Genocide victims "sentenced to suffer"

Fadila Efendić, Vahida Delić and Nurdin Mustafić are victims of genocide committed by the soldiers and policemen of Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić on behalf of Republika Srpska in July 1995 in the "protected" and "demilitarized" zone of the United Nations. Although today they live hundreds of kilometers apart - Fadil in Srebrenica, Vahid in Germany, and Nurdin in Sarajevo - they have a lot in common. They lost their loved ones in the genocide and are firmly resolved to bear witness to the most monstrous war crime committed in Europe after the Second World War until the end of their time.

They also share the suffering that binds their destinies in the search for the remains of their loved ones. Fadila and Vahida in Potočari buried their children, husbands, sisters, brothers, or rather only parts of their remains. Nurdin refuses to bury "only two bones" of his father.

Vahida already placed the remains of her husband Jusa in the grave twice, in 2007 and 2008. He will do it a third time, when the DNA analysis is completed, because, presumably, Jusa's bones were also found in 2019. The remains of Vahida's husband were found in several locations, from Trnovo, where he was shot by members of the Serbian paramilitary formation "Škorpioni", to Rogoj, where the remains of the murdered were scattered in order to hide the crime.

Crimes caught on camera

Vahida was never able to fully watch the video showing the "Scorpions" killing captured Srebrenica residents near Trnovo. Her husband Juso Delić was also killed there. A video showing the "Scorpions" kicking people whose hands are tied behind their backs, and then shooting them with guns, went around the world.

"I tried several times to review that video, but beyond the part where you can see my Jusu being hit, I couldn't... Watching it, I fainted several times. They killed him even though he never carried a rifle, he was a cook." , says Vahida.

That is not the end of her testimony.

"I also had a brother Tahir. He was seventeen years old when he entered the UNPROFOR base in Potočari. He thought he would find salvation with the Dutch soldiers. We found his head in 2008, and in 2010 a few more bones," says Vahida , adding that all surviving victims of the genocide in Srebrenica were "condemned to suffer".

Places of suffering: Potočari, Kravica, Pilica...

In July 1995, Hamed and Fejzo, husband and son of Fadila Efendić, sought salvation in the UNPROFOR base in Potočari.

"In Potočari, women were separated from men, and they were most likely taken towards Bratunac. Hamed's bones, without a skull, were found in a secondary mass grave in 1998. The criminals dug up the mass graves and scattered the remains of the murdered in several locations in order to hide the traces His skull was found two years later in another mass grave," says Fadila Efendić.

According to the testimonies of the survivors, Hamed was killed in the halls of the Agricultural Cooperative in Kravica on July 13 or 14, along with 1.200 other prisoners. Where her son Fejzo was killed - Fadila still does not know.

"In Tuzla, they told me that they found only two of his bones, from the lower leg and the lower jaw. I waited for four years, and when I saw that there was nothing left, I decided to bury those two bones next to my husband. Even today, I don't know where he is killed. As the bones were found in the mass grave of Kamenica, I assume that he was killed in the House of Culture in Pilica, near Branjevo. I'm not sure, but when I come to that place I have a special feeling... I have the feeling that he was actually killed in Pilica," says Fadila.

Nurdin Mustafić: "I don't want to bury just a few bones of my father"

At the time of the fall of Srebrenica, Nurdin Mustafić was a three-month-old baby. His father was killed in the genocide, as were many other family members. Several of his father's bones were found in several mass graves.

"I cannot bury just a few bones of my father. For me, the only satisfaction would be to bury my father in the country for which he fought and gave his life, the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina," says Nurdin.

Today, Nurdin is a lawyer and lives in Sarajevo. He regrets that genocide is his first association with Srebrenica.

"We, educated young people from Srebrenica, are eager for change, we want to change the image of that city and restore dignity, honor and reputation to our people. We want to fight for the acceptance of the Hague verdicts and the passing of a law prohibiting the denial of genocide and other crimes. Republika Srpska is directly responsible for the genocide, while Serbia is blamed for not preventing the genocide in Srebrenica. By fighting for the acceptance of those verdicts, we want to build a future in which such crimes will not be repeated," says Nurdin.

Appeal to UN leaders

One of the methods of struggle that Nurdin mentions is the "Appeal of children born in the war in Srebrenica and Bosnia and Herzegovina", which asks the UN leaders for help "in creating a better world".

"With your inaction, you contributed to the horrific crimes that we had to face and you are responsible for the consequences that we have to suffer every day. Now you must stand up so that the perpetrators are really brought to justice and that final peace is established," it states, among other things, in the appeal of Nurdin Mustafić, Ajna Jusić, Emina Boračić and the Society for Vulnerable Peoples.

For Nurdin, the death of his father and the tragedy his family went through is a "burden that he carries throughout his life."

"That burden can drag you to the bottom, or motivate you to be more successful, more educated, to fight, to simply not allow yourself or the generations to come that something similar happens again. I decided to fight and, in addition to my professional career, involved I will participate in other social and political processes so that this country would be more orderly, better for life. I want to fight for Bosnia and Herzegovina to be a welfare state, and I don't know if I will see it, but future generations certainly will," says Nurdin Mustafić.