The days of commemoration of the Srebrenica genocide are upon us. More than fifty guests attended the commemoration of the 27th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide at Aston University in Birmingham in the afternoon.
July 11th of this year marks exactly 27 years since the innocent victims of the Srebrenica genocide were killed. On this occasion, the West Midlands Remembering Srebrenica Committee , in collaboration with the BH UK Network and Aston University , organized a commemoration to honor the 8,372 men and boys brutally murdered in the Srebrenica genocide in July 1995.
The opening speech was given by Matu Shaer, President of Remembering Srebrenica for the West Midlands, who highlighted the importance of holding such events. The commemoration was attended by many other dignitaries, including Andy Street CBE , Mayor of the West Midlands, and Dr Nasir Awan MBE , Queen’s Emissary, in addition to Bosnian and Herzegovinian and British citizens.
The audience was also addressed by Selma Bektić , whose parents and other family members experienced the horrors of the Srebrenica genocide. Selma was born in the UK as a second generation survivor of the genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She attended a Bosnian supplementary school in Birmingham. We are proud of Selma for finding the strength to speak about the suffering and pain of her family, which lost more than a hundred of its members, whose remains are still being searched for today.
“Our suffering has continued even though the war ended 27 years ago. While our pain and suffering are not represented in our country, here in the UK, thanks to activists and organisations like REMEMBERING SREBRENICA and BH UK NETWORK, the awareness of the genocide is very much present. Through this event we remember the innocent people who were killed, including my family, and we stand in solidarity with the victims. This act of remembrance means more than you will ever know.”
A short documentary film, Remembering Srebrenica, was shown and evoked strong emotions among those present.
Jelena Obradović-Wochnik , Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, Director of Research, Aston University, is a Bosnian originally from Sarajevo. In her presentation, she looked at what has been done so far regarding the memorialization and collective memory of the Srebrenica genocide and its importance.
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.
You can watch the entire program at the following link:
