Brčko Resident in America Publishes Book on War Crimes

Kenan Trebinčević is a refugee from Brčko. The war took his family to the United States of America. Kenan recently published the book “Bosnian List: A Memoir of War, Exile, and Return” with co-author Susan Shapiro. It is based on events that occurred when Kenan was 12 years old, during the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s and everything that followed in those years.

By profession, Kenan is a physiotherapist and writer whose works have been published in The New York Times Magazine, International Herald Tribune, The Wall Street Journal, and the online magazine Salon. The book talks about the beginning of the war in Brčko, a previously peaceful city in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina. Trebinčević recalls those most difficult days of his life.

- I could never have imagined that our neighbors, Serbs and family friends, would point weapons at us and wish for our deaths - says Trebinčević.

The most traumatic event for Kenan was when his karate instructor appeared at their doorstep, holding an automatic rifle. He gave them one hour to leave their home or be killed.

- My father was too naive to believe that his fellow citizen and neighbor could take him to a camp - says Trebinčević.

This is not just a story about Kenan's experience with the most horrific war in Bosnia and Herzegovina's history, but also about surviving family members and the return to Brčko after years and years spent in the USA.

- It still seems unreal when I think about it, like a nightmare, and I expect to wake up - says Trebinčević.

Kenan and his brother Eldin fulfilled their father's wish and returned to Brčko, to family and friends. But Kenan had another reason for returning – revenge. He had the number of a woman named Petra. She lived next door and one day came to their house and took their belongings. Once she even told his mother, “you could give me that skirt too, you won't need it for much longer.”

- When I saw her again, I realized she had aged. She was about 65 years old, and I was much stronger than her - says Trebinčević.

When he looked into her eyes, he saw that she was afraid of him, and he simply told her, “no one has forgotten.”