Remembering Srebrenica

Article dated Monday Jul 10, 2023 at 09:11 AM

Events will be held in Bradford to Remember Srebrenica.

This year will mark the 28th anniversary of the Bosnia genocide in 1995, in remembrance of this atrocity Bradford Council has organised events to raise awareness of how hatred can lead to tragic loss of life in atrocities across the world.

The Srebrenica genocide was the single greatest atrocity to take place in Europe since the Second World War and saw the systematic massacre of more than 8,000 Bosnian men and young boys in less than one week at Srebrenica, a UN protected area and safe haven.

Bradford was the first city in the UK to lay a memorial stone to commemorate Srebrenica, which is in the Peace Garden behind City Hall.

The commemorations will start with the flag raising of the Remembering Srebrenica flag in City Park on Tuesday, 11 July on National Remembering Srebrenica Day as part of the Civic Event that Bradford Council will be holding this year. Cllr Sabiya Khan (Bradford Remembering Srebrenica Champion) will be joined by students from schools from across the Bradford district.

The Civic event will hear from survivors and children who have been affected directly by the genocide in Srebrenica as well as hearing from Bosnian representatives, faith leaders, secondary students from Belle Vue Girls Academy, Carlton Bolling College, Dixons McMillan Academy and Eden Boys Leadership Academy. The key note speaker at this event will be Smajo Beso, Chair of the North East Bosnian Community.

Communities from other victims of genocide will come together, in a collective act of remembrance to commemorate the victims of the genocide at Srebrenica and reaffirm their commitment to standing up to all forms of hatred, prejudice and discrimination. 

The second event takes place on Friday, 14 July at Kala Sangam, Ganges Hall. This is an educational play by The New Vic Theatre and is based on survivor testimonies from genocide and war crimes that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and will include traditional folk songs and poetry. The play is written and produced by Aida Haughton MBE and Sue Moffat.

The play is called ‘My Thousand Year Old Land’ reflects a story of the search for truth, justice and hope through three generations of women. An opportunity to speak to the actor's and producers through a Q&A session will be available to the audience after the performance.  Tickets are available via Eventbrite: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/remembering-srebrenica-my-thousand-year-old-land-play-tickets-640569058297

This year’s theme for the commemoration is Together We Are One. The theme will remind us of the importance of remaining vigilant against the forces of hatred that seek to "other" groups as being negatively different. The genocide at Srebrenica is an act that may seem far removed from our day to day experiences and be seen as irrelevant to our immediate lives in the UK. The aim of the theme for 2023 will be to highlight the fact that the conditions for genocide are built on a climate and culture which allows hatred and extremism to breed resulting in the dividing and fracturing of communities.

Cllr Sabiya Khan, Bradford Remembering Srebrenica Champion, said:  “It is very important that we take this learning and awareness of these tragic events to all the people across the district especially to schools so that future generations learn tolerance and reject hate. We are excited by the programmes we have put through this year and we are thrilled to be hosting New Vic Theatre.”

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