Even the magnificent view of nature around us is ashamed of that. It is as if the mountains and rocks grieve for those massacred years ago. With silent steps, we entered. An official talked about the “black room” and directed us there. As we approached the room, some said, “Right here, this is where 8,000 people were massacred.” Eight thousand Bosnians in front of the world’s eyes. What is more is that it happened at the end of the 20th century, in the center of Europe. The number of people who lost their lives in the war is between 250,000 and 300,000. The Srebrenica massacre, however, has a very different place among all the killings.
We watched a short documentary inside the factory, which witnessed the most merciless stage of the Srebrenica massacre. From eyewitnesses, we listened to how Serb murderers planned the massacre and how some European military powers turned a blind eye to that horrifying plan. We were terrified to see a Serb leader say, “It is time to take revenge from the Turks,” while ordering the offensive. As we watched how people who were not prepared for a war and who did not even anticipate it run away from Serb gangs, we remembered how the Ottoman Empire’s justice and equity protected human rights and did not think about conducting genocide during its hundreds of years of hegemony over the region. Alas! This is what happens once power balances are distorted.
People sought refuge in troops supplied by the West and charged with maintaining peace there, who in turn handed them over to Serbs. After supposedly taking in the children and elderly from among them, they become intermediaries of Serb mercy, and that is it. Oh God, I never knew how difficult it would be to listen to the pain of sons who embraced their fathers for the last time or to hear the cries of mothers who for the last time looked at their sons and held their hands. Some among them are still looking for their sons, spouses, fathers… In this short film, we saw people who had DNA tests on their loved ones’ bones obtained with difficulty and who are now searching for a plot for their graves. We were very saddened to see worthy values such as multiculturalism, participation, sharing and pluralism be harmed mainly by Dutch military officials and how innocent people were handed over to Serb butchers.
By the time we left the factory, the commemoration ceremony was about to begin. People were flowing into Srebrenica in waves. A deep silence crossed over their faces. A silent outcry whistled in my ear. It is not possible to share this pain while watching a TV screen. It is necessary to see the sorrow, the patience and the submission to God in its place. In the end, Bosnians are nice people. From a distant spot I watched a family gathering, preparing to visit a grave. They embraced each other. I was deeply touched. Maybe she lived through the joy of a family reunion but also felt grief because of her massacred relatives. I watched that affliction as a helpless grandson of the Ottomans. I thought of how the space we left had witnessed an atrocity and how mercy was destroyed. Sentences starting with “if only” were stuck in my throat. If only…
Years ago I watched a documentary made out of Bernard-Henri Lévy’s book “Bosnia!” The director opened every scene with a dark screen, lightened up with a torch. We saw collapsed houses, destroyed lives, murdered women and burned libraries, in rapid succession. Lévy finishes every scene by saying “and the West died in Bosnia.” This is what we are bound to say, seeing what happened. But there is still a chance for the West and Western values to be acquitted of that. It depends on the sincere efforts it shows in compensating for the mistakes it made in Bosnia. This will require sustaining equity and justice. Otherwise, the label Lévy attached to them will remain there. The people’s pain is inviting the West to be human.
