Laying flowers and wreaths today marked the anniversary of the deaths of babies in the “Dr. Zehra Muidović” maternity hospital during the siege of Sarajevo. The laying of flowers was attended by representatives of the Association of Parents of Murdered Children of the Siege of Sarajevo in 1992-1995. and the medical staff of the “Dr. Zehra Muidović” maternity hospital.
Alija Hodžić, vice president of the Association of Parents of Murdered Children of Besieged Sarajevo, said that he feels deep sadness and pain every time he visits this and similar places of suffering.
“Why? Because they were innocent little beings, newly born who know nothing about war or anything. However, the aggressor wanted to kill the soul, the will and what the defenders and citizens of Sarajevo wanted in this way and the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina – freedom, equality, justice, to live in peace, harmony and togetherness. The aggressor wanted to destroy the will of the people who defended this country and this city, he wanted to destroy us psychologically by killing children,” Hodžić said.
He emphasized that it is therefore very important to nurture the culture of memory so that history does not repeat itself.
“I am also one of those who no longer have children. They killed only one thing for me and I can understand all those who think like me, and that is that I am not malicious, that I do not wish harm on anyone and that I will always like other parents of murdered children to come to this and other places where our youngest, our fellow citizens of all ages have died. We will come to places like this as long as we live,” Hodžić said, noting that politicians should also come to places like this much more and nurture the culture of remembrance.
On this day, May 26, 1992, a great battle was fought for the defense of the maternity hospital “Dr. Zehra Muidović” in Sarajevo’s Jezero neighborhood, which was located on the front line and was indiscriminately targeted. Newly born Sarajevans became the most terrible victims of the aggressors.
It started with an infantry attack that lasted all day. When the aggressor units realized that they would not be able to occupy the building, a terrible shelling followed from tanks in Poljine and cannons located above Nahorevo from the direction of Pionirska dolina.
On that fateful day, five children were killed, and the day after, the children and their mothers were evacuated. Members of the Koševsko brdo Detachment managed to repulse the aggressor’s attack.
Most of the equipment that the maternity hospital had was destroyed. The maternity hospital is located in the Clinical Center in Koševo.
At the time of the attack, there were 130 women and 70 newborns in the maternity hospital. The maternity hospital was renovated in November 2010.
