Don’t Forget!

by Sabiha Kocabicak (Turkey)

Making a local connection Bosnia & Herzegovina

I was standing in front of a sculpture of a human being, which was made of slices of bread, in the Museum of Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was created for memories of people losing their lives while waiting in line for bread. In addition to the sculpture, there were not only various items belonging to those who suffered, raped, tortured, and died but also their stories, memories, videos, and photos of their tortured bodies. I saw a sign of a cross that was made using a knife on a Muslim’s body! And blood! Blood, blood, everywhere… On a man’s head, on another’s back, legs, or arms… On the roads, on loved ones’ body, or one’s own body… Additionally, “…the pile of stacked corpses, smelling very bad…” and “…corpses that no longer looked like human bodies, but more like piece of meat…” Mass graves filled with lots of bones… The museum informs visitors about what was done in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992-1995 by sharing victims’ words. “Dad… I could not save you from death…” was a message from Edita who lost her father when she was eight years old. She stated, “We found his body remains in 2000. I know he was beaten to the death, and every bone in his body was broken…” There were younger children than Edita. “…the youngest victim was a four-month-old baby… She died with her baby bottle in her hand, squeezing the bottle…in the arms of her murdered mother…” Here is another woman who also lost her child: “…One of them attacked me. I had surgery back in 70’s, and big scar was all over my stomach. He saw it and asked what that is. I said that I had cancer before, hoping he would stop. But that didn’t stop him…Other women were raped, too… Only worst thing than this was when I heard my only son, Nedžad, was killed.” Another raped person stated, “…I became aware how humiliated I am. Next moment, I remembered whole my life and childhood memories…I had beautiful childhood…what happened in the end? …my life was destroyed…” After reading a few stories including torture, rape, and mass killings, I felt that I could not stand up, I needed to sit down. However, there were no chairs. I had to stand. Then, I told myself “You can stand. They tried to stand it. What you have been experiencing right now is nothing, compared to their experiences.” The next day, I saw graveyards, monuments, and other reminders of the war everywhere. It was impossible not to see white marble gravestones, lists of names on walls or monuments, the sculpture of Nermin, and marks of death and blood on roads, which are called Sarajevo roses. Moreover, I read a warning while walking on the streets: “Don’t forget!” Before visiting the museum, I was enjoying my time in Sarajevo. While I was standing on the walls of Yellow Fortress, I had a panoramic view of Sarajevo. It seemed peaceful and beautiful. It has a green nature, no noise, no traffic jam, not too many skyscrapers, and it isn’t overcrowded, unlike many capitals. What a wonderful city it would be if there were no tragedies experienced here! Still, it is not only a nice city to live, travel, spend time, and enjoy but also a place to think about history and humanity, visit genocide victims, and keep what happened and may happen in mind. I remembered, I was touched, and I felt connected to the victims of genocide again while we were thinking about these with my local “alive” contact here. I met him at a coffee house while drinking Bosnian coffee and we were drinking one more cup of coffee together on another day. His grey hair, wrinkled face, and blue eyes were telling me both his past and his concerns. He said, “Many people come here but most of them understand nothing! Most people, even Bosnian youth, don’t think about it. Just think about it and explain: How could people living in peace for centuries be enemies and kill their neighbors? What happened and why?”