In July 1995, when the town Srebrenica, in the hills of eastern Bosnia, fell to Serbian forces, 12,000 Muslim men and boys fled seeking safe territory. Hunted for six days, more than 8000 were captured, killed at execution sites and later buried in mass graves.
With such harrowing personal narratives by survivors, a book (available on Amazon) titled “Voices from Srebrenica: Survivor Narratives of the Bosnian Genocide” provides eyewitness accounts of the Bosnian genocide, which is called the worst atrocity on European soil since the Second World War.
In commemorating UK National Srebrenica Memorial Day (https://srebrenica.org.uk/), GRASSROOTS Luton supported and promoted the University of Bedfordshire led online event with the authors of this book Professor Ann Petrila & Hasan Hasanovic. In writing this book, they have revealed stories of individual trauma, loss and resilience.
Professors Jon Silverman & Helen Connolly co-chaired the event. Dr Emir Suljagic, Director of the Srebrenica Memorial Centre and Allan Little, BBC War Correspondent added enriching perspectives to the Bosnian genocide.
Srebrenica has become a world symbol of the horrific consequences that can result from inaction. The collective failure of the international community to intervene and prevent the genocide has been acknowledged by the late Kofi Annan, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations.
This is also echoed by the late Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor who said: “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men or women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must – at that moment – become the centre of the universe”.
From L to R: Prof Helen Connolly, Hasan Hasanovic (Survivor), Allan Little (BBC War Correspondent) & Prof Ann Petrila (Author)