[ Isabelle Eshraghi ] - European External Action Service · Rejha Jusić, age 51 ‘Two years ago my son was found in a mass grave near Zvornik. Only I know how to bear this burden

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[ Isabelle Eshraghi ]

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Post-war trauma and pain in Bosnia-HerzegovinaA massacre by Bosnian Serb forces in July 1995 was one the worst episodes of war in Europe since the Second World War. An estimated 8,000 Muslim men and teenage boys were murdered.The UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague described the massacre as a genocide (April 2004). Since the end of the war, 18,000 victims (a majority Muslims) were exhumed from 300 mass graves in Bosnia-Herzegovina. About 6,000 bodies were disinterred from mass graves around Srebrenica. New mass graves are still expected to be found. Over 16,000 people are still consi-dered missing according to International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).Nine years after the end of the war (1992-1995) the government of Republika Srpska said for the first time that it ‘sympathises with the pain of the relatives of the Srebrenica victims and expresses sincere regrets and apologies’ (10 November 2004).The women of Srebrenica were the witnesses of this tragedy. In Potocari, the Serb forces segre-gated the civilian population into a group of men and teenage boys and a group of women and children. Some young girls were taken away, and they never returned. After two nights, women and children were forced into trucks. Men were found later with their throats slit.Thousands of Bosnian women are still searching for their sons, husbands and others relatives, and they are all waiting for the day when the remains of their loved ones will be found. Then finally they will be able to start the process of mourning.These women were greatly traumatised during the 1992-1995 war by constant exposure to violence. After the war ended their trauma became obvious. The effects of stress began mani-festing itself as a loss of self-confidence, poor concentration, disturbed sleep, nightmares and the reliving of the traumatic experiences. Many are suffering from depression, withdrawal and have contemplated suicide.It was in the suburb of Sarajevo where I met these women from Srebrenica and the Drina Valley. There are 63 families; 221 women and children and only seven men. They live in a collective centre for refugees and are offered tenancy rights for five years. In May 2005, they were faced with the risk of being expelled with force; once more suffering the pain of humiliation.They spend their time having coffee and cigarettes. In silence, in their minds they return to this terrible month of July 1995. They are still alive, but never will they smile again.

isaBelle eshraghi

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Adela Mujić, 20 years

‘I remember everything, but please don’t ask,

I don’t like to talk about it. I’ve never cried'.

Missing persons

Mujić Adil 1938-1995 her father (identified)

Mujić Mujo 1948-1995 her uncle (identified)

Mujić Osman 1935-1995 her uncle (identified)

Mujić Nezir 1932-1995 her uncle (identified)

Mujić Edhen 1925-1995 her uncle (identified)

And her cousins

Sakib (identified), Fadil, Kiram, Hamdija.

© Isabelle Eshraghi / Agence VU / Bosnia

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Azemina Ademović, age 41

‘In my village there lived 57 men, only 7 survived.

Back in 1993 my husband was hurt by an

exploding shell. Being wounded saved his life,

otherwise… he would not have been among us now'.

Missing persons

Bekrić Meho 1978-1995 her brother

Bekrić Mustafa 1960-1998 her brother (killed by a

landmine)


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Kadira Mešanović, age 42

‘The worst moments, you can never wipe them from

your mind. It is always the same memories that

haunt you, always the same'.

Missing persons

Mešanović Avdija 1955-1995 her husband

Mešanović Mirza 1979-1995 her son

Handžić Nezir 1952-1995 her uncle

And her father-in-law, her brothers-in-law.


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Tima Hajdarivić, 43 years

‘I can’t get rid of those three months (of rape).

They took me everywhere they went, from the one

house to the other. I had to go to the Kochevo

hospital and had all my sexual organs removed.

My life as a woman is over'.

Missing persons

Hajdarivić Salko 1954-1992 her husband

Hajdarivić Habib 1923-1992 her father-in-law

Hajdarivić Nefa 1922-1992 her mother-in-law

Omerović Mehmed 1925-1992 her uncle

Omerović Meho 1942-1992 her uncle

(identified)

Audić Fadila 1958-1992 her uncle

Meho’s daughter


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Rajiba Beganović, age 44

‘When I entered the house. I recognised my mother

in law because of her dress, her head had been

separated from her body. I fainted'.

