Remembering Srebrenica

Bosnia-Herzegovina Bosnia-Herzegovina is a small country in Europe, less than 3 hours away from Britain.

Ethnic/religious groups in Bosnia-Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina was part of Yugoslavia from the end of WW2 to the early 1990s. Yugoslavia was made up of six countries: Slovenia, Croatia Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia. It was a wonderfully diverse country which lived in relative peace under Socialist leader Tito.

Identities in Bosnia-Herzegovina Bosniaks - Muslim Bosnian Croats - Catholic Bosnian Serbs - Orthodox Bosnia Herzegovina was made up of people belonging from three main groups – Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims), Bosnian Croats (catholic) and Bosnian Serbs (Orthodox). You can see from this map the diversity of Bosnia in comparison with the other countries in Yugoslavia. Inter marriages were common with Bosniak/Croat or Bosniak/Serb or Serb/Croat couples very common. People shared holidays with each other and lived relatively peacefully. However in the 1980s, Tito died, and nationalism began to rise in Yugoslavia with countries starting to seek independence from Yugoslavia. Whilst Serbia, was trying to keep countries together to from a greater Serbia. In 1991, Slovenia declared independence and was able to leave with just 10 days war. Looking at the map you can see why this was relatively easy – Slovenia was largely made of Slovene people. Croatia followed suit in declaring independence – looking at the map do you think they will break away as easily? Why? War started in Croatia particularly in those areas we can see which have majority Serbs. Meanwhile, Bosnia was preparing for its own independence. The people of Bosnia did not think that war would be possible for them because they felt they were so integrated. How do you start a war when the mother is Bosniak and the father Serb – kill one and leave the other? And what about the children? But war started in April 1991 after Bosnia declared independence.

Outbreak of War Fighting broke out within Bosnia as Serb nationalist forces waged a co-ordinated campaign of ‘ethnic cleansing’ intended to create a ‘Greater Serbian’ territory. They declared a large part of Bosnia as the Republika Srpska – the republic of Serbia and worked to ethnically cleanse this land of all non-Serbs. This involved burning down houses, sending individuals to concentration camps, systematic sexual violence and mass killings. And this went on continually between 1992 and 1995. Despite the three distinct groups within Bosnia, there were no physical differences in appearance between the groups. Their only difference was the religion they practised and their names. This was truly a war where neighbour turned against neighbour. Throughout the war Bosnian Muslims sought refuge in the town of Srebrenica (grey enclave on map) This small town became like a giant concentration camp with families living in one room, horrendous conditions, food shortages and shelling throughout. In 1993, Srebrenica was declared a safe haven by the UN and those in Srebrenica gave up their own weapons in exchange for UN protection.

However, in July 1995, Bosnian Serb forces advanced on Srebrenica and the town fell. 15,000 men and boys tried to escape the town in a walk through 63 miles of mountains and forest to safe territory now known as the death march. Many were ambushed, captured and shot. Those who sought safety with the UN met a similar fate. Men and boys were separated from women and driven to mass execution sites. Women and children were forcibly deported to free territory. 8,372 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were murdered by Bosnian Serb forces. This has been declared a genocide by international courts – a systematic attempt to destroy a group of people based on their race, religion or ethnicity . “Ethnic Cleansing”

“Ethnic Cleansing” = Mass Rape and Mass Murder From the onset of the war, Serb nationalist forces waged a co-ordinated campaign of ‘ethnic cleansing’ intended to create a ‘Greater Serbian’ territory. Their ideology was that those who had adopted Islam during the Ottoman period were genetically deformed and sub-human. We can see from the map that these mass killings took place throughout the country, especially in the east along the border with Serbia, but also in the north west. Prijedor was one region that suffered horrific events, some of which were very similar to that of Srebrenica. Mass rape also took place. Rape in Bosnia was not a by-product of war, rather it was a central feature of an ideology of ethnic cleansing . 20,000 women reported rape, but the figure of women who experienced sexual violence is estimated at 50,000 -Because of the level and breadth of sexual violence and the systematic way it was carried out, -Sexual violence was not carried out simply to dehumanise and destroy the lives of individual women, but has the affect of breaking apart family relationships, destroying the social fabric and community identity. It was used systematically as a tool of war, to erase an ethnic or religious group identity It was systematic: women, overwhelmingly Bosnian Muslim women and girls were detained, and enslaved in camps -when this violence took place in towns and villages, it was often a way to terrorise communities into leaving Because of the level and breadth of sexual violence and the systematic way it was carried out, prominent scholars have argued that there is a differentiate between wartime rape and genocidal rape. The victims of genocidal rape are used as a substitute for the entire ethnic group, that rape is used as a tool, with the target being the destruction of the entire ethnic group. This is different from sexual violence as a by-product of conflict. - It is important to note that many men were also victims of rape and sexual violence. This is even more of a societal taboo, and there are no figures on male victims of sexual violence

