{"id":60918,"date":"2015-07-13T12:00:51","date_gmt":"2015-07-13T11:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=60918"},"modified":"2015-07-13T09:32:25","modified_gmt":"2015-07-13T08:32:25","slug":"the-twentieth-anniversary-of-the-srebrenica-genocide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2015\/07\/the-twentieth-anniversary-of-the-srebrenica-genocide\/","title":{"rendered":"The Twentieth Anniversary of the Srebrenica Genocide"},"content":{"rendered":"
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  1. Introduction<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    In general, twenty years are thought to be a long time. For those who lost their loved ones in Srebrenica, however, twenty years were equivalent to one day. It was only yesterday.<\/p>\n

    On Saturday, 11 July 2015, the Twentieth Anniversary Ceremony was held at Poto\u010dari, Srebrenica, Bosnia-Hercegovina.<\/p>\n

    Poto\u010dari [pronounced \u201cpot – oh – chah – ree\u201d], an industrial area, located outskirts of the Srebrenica municipality, was the place the massacre was committed in July 1995, during the War in Bosnia. As of July, 2015, the deaths of 8,372 people in that genocide were confirmed, according to Dnevni Avaz Special<\/em> with the name list of the victims.<\/p>\n

    The Ceremony was supposed to begin in the late in the morning. It is Bosnia here; everything goes slowly<\/em>, or \u201cplako\u201d in the Bosnian language. Nonetheless, by following the local police\u2019s advice, we, Bosnian driver and I, arrived at Poto\u010dari much earlier, around 6:40 a.m. There were, however, already thousands of people waiting outside the graveyard, the very site of the genocide. More people were continuously arriving into the main street outside the site by buses and cars. Many of them were organized groups, region by region. Then, at about 10 a.m. these people were allowed to enter the Cemetery. It is estimated between 100,000 – 150,000 people (or perhaps more) \u2013 probably the largest number of the participants ever in the Srebrenica Genocide Annual Ceremony – attended the Ceremony.<\/p>\n

    Thousands of grave stones overwhelmed the visitors in the Cemetery. The author visited this site twice before, in 2008 and in 2012. More graves were seen every time he visited Poto\u010dari. This year, three years after his last visit to Poto\u010dari, far more graves were seen there.<\/p>\n

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    1. The Indispensable Nature of the Annual Ceremony in Srebrenica<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      The indispensable nature of this Annual Ceremony seems to have at least two (or perhaps more) main purposes for the attendees of the Ceremony, most of whom are Bosniaks. These two purposes are not separated; they are interwoven.<\/p>\n

      First: To share the deep grief of the Srebrenica Genocide with their fellow Bosniaks and those who may be concerned. Bosniaks appreciate those who try to understand the tragedy in Srebrenica. They share these unforgettable deep sorrows with other people who are compassionate. The annual ceremony at Poto\u010dari is the very opportunity for that.<\/p>\n

      Second: To confirm their identity and unity of Bosniaks by using this annual ceremony as an essential opportunity. The tragedy such as the Srebrenica Genocide has provided Bosniaks with an opportunity to confirm their identity and unity. This annual ceremony is the opportunity for them to confirm that they are the \u201cBosniaks.\u201d Regardless of various kinds of self-perceptions and self-interpretations as Bosniaks, they confirm their identity as Bosniaks. This confirmation is not a matter of documentation or evidence. This process of the self-identification is highly an emotional one that stems from their soul, spirit, or blood. They identity that they are the Bosniaks, meaning that they are neither any other people in Bosnia, nor any other kind people in the world. Their confirmation of the identity leads to their unity as a people. The message contained in this unity may be this: \u201cYou and I are very much different, but one thing is common, which is that both of us are \u2018Bosniaks\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

      For more discussions on Bosniaks, visit Bosniaks – Wikipedia<\/a><\/p>\n

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      1. Three Parties, Three Attitudes over \u201cSrebrenica\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n