Munira Subasic, president of the Association of Mothers of the Srebrenica and Žepa Enclaves, in an emotional speech at the commemoration of the victims of the Srebrenica genocide, said that the world and Europe have learned nothing from the greatest crime in Europe since World War II and that, as she stands on stage, mothers in Ukraine and Palestine are experiencing what the mothers of Srebrenica experienced in 1995.
“I am Munira Subasic, I survived genocide. 22 members of my immediate family were killed in the genocide. Among them are my husband and my youngest son, whom I loved the most in the world. Today I am addressing you on my behalf, on behalf of thousands of mothers whose children were killed in the Srebrenica safe zone, in the genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina. From this place, I would like to thank all the countries and ambassadors who voted for the resolution. Those who did not, may they live in the dark, we mothers will never forgive them, but we will never forget either,” said Subasic, AA writes.
She recalled that 30 years have passed since they carried pain in their hearts, but, she emphasized, they listen to lies, see hatred and glorification of war crimes.
Subasic said that the Srebrenica children were killed only because they had a different name and surname and because they were Muslims.
“And the world and Europe helped, applauded, worked, helped. Many came to help so that there were as few of us in this region as possible. We mothers, when we survived the genocide, had our own goals. What were we going to do, how were we going to do it? To tell the world and Europe that our innocent children were killed. To shame them… After the genocide, five and a half thousand children remained. Orphans who were left without a father or mother. They watched their fathers being killed, they watched their mothers being raped. They saw blood, killing, expulsion, looting. Some children were born after their fathers died. Many of them don’t even have a photograph to know what their fathers looked like. Well, our mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers ask us: Do I look like my father, do I have his eyes, his hair,” said Subasic.
She pointed out that the enemies didn’t just kill children, but also memories. She said that mothers knew this well, and that the world and Europe just watched silently.
“Mothers in Ukraine and Palestine are experiencing what we experienced in 1995”
“They killed our children under the protection, under the flag of the United Nations. In front of the eyes of the whole world and the whole world should be ashamed. But we mothers managed to raise our children without hatred, without revenge. To educate them, to have doctors, engineers, professors,” said Subašić and continued:
“And my Nerko, if he were alive, would be successful. He would be a good father, a good son, a good husband. He would also have a family.”
Subasic asked those present at the Memorial Center in Potočari to help in the fight against hatred, injustice, killing, rape and expulsion.
“No one has the right to kill anyone’s child. No one has the right to rape anyone’s daughter. No one has the right to kill anyone’s mother. As I stand here, many mothers in Ukraine and Palestine are experiencing what we experienced in 1995. The world and Europe have not learned anything. They are telling us stories. If you love us, if you have repented, that you have done nothing, why don’t you accept us in Europe, why not accept us in NATO. We belong there, we do not belong to the darkness, we belong to the future”, said Subasic.
She emphasized that no one can bring back dead children, but that they can punish criminals.
“If my son as a victim has a name and surname, the criminal must also have his name and surname, it must be known who killed him. There are verdicts, there is evidence. The verdicts could not have been made just like that. They were made because of the evidence, because of the facts, because of the testimony of us mothers. Let’s protect the verdicts, let’s protect humanity. Differences are good, divisions are not. Let’s not divide ourselves into these and those, let’s divide ourselves into good and bad. Let those who are good be even better, and those who are bad be good. Let’s make an effort, let’s not think, let’s not talk, we have to do something. Europe, wake up, it’s the 21st century and instead of justice, fascism has begun to awaken. I don’t know how far we will get,” said Subasic.
