During an autumn visit to Srebrenica in 1993, a Canadian soldier took photos of the children who then lived in this small town in the east of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Thirty years later, he took the photos out of an album in the living room and wondered if they could perhaps bring some comfort to someone.
“Some of these young people may even be so young that no one has taken a picture of them before, or they had family photos that were destroyed in the war,” says Peter Danyluk, adding that he sent the photos in the hope that they will help someone remember a loved one or maybe identify someone who doesn’t have photos from that period.
He also sent some of the photographs taken in Srebrenica in the period from September to November 1993.
“I don’t remember exactly what has been happening in the last few weeks, maybe because literally three decades have passed, but I noticed in the international media that things are becoming dangerous again in the Balkans,” says Peter and explains that he tried to find the faces he remembers from 1993 in the “Srebrenica, untold stories” project, which contains photos of some of those killed in the genocide.
“When I saw this project, Nermin’s face immediately came before my eyes.”
“The children were always present”
He does not remember the names of the children he photographed during his short stay in Srebrenica. Except for Nermin.
“In one of the pictures with me, where there is a wire fence on the side of the building, Nermin is also there, he is the only boy whose name I remember because he talked to me whenever I was outside the wire in Srebrenica. I assumed he lived somewhere in the center,” says Peter about one of the photos he sent.
Nermin, he says, spoke English well. Given that his unit spoke French, Peter was among the few soldiers who also spoke English. That’s how he developed a relationship with Nermin.
Peter also says that during his entire stay in BiH, children were constantly present. He also explains that the photos were taken by other soldiers and that they would then make them together and share them. His photos ended up in the album in his living room.
He also adds that all those he met during those six months in BiH had impact on his life, Slobodna Evropa reports.
E.Dz.
