Thirty years after the genocide in Srebrenica, every survivor’s story remains an indelible proof of the truth. One of them is the story of Hasan Hasanović, a man who carried his wounded brother through the forest between Srebrenica and Nezuk. He died when they reached the free territory. In July 1995, Hasanović’s second brother was also killed on the death path. Hasan’s testimony is not only a personal tragedy, but also the voice of all those who were killed walking the death path on the way to the free territory.
The forest areas between Srebrenica and Nezuk are still breathing heavily today. Thirty years later, the country still remembers the traces of those who tried to reach freedom. Among them were the three Hasanović brothers from Srebrenica, of whom only one survived.
Hasan Hasanović was 21 years old at the time. He and his brothers tried to find salvation through the forest with 15,000 other people to reach the free territory. In one of the enemy ambushes, his brother Hajro, who was only 19 years old, was killed.
“I didn’t want to say anything to my brother Hasib. I found Hajra, who was hit by three bullets in the chest and stomach area. He was dead,” Hasan recalls.
In the meantime, Hasan’s brother Hasib is also lost in the column that was looking for salvation. He finds it again only the next day. They were exhausted, hungry, but together.
“I told my brother Hasib then, that if something happens to me from serious injuries, to leave me. And he told me the same thing. However, I promised my mother beforehand that at least two of the three of us would go to the free territory,” says Hasan.
Making their way through the path of death to the free territory, part of the people of Srebrenica come across a minefield. Hasan was seriously wounded. They said he wouldn’t live more than 10 minutes.
“After that he lived for nine and a half hours. He was an athlete and physically very strong. I carried him because of a promise to my mother and because he is my brother.”
Hasan carried his wounded brother for 20 kilometers. Near the free territory, Hasib utters the words that Hasan carries all his life. He said he was sorry he would not see Hasan’s son, who was 16 months old at the time.
“He took a deep breath through his teeth, a lot of air, and said: ‘Tell mom I was brave and didn’t suffer’ – he moved then. He let out his soul.”
Arriving in Nezuk, carrying his dead brother, Hasan realized that he too was wounded.
“Only then did I see that I was barefoot, that I had no shoes. They came and told me that I was wounded, that they were repairing my wound. I really did not feel the wound,” he recalls.
He found his mother, wife and son in Dubrava near Tuzla. Brother Hasib was first buried in Tuzla, and later he was transferred to the Potočari Memorial Center cemetery. The body of Hajra’s youngest brother was found in two mass graves. And he found eternal peace in Potočari.
Hasan has two children today. In spite of everything he went through, he instilled in them the values that he himself carried through the darkness of war.
“I taught them that they shouldn’t hate anyone and they really don’t. I taught them to respect and love other religions as well as their own, but I also taught them the truth – what happened in Srebrenica,” says Hasan.
Hasan Hasanović survived the genocide, but not its severity. His story is not only a testimony to what happened, but also a warning that the deepest wounds are those that are carried in silence. 30 years later, he is still walking the same path, turning it into a memory lane.
Because some stories are not finished as long as there are people to tell them.
