At the site of the former “Kamenica” camp near Drvar, today the families of the victims and surviving inmates, together with representatives of the Association of Camp Survivors of Bosnia and Herzegovina, marked the 33rd anniversary of the closure of this infamous detention facility.
Although decades have passed since its closure, the painful memories are still fresh, and the survivors and their families still cherish the hope that a dignified monument will be erected at that site in memory of all those who went through the hell of “Kamenica”.
According to the Association of Camp Survivors of Bosnia and Herzegovina, more than two hundred civilians and soldiers passed through the “Kamenica” camp in 1992, who were exposed to brutal torture, humiliation and daily fear. Among them was Hilmo Kozlica, who spent three months in this camp, after previously being detained in “Prekaja” and “Kozila”.
“We slept like sardines, on the floor, with nothing under us or under our heads. People were taken out every day and every night, mistreated, beaten, and mutilated. Many never returned,” Kozlica recalls the difficult days spent in the camp.
Today, flowers were laid and the Fatiha was recited at the site of the former camp, in the presence of surviving camp inmates, families of those killed, representatives of state and cantonal associations of camp inmates, and delegations from several parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The participants in the commemoration said that remembering the victims and testifying to the truth is a moral obligation towards all those who suffered, but also a warning to future generations that such evil should never be repeated.
