”What do the residents of Srebrenica think about the announcements that there will be riots in Potocari for Easter and that they will be caused by Bosniaks? Do they feel like collateral damage of inciting rhetoric in the country, what do they say to those who easily say the words conflict and war,” Marinko Sekulic and Muhamed Avdic from Srebrenica explained.
At the beginning of the interview, Marinko Sekulic said that the people in Srebrenica are actually collateral damage of the current politicians.
“We are all collateral damage here, regardless of nationality. I mean all the complete events. Everyone remembers the authorities of Srebrenica when they need to ask for something from the international community. Everyone comes here to take a picture and say they were there. There is a large entourage, they stay for a short time and just leave. The people who live here mind their own business and talk about their misery and are looking at how they will survive,” he said.
Muhamed Avdic said that people live under pressure and are worried about their families.
“It’s certainly not easy to live under pressure. If we consider that even 29 years after the war, we have not recovered from the last war. We did not bury all the victims of the genocide in Srebrenica, and the people in power continue to threaten war. I think in general people are scared. Certain families moved out, some moved their movable property to safety. I hope the reason prevails. There must be a clear distinction. When an ordinary person threatens and when a person holding a high office threatens it is not the same. This affects security. Those are two different terms and difficulties,” he pointed out.
16 years ago, Muhamed decided to return to Srebrenica and start his family.
“I returned to Srebrenica 16 years ago. I was a young man then, not married. 16 years ago, the situation was much better, we hoped for better. And so I got married and had three sons. The situation is worse today than 16 years ago. Ominous winds are blowing today. Imagine when a seven-year-old child asks you if there is going to be a war and where we should run. This is sabre-rattling and they want to destroy what little life we have managed to restore. Those who declare war are not worthy of where they are. Let them fight within their own four walls, not among citizens,” said Muhamed.
At the end of the conversation, Sekulic concluded: “People vote without thinking about what will happen to them in the next four years. The war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is over in the sense that there is no more shooting. The war was continued by politicians. War is waged by verbal politics. Only people don’t go to the lines and don’t carry a rifle. I don’t know how it will affect the elections. I hope people will vote to make something good. The resolution will not change anything except human relations and disrupt things in BiH. It will bring more discord to the people, and nothing good.“, N1 writes.
