On the 27th anniversary of the crimes against Tuzla's youth, the Srebrenica Memorial Center premiered the film „Kapija '95“, produced by the Post-Conflict Research Center, the Srebrenica Memorial Center, and the British production company Pinch Media.
I had heard his story before. In fact, I had read and re-read it dozens of times already. But, as I listened to Ahmed Ustić’s Death March story, there was no way of quelling the strange paralysis that I had felt when I first read the account of this young man’s horrifying six-day journey for survival.
One would think that art and post-war wounds were not so connected. Aida Šehović, a Bosnian-born artist based in New York, disagreed and, for the past 15 years, has proven that art can help in post-conflict recovery.
In 2020, the Post-Conflict Research Center (PCRC) and the Srebrenica Memorial Center began organizing a summer school for young people in Srebrenica. The first one, entitled ‘Dealing with the past to rethink the future’, was held in the period from July 8 to 13, 2020, while the second, called ‘Truth. Justice. Prevention.’, lasted from July 6 to 13, 2021.
This July, as part of the program marking the 27th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, in cooperation with the Srebrenica Memorial Center, the Post-Conflict Research Center (PCRC) is organizing the third edition of the Srebrenica Youth School in Srebrenica (Bosnia and Herzegovina).
The story could have started like this: I have one child, a son, the apple of my eye, my pride and joy. The story could also have started like this: we live our “happily ever after,” and our two kids are chasing their dreams. Life is nice, comfortable. He has a job and I take care of the kids and the house. We are happy. It even could have started like this: I have a mother and a sister. We are inseparable. We could chat over a cup of coffee for hours.