In Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), the search is still on for the remains of more than 7,000 victims of the war. Some families’ determination to find them is passed on to the next generation, along with a sense of injustice and helplessness.
Aida’s journey into the past began about a year and a half ago when she headed for the BiH town of Kalinovik, where her uncle was arrested in July 1992, imprisoned for a few days in a gunpowder facility, and then killed in a barn together with 23 other men.
Her uncle, Abdurahman Filipovic, or Braco as his family called him, has always been present in Aida’s life, although she does not remember him because she was only three years old when he was killed.
From childhood, she carries memories of numerous emotions – from hope to horror to pain, which her mother experienced when she learned that her brother’s remains were found, only to find out later that they were not actually his. Braco is one of about 7,600 people who are still registered as missing in the war in BiH (1992-1995).
Aida had always been aware of his existence, but Braco – a phantom figure from stories told at the family table and from black and white photographs – became a real person for her when she was about to reach the age he was when he was killed.
According to data from the Institute for Missing Persons of BiH(INO BiH), more than 32,000 persons have disappeared in this country as a result of the war. To date, the remains of around 24,000 people have been found.
Apart from the life difficulties they face in BiH, there is another reason for the reluctance of young people, which is that some parents simply try to protect them from facing this issue.
The agony of waiting combined with a strong sense of injustice and helplessness – many perpetrators have not been tried or convicted, and a conspiracy of silence on war-related topics is still widespread in many communities – is something that many have inherited from their parents. Although in many families in BiH the war is still a taboo subject due to the painful memories of the older generations or because of their desire to spare their children pain, young people instinctively feel psychological discomfort, says Alma Bravo-Mehmedbasic, a psychiatrist with over three decades of experience working in the field of post-war trauma, adding that it can have a huge impact on their well-being.
This is a psychological phenomenon called “transgenerational trauma” and refers to the transmission of traumatic experiences to the next generation. If not treated properly, it can, in the worst case, lead to a lack of self-esteem, anxiety and depression, stress disorders, violence, drug abuse or serious physical ailments. But it can turn into activism and even a desire for revenge.
“It’s hard to say when this trauma might go away. A lot depends on how the younger generations handle it. There is no difference in how people from different communities deal with this trauma, regardless of whether someone is a Bosniak, a Serb or a Croat,” adds Bravo-Mehmedbasic, Detektor reports.
E.Dz.