Video – survivor testimony Right click and click on ”Preview”. Alternatively go to a browser and paste in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WEhXjwFNhY to show the video

Srebrenica: What happened? On 11 July, in 1995, Bosnian Serb forces, led by General Ratko Mladić, systematically massacred 8,372 men and boys. It was the worst atrocity on European soil since the Second World War. These individuals are more than just a statistic; they were the fathers, husbands, sons and loved ones of those that were left behind. -On 11 July, in 1995, Bosnian Serb forces, led by General Ratko Mladić, systematically massacred 8,372 men and boys. - It was the worst atrocity on European soil since the Second World War. These individuals are more than just a statistic; they were the fathers, husbands, sons and loved ones of those that were left behind. Some women have had their entire families wiped out in the genocide and have no living male family members left.

Srebrenica: a genocide The International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) have both ruled that the mass execution constituted genocide. In 2009, the European Parliament declared 11 July the official day of remembrance for the victims of the Srebrenica genocide across the EU. In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group  as such: (a) Killing members of the group;  (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;  (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;  (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

How does genocide take place? Ten Stages of Genocide The Ten Stages of Genocide explore a possible timeline of genocide. Prejudice, discrimination, exclusion and intolerance do not inevitably lead to genocide nor is it likely that this will occur; however these behaviours diminish and degrade members of our community and may prevent them from taking and enjoying a full role in society. It is also sobering to reflect that every systematic genocide has been built on a failure to challenge these behaviours; failures which can become problematic in specific social conditions. the timeline of every genocide has been different, but there is a sequence that is common to most. Noticing that this timeline is beginning or that individuals are promoting these behaviours is really important if we are to challenge it and stop hatred progressing. Of course, early stages of this timeline, do not mean that the next stages will inevitably happen.

The stages Classification Symbolisation Discrimination Dehumanisation Organisation Polarisation Preparation Persecution Extermination Denial Draw out examples of the stages that they are already aware of (e.g. symbolisation – Jewish star in lead up to Holocaust. In Western Bosnia, Muslims were made to wear white armbands, and identify their houses by hanging a white sheet from their windows.) Dehumanisation – referring to the targeted group by using language that doesn’t reflect their humanity; e.g referring to them as cockroaches, which was common in Rwanda). Dehumanisation is a very significant part of the 10 stages, because once the perceived humanity of the targeted group is erased, it becomes simpler to carry out atrocities as you no longer believe the persecuted group to be fully human.

Lessons for the UK Keeping the memory alive through organising commemoration events which bring communities together to REMEMBER the victims of Srebrenica Taking people on our ‘Lessons from Srebrenica’ visits programme to LEARN the lessons from the genocide and set up projects to build safer, more cohesive communities Creating champions who PLEDGE to stand up against hatred and intolerance in their communities Remembering Srebrenica is committed to using the lessons from Srebrenica to tackle hatred and intolerance to help to build a better, safer and more cohesive society for everyone. We do this by: Keeping the memory alive through organising commemoration events which bring communities together to REMEMBER the victims of Srebrenica Taking people on our ‘Lessons from Srebrenica’ visits programme to LEARN the lessons from the genocide and set up projects to build safer, more cohesive communities Creating champions who PLEDGE to stand up against hatred and intolerance in their communities

Get Involved Connect with us: Become a Remembering Srebrenica Community Champion and volunteer to hold an Srebrenica Memorial Event every July Become a Community Champion by making a Pledge to educate others about Srebrenica Sign up for our newsletter Follow us on Twitter - @SrebrenicaUK Like us on Facebook and share our posts

Any questions? Please contact: info@srebrenica.org.uk Office: 0121 454 3343