In the evening, more than a hundred guests attended the commemoration of the 24th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide at the Council House in Coventry. BH UK Network , in collaboration with the Municipality of Coventry, the charity “ Remembering Srebrenica ” and the local BiH community in this city, organized a commemoration to pay tribute to the 8,372 brutally murdered men and boys in the genocide committed in Srebrenica in July 1995. This is the second year in a row that the commemoration has been held at the Council House, and we hope that it will become a traditional activity for this municipality.
The 2019 theme, “Bridging the Divide: Confronting Hate,” seeks to inspire people to stand up to those who seek to divide communities, celebrate those who build bridges between communities, and change the attitudes and behaviors of others to go out and build their own bridges. This theme was chosen because it has never been more important for people to be empowered to confront hatred in their communities and to build bridges that help create a stronger, better, and more cohesive society.
The opening speech went to the mayor of Coventry , Linda Bigham , who in her speech pointed out that she is proud of the city of Coventry, which provided shelter to hundreds of people from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that Coventry became home to around 500 families from Bosnia and Herzegovina and the former Yugoslavia. “Most of them came directly from the concentration camps. They left the tragedy in their homeland and built new lives in the UK. The lessons learned from Srebrenica show how hatred and intolerance can flourish if not challenged – even in a country like Bosnia and Herzegovina, where people of different faiths lived peacefully together for many years and an integrated society fell apart,” said Mayor Bigham.
In addition to Bosnian and Herzegovina citizens from Coventry, the commemoration was attended by many other guests, including Councillors Lynnette Kelly and Anthony Owen, and other distinguished guests from Coventry.
The audience was addressed by various guests, and the students of the Bosnian supplementary school in Coventry attracted particular interest: Maida Mulalić, Benjamin Mulalić, Hana Hatić, Amil Alihodžić, Anel Jakupović, Ajla Krantić, Adna Kablić, Delila Kablić, Melina Hujić Saračević, Minela Kazić, Benjamin Hatić. With a few emotionally recited poems, they managed to bring the audience to tears. The main message from our youngest was not to forget what happened and to let it be a lesson for future generations. The audience rewarded the brave students with a big round of applause.
Alma Aganović also addressed the audience on behalf of the Remembering Srebrenica organisation. Alma Aganović came to England as a child refugee from Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1993. She currently works and has a successful career as the Executive Director of Marketing at South & City College in Birmingham. She is the Chair of the West Midlands Board for the charity Remembering Srebrenica .
Those present had the opportunity to listen to the experience of the Forić family from Coventry, who traveled a long way to integrate and be educated in England.” We are here tonight to remember those who are no longer with us. The commemoration brings back bad memories for many Bosnians and the people of Herzegovina. However, it is very important that we do so and remember all the lives that were lost during this terrible time. I have just finished school and found a job, as well as my sisters “I’m still trying to find myself and what I would like to do in the future. All this just shows that regardless of the past, there is always light at the end of the tunnel,” said Hava Forić.
The Srebrenica prayer was also said, which will forever remain engraved in the Srebrenica stone with a strong message: That what happened in Srebrenica should not happen to anyone and anywhere again. The audience had the opportunity to watch the short documentary film “Bridging The Divide: Confronting Hate”, which certainly evoked strong feelings in all present.
Kornelija Besara, delegate of the BH UK Network, had the opportunity to inform the audience about the activities and importance of this charity. “I am delighted to be part of organising an event like this. BH UK is the umbrella organisation for all Bosnian communities in the UK. It was established in 1996 to provide practical and psychological support to Bosnian and other minority communities. I am extremely proud to be organising the Srebrenica genocide commemoration in Coventry and thus pay tribute to those who are no longer with us. We would like to thank all of today’s speakers. We are very grateful to young people from our community such as Hava Forić and the children from the Bosnian supplementary school who are here to share their inspiring stories with us,” said Kornelija.
