Former Yugoslavia is not new to me, having studied it extensively throughout my MA. I focused heavily on both the success and failure of the Special Court for the Former Yugoslavia as part of my essay on criminal trials in post-conflict societies, while Bosnia was one of my key case studies when writing about the importance of addressing missing persons in post-conflict societies. During Christmas 2012 and Easter 2013 I was submerged in books and journals related to the conflict. Not only did I learn about the genocide but also about the systematic rape of women – done with the purpose of degrading, not only the victims, but also the Bosnian Muslim bloodline – and the horrors of the concentration camps. I came to understand why one might argue that death would have been preferable. There are even somethings that I learnt about during that time that I don’t think I could repeat to people unless they asked for the specific details, as they are so traumatic and upsetting.
I realise however that there is a big difference between knowing about the genocide and the conflict in theory and seeing it in practice. Reading the accounts of victims is not the same as hearing from them first-hand and this is precisely why I am apprehensive. I know that even with all my prior knowledge nothing can really prepare me for this experience, which I expect will be more emotionally draining than I can even begin to imagine.
But I also know that no matter how hard it might be for me over the next few days it is important that those stories are heard. It is imperative that the reality of what happened in Srebrenica just 20 years ago is remembered. This is another reason why I was honoured to be selected to be a delegate, as upon my return to the UK I will spend the next year running social action events that keep the memory of Srebrenica alive, whilst also challenging hate speech here in my own community. This could not feel more timely and important, given the rise in Islamophobic and xenophobic rhetoric within some of the UK’s media.
So as I consider the coming few days and how hard it might be on me emotionally I also remind myself that we all, as citizens of the world and as fellow human beings, have a duty to remember those 8372 people who died unnecessarily in July 1995. However much it might upset me my pain is nothing compared to that which is felt by those brave Mothers of Srebrenica, who will never stop fighting for justice for their missing, and we owe it to them to ensure that their story and their struggle is not forgotten. Only by remembering and learning from history will we be able to avoid such divisions and violence from happening again. Because if it could happen in Europe, in Srebrenica in Bosnia, only 20 years ago then it could happen anywhere. And surely the best way to honour those 8372 innocent men and boys who perished so needlessly is to ensure that their fate does not become the fate of others.
The Inner Musings of an Idealist 