In the settlement of Ahmići, near Vitez, where members of the Croatian Defense Council killed 116 Bosniak civilians 33 years ago, and burned property and religious buildings, the majority of the exiled population has returned. Most of the destroyed houses were rebuilt, and with them life. Locals say that there is also coexistence – with those who are ready for communion.
Mehrudin Bilić, who was 23 years old in April 1993, is today the father of three children and leads an active life. With his pension, he is engaged in agriculture because, he says, working on the land, while supplementing the household budget, is medicine.
“I deal with this more so that I don’t think about what happened, nor about current politics. It’s a way to kind of push all that away from me,” says Bilić.
In more than three decades, the residents of Ahmić have learned that they must fight for their lives between the anniversaries of crimes. After the reconstruction of the houses, the most important thing was to secure a job important not only for existence but also for diverting thoughts from the traumas experienced.
Significant support in recent years has been provided by the Federal Ministry of Displaced Persons and Refugees.
“I got a motor cultivator with 30 percent of my own participation, and I’m grateful for that. I also applied for a greenhouse, maybe I won’t get it because I’m lower on the list, but it doesn’t matter – someone else will get it,” says Bilić.
The Deputy President of the Ahmići Local Community, Semin Hrustanović, pointed out that part of the population managed to get a job, while the rest are engaged in agriculture and crafts.
“Part of the population works in companies, while the rest is engaged in agriculture. We have a lot of pensioners, but also people who are engaged in various trades – from ceramicists and electricians to plumbers, as well as the production and processing of herbs,” says Hrustanović.
They nurture the culture of memory through two associations, and in their free time they are active in sports and hunting societies. The fact that there are more and more students in the local elementary school, as well as young people who plan to stay here, is pleasing. Because there is life, and coexistence, they say, with neighbors who are ready for fellowship.
“A lot of people live at a distance. That coexistence at a distance is understandable, considering everything that happened, but we live – we have to live,” Bilić said.
Ismail Ahmić, a student at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, points out that he sees his future in this place.
“I don’t plan to leave here. It’s nice here, this is my country and, whatever happens, I’m staying here,” said Ahmić.
While waiting for April 16, whose wounds are still trying to heal, Semin, who was less than two years old that day, lives in Ahmići today. Says:
“We need to nurture a culture of memory so that this never happens again to anyone, but we must continue to live and cooperate together in these areas.”, Federalna writes.
