Fatima Husejnović from Srebrenica died today in Sarajevo at the age of 78.
Woman-hero, are the words that can best describe Fatima Husejnović, a person who dedicated her whole life to the fight of Srebrenica mothers for justice, but who also participated in the founding of the Srebrenica Memorial Center.
As a member of SABNOR, Fatima fought for people’s rights all her life, and she showed her courage in 1993 when, together with other women and children in Srebrenica, she captured UNPROFOR General Philippe Morillon in the post office building.
With this action, Husejnović asked Morillon to declare Srebrenica a free zone, which would enable the delivery of medicine and food to the city.
“At the meeting, I presented the conditions to him. I asked for an air corridor to be opened in order to evacuate the sick and wounded, I asked for convoys with food and medicine to start arriving in Srebrenica and to protect Srebrenica. Then he wanted to go to Sarajevo, but I told him said that he could not and that, if he needed to contact the authorities in Sarajevo, he could do so through the radio station,” Husejnović told Klix.ba in 2013.
Then she said that the women were on duty in shifts so that the general would not escape.
“During the first days of his stay, the women were on duty in shifts and made sure he didn’t run away.
When we were sure that he would really stay and try to help, we let him go to the field. During those two weeks, he left and came back. Meanwhile, Srebrenica declared it a protected zone,” Husejnović told Klix.ba.
Husejnović continued her fight for Srebrenica during the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina even after the war and was among the first to demand the initiation of the process of searching for the missing in Srebrenica, and until the end of her life she remained dedicated to those values that adorned her decades ago – the fight for justice, the fight against fascism and for the dignity of all those who lost their loved ones in the genocide in Srebrenica, Klix.ba reports.
