Srebrenica survivors warn against genocide while preserving the memory of those who died

Bosnian Muslim men and boys were killed by Bosnian Serb forces in designated areas of the eastern European city that had been declared safe by the UN. Security Council.

The UN later acknowledged collective failure in preventing the genocide at Srebrenica.

Three survivors explain how they worked as curators and archivists at the Srebrenica Memorial Center to ensure that the true story of the genocide was told.

The center was built on a site where thousands of people once sought refuge from UN peacekeepers.

Almasa Salihovic: I was eight years old when I survived the genocide at Srebrenica. My older brother was killed in the genocide and my uncles, both on my mother’s and father’s sides, were killed. There were 8,372 victims.

Azir Osmanovic: On the main road, there are checkpoints where they separate men and boys. And then many of those people were killed.

Almasa Salihovic: I really believe that, if you remember that, it helps you heal, it helps your family heal. Every time I tell a story about my brother, about my family, I see myself telling the story of all of us.

I specifically chose Srebrenica Memorial as the place where I started working five years ago because I always wanted to give a piece of myself to be remembered, to be remembered.

Amra Begic Fazlic: We fled Srebrenica between 1992 and 1995. But in 2003, I decided to return to Srebrenica and try to find a way to live here again. It’s not easy.

Most of us decided to come back. We think, we should stay close to our loved ones. To complete the identification process, bury them here at the Memorial Center and have a place to visit them.

Azir Osmanovic: This is part of our history and it is my duty to talk about it, to talk about the genocide at Srebrenica and everything we experienced here. This is not just my personal story, it is the story of thousands of people who were here during the siege of this city.

We have personal belongings of genocide victims found in mass graves along with the bodies of the victims. These boots belong to my cousin. He was a 16 year old boy when he was murdered. His two brothers were also killed.

Almasa Salihovic: What scares me most is people denying it. Generations younger than me today grew up with the false narrative that genocide didn’t happen, that war crimes didn’t happen, that the people killed here were just soldiers. Here, we discuss the facts.

Amra Begic Fazlic: Genocide denial is, by definition, the final phase of genocide. Unfortunately, here in Bosnia, we can now talk about the next thing. This is the glorification of war criminals.

How does the UN define genocide? Read more Here.

International Day of Reflection and Remembrance of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica celebrated every year on July 11.