In the evening hours, more than 250 guests attended the commemoration of the 24th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide at St. Philip’s Cathedral in Birmingham . The charity ” Remembering Srebrenica ” in collaboration with the Bosnia UK Network and the Birmingham Municipality organized a special program and commemoration, in order to pay tribute to the 8,372 brutally murdered men and boys in the genocide committed in Srebrenica in July 1995.
The commemoration was officially opened by guests from the National Theatre Sarajevo, Elvir Solak and Aida Čorbadžić, with a musical performance of “Što te nema”. Emotions could be clearly felt on the faces of those present, and there were even tears. The commemoration program was introduced and hosted by Amerah Saleh , an artist from Birmingham. Amerah has performed across Europe and released her first collection titled “Ja nisam udave” (I am not from here) in April 2018. Her work touches on identity, femininity, religion and the obscure idea of belonging to only one place. She visited Bosnia and Srebrenica in 2015.
The commemoration was held at St. Philips Cathedral, hosted by The Right Reverend David Urquhart , Bishop of Birmingham, who at the very beginning thanked everyone who came and celebrated this night, a night of remembrance for Bosniaks who lost their lives because of religion.
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 students of the Bosnia and Herzegovina supplementary school Birmingham , Hana Cerić and Benjamin Zlomužica , had the honor of addressing the audience, saying their vows and informing the audience about this year’s Building Bridges project . Support was also given by the other students, by symbolic laying of paper flowers that they made themselves during the BH. supplementary classes.
During the year, members of the Remembering Srebrenica committee worked with schools across the West Midlands area to raise awareness of how young people can help bridge the gap in our society. Students worked to create flowers that, once opened, revealed tips on how to bridge divides and create a more inclusive world. The flowers are all the same, to represent how we are all the same, but each one is unique, using different colored paper and each containing a different message inside. Flowers unite to build a beautiful and colorful bridge. We are grateful to all the schools across Birmingham who supported this project.
Millicent Chapanda of Celebrating Sanctuary, presented the audience with a musical number from Zimbabwe, Nhemamusasa . The music was generously provided by Celebrating Sanctuary Birmingham who work to raise awareness of the refugee experience and support refugee talent in Birmingham.
Sudbin Music , a genocide survivor, told the audience about his experience. He was just 18 years old when the Bosnian Serb army arrived in his village near Prijedor, in northwestern Bosnia, and began killing. When the army arrived at Sudbin’s house, they killed his dog and his horses, then arrested Sudbin and his 16-year-old brother and burned down the house he shared with his mother and two sisters. Sudbin and his brother were taken to a concentration camp where he was beaten and tortured, and lived in constant fear of being killed. When he finally escaped, he weighed only 46 kg. In 2000, he returned to the village where he had been “ethnically cleansed”. He buried the remains of his father, who had been brutally murdered. Sudbin now campaigns, along with survivors of other concentration camps in Bosnia, to confront the past and create reconciliation between communities.
The atmosphere of silence and compassion was broken by Elvir Solak and Aida Čorbadžić, from the National Theatre Sarajevo, performing Bridge Over Troubled Water. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, music was used to unite people through shared passions. During the Siege of Sarajevo, it served to keep people’s spirits up while they were without electricity, little food, and faced daily horror. Since the end of the war, music has helped to bridge ethnic divisions.
Richard Burden MP , a member of the British Parliament, also addressed the audience and a member of the International Development Committee of the House of Peoples. One of the central themes of his work is to make the voice of local people heard in the corridors of power. Since his visit to Potočati in 2016, Richard has also been the Vice-Chairman of the Srebrenica All Party Parliamentary Group.
Religious leaders David Urquhart , Jessica Foster , Ruth Jacob from Birmingham Central Shul and Imam Mersad Krnjić from the Bosnian Cultural Centre, also spoke with a few words and invited those present for a minute of silence.
The minute of silence was broken by a performance by Iryna Muha , an artist originally from Ukraine, performing the composition A Soldier’s Wife on a traditional instrument. We are grateful to Millicent Chapanda and Iryna Muha for helping to build bridges and connections through music. Amerah Saleh solemnly ended the program by reciting a poem .
Among the many distinguished guests and speakers were the Mayor of Birmingham, Councilor Mohammed Azim and the Mayor of Solihull , Councilor Stuart Davis with his wife Sarah Walker.
In memory of the victims, candles were lit. On that occasion, all those present, despite the differences in race and religion, paid tribute to those who are no longer there, to those left behind only in tears and mourning.
Bosnia UK Network