Missing persons

Beganović Mula 1925-1995 her mother-in-law

Beganović Meho 1949-1995 her brother-in-law

Beganović Mersed 1976-1995 her nephew

Jusić Husein 1978-1995 her nephew

Hasanović Hasan 1935-1995 her father

(identified)


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Rusmira Beganović, 49 years

‘I went to Tuzla. I recognised the brown shoes of my

husband, the ones you would get when you went to

war. They were nicknamed “the shoes of death”…

When I saw his shoes, I knew he would never come

back again'.

Missing persons

Beganović Munib 1956-1995 her husband

(identified)

Beganović Ekrem 1962-1995 her brother-in-law

Beganović Ramo 1952-1995 her brother-in-law

(identified)

Beganović Mujo 1954-1995 her brother-in-law

(identified)

Memišević Devla 1932-1992 her mother

Memiševič Mina 1958-1992 her sister


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Rejha Jusić, age 51

‘Two years ago my son was found in a mass

grave near Zvornik. Only I know how to bear this

burden'.

Missing persons

Jusić Nusret 1952-1995 her husband

Jusić Azmir 1974-1995 her son (identified)

Jusić Fadil 1955-1995 her brother-in-law

Brdarević Alija 1923-1995 her father

Brdarević Taib 1927-1995 her uncle

Brdarević Vahid 1970-1995 her nephew

Brdarević Said 1968-1995 her nephew


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Hamida Hukić, age 53

‘I’ve seen quite some bodies in front of a house,

they had cut-throat the people. They had cut the

head off with an axe. It was at dawn.

I can still see the axes'.

Missing persons

Hukić Tahir 1953-1995 her husband

Hukić Mujo 1977-1995 her son

Hukić Rašid 1958-1995 her brother-in-law

(identified)

Hukić Ibrahim 1956-1995 her brother-in-law

Hukić Idriz 1930-1995 her father-in-law

Beganović Sejad 1966-1995 her brother

(identified)

Beganović Nijažija 1954-1995 her brother

And her cousins

Saban, Reždo.


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Hajrija Beganović, age 53

‘I held my son close to me, they took him, they

pushed him. They only wanted to ask some

questions, they said. Ever since I am mad,

I cannot lose this image, I cannot forget it…

I do not dare to live one day without medication'.

Missing persons

Beganović Meho 1949-1995 her husband

Beganović Mersed 1976-1995 her son

Smadić Sulo 1935-1995 her father

Smadić Ferid 1956-1995 her brother

Smadić Rejid 1957-1995 her brother

Smadić Izo 1958-1995 her brother

And her nephews

Nessim, Mesud, Džedad, Vahid.


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Rujika Aljič, age 67

‘In front of the bus in Potocari, a Tchetnik pointed

a gun at my husband and arrested him. In a film

made by the Serbs, which was broadcast on TV,

I recognised him. I had to cry'.

Missing persons

Aljić Zilđžija 1936-1995 her husband

Aljić Mevlid 1957-1995 her son

Aljić Latif 1959-1995 her son


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Timka Karišik, age 83

‘They never found one single body.

Maybe they’ve been burnt'.

Missing persons

Omerović Mehmed 1926-1992 her brother

Omerović Meho 1945-1992 her brother

Avdič Fadila 1964-1992 her niece

Hajdarević Salko 1953-1992 her son-in-law


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Hadžira Orić, age 28

‘My husband is a survivor, a survivor of the

massacre. His life has lost all sense. My husband

drinks. I can’t stand it any longer'.

Missing persons

Bekrič Selman 1955-1995 her father

Orić Ćazim 1935-1995 her father-in-law

Orić Ćazim 1979-1995 her nephew


Documents

[ Isabelle Eshraghi ] - European External Action Service · Rejha Jusić, age 51 ‘Two years ago my son was found in a mass grave near Zvornik. Only I know how to bear this burden