I was proud to speak last week at the launch of’s theme to commemorate the 23rd anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide. The theme, “Acts of Courage” pays tribute to the ordinary Bosnians who took great risks to protect others during the conflict in the 1990s, as well as those who have the courage today to speak out about what happened. These acts of bravery, heroism and determination to resist hatred continue to provide inspiration today.
The Srebrenica genocide was the worst massacre to take place on European soil since World War Two. It provides us with a power reminder of the importance of commemoration not only to honour the dead and survivors of the genocide but also to harness the powerful lessons Srebrenica teaches us so we can create better, more cohesive communities here in the UK.
The lessons of Srebrenica remain with us today. The murders that occurred at Srebrenica and elsewhere in Bosnia were not committed by strangers. So often they were committed by neighbours. These were normal people who came to dehumanise those who they were told were “different”. They were told that their way of life was under threat. They internalised it. They believed it. And, down the line, they no longer needed persuading it was “them or us”.
That is why it is so important that we continue to we use the lessons of Srebrenica and ‘Acts of Courage’ to challenge mindsets and build partnerships across divides.
You can find out more about the launch of Remembering Srebrenica ‘Acts of Courage’ theme here -https://www.srebrenica.org.uk/news/remembering-srebrenica-launches-acts-of-courage-theme-for-2018/
