I am from Srebrenica.

(image via)

Many of you know that I am from Bosnia; I am from a small town called Srebrenica. I have talked about Srebrenica on Letters to LALA land before, but today I am going to share a more intimate story about Srebrenica.

July 11^th2016 marks the 21 years since the genocide and massacre that effected Srebrenica and took more than 8372 lives. (I think) I am lucky that I was young and don’t remember most of the terrible things that have happened right in front of me; some scary images come and go but I think that is what makes me stronger.  However, same can’t be said for many people… children than never got to see their fathers and grandfathers again, women who  lost love of their lives, people that lost their best friends, mothers who lost their children have to live with the images and memories of what happened in Srebrenica every day. The ghosts of all the lost people haunting them forever; some get to lay (at least) a piece of those who were lost in war to rest  at Potocari Memorial Centre (officially known as the Srebrenica-Potočari Memorial and Cemetery for the Victims of the 1995 Genocide.). Each year on July 11^th thousands of people from all over the world show up to pay their respect to all those lost and support those whose world will forever be different.

 

I lost both of my grandfathers during the war, and both of them are buried at the memorial centre; they lay there along with thousands of other grandfathers, uncles, brothers and fathers whose remains were found in mass graves. I visit them every chance I get and tell them about all the amazing and wonderful things their kids and grandkids are doing; how even 20 years later we still pray and think about them all the time.  Seeing people crying next to graves of their lost ones is sad and depressing; but seeing my dad and uncle cried is something I will never be able to forget. Seeing two of the strongest people I know break down and crumble broke my heart.  Year in year out, stories about Srebrenica break my heart a little more and makes me a little more proud to be from Srebrenica.  Srebrenica survived so much, people suffered more than anyone ever should, lost way more than anyone could handle and ended up broken; broken but thankful for surviving.

 

Today, I remember, and will always remember, Srebrenica and all those lost.

Never Forget Srebrenica 11-07-1995