The theme for marking the anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide was presented in the British House of Lords in London. Among the speakers were four Lords and three members of the British Parliament, and 17-year-old Amina Mekić, originally from Bosnia and Herzegovina, who was the youngest among them. Amina was born in the UK as a second generation survivor from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Her family comes from Sarajevo.
“In the war, we lost many members of our immediate family. We recently found the remains of my grandfather and grandmother. We do not know how and where they were killed. Still no one has been held accountable for their deaths, even though more than 25 years have passed. Many of us have been displaced around the world. My family came to Birmingham, Great Britain during the war. From the beginning, I attended the Bosnian supplementary school in Birmingham and I am a member of the Bosnian folklore group ‘Mladost Bosne’,” said Amina in the introduction.
Her speech was sad, but at the same time imbued with pride that, as a young Bosnian woman, she found the strength to speak about the sufferings of her family and her people in a prominent place such as the House of Lords.
“Being able to speak in the House of Lords on behalf of Bosnian youth was an honour as it allowed me to further develop my understanding of the Srebrenica genocide. I will always be grateful to the ‘Remembering Srebrenica’ foundation for the work they do together with the BH UK Network (Community of Bosnian Associations in Great Britain) and for allowing me to participate in something so significant for our homeland,” she stressed.
The theme for the 2019 Srebrenica Genocide Commemoration is “Bridging the Divide – Confronting Hate”. The theme was introduced by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Rt. Hon. James Brokenshire MP. 
Remembering Srebrenica was founded in 2013 and is based in Birmingham. To date, they have educated over 90,000 young Britons about the Srebrenica genocide and have organised over 6,200 events to commemorate the victims of the genocide. They have also organised a visit by 1,200 Britons to the Potočari Memorial Centre.
The attendees were addressed by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth, the Rt Hon. Lord Pickles, Richard Burden MP Ian Blackford MP, the Rt Hon. Baroness Warsi, The Rt. Hon. Wallace of Tankerness QC; Prijedor resident Amra Mujkanović as well as Dr. Vakar Azmi OBE (Waqar), President of the “Remembering Srebrenica” Foundation.
At the end of her address, Amina read a “Prayer” for all victims of genocide in the hope that Srebrenica will never happen again to anyone.
