Ramiz Nukic from the village of Kamenica near Bratunac, has spent a decade and a half in searching for the remains of residents of Srebrenica who were killed in the forests around his hometown, thus trying to help the families of the victims to find and bury their loved ones.
“Every victim deserves to be at least buried with dignity. Every victim. I am searching for bones, and it is not written on them either Bosniak, or Serb or Croat. The pain of every mother is the same,” said Nukic, adding that his example should be followed in order for all the victims to be buried as soon as possible.
He started searching for the remains back in 2002 when he returned from Tuzla to his village. His wish is that all victims are found while he is still alive.
“When it comes to the verdict that will be pronounced to Ratko Mladic in The Hague, I hope that the wishes of the victims will be fulfilled, although it does not mean that much to victims because we do not have our loved ones anymore and we cannot return them but it will be a bit easier for us after that,” said Nukic.
He is searching the terrain where the residents of Srebrenica passed on their way to Tuzla during the “march of death.” Nukic’s search has him passing 30 kilometers per day.
“I am mostly walking alone, I do not want to risk anyone’s life because the worst can always happen in the forest. When I do not have anything to do at home, I take a stick in my hand and search. I know where I could find the bones because I am familiar with the locations where the ambushes took place,” stated Nukic.
Representatives of the Missing Persons Institute came four times this year for the bones that Nukic found, but he said that it is harder to find them now.
The 57-year-old Nukic is searching for the remains free of charge. Although no one has offered any kind of funds, he noted that money should not be a motive. He has invited anyone who knows where the remains of victims could be to engage in the process of revealing the truth.
(Source: klix.ba, photo Partia)
