Girl from the Battery Factory: I'm still afraid of the criminal's hand that grabbed my brother by his thin shoulders!

(Patria) - A commemoration is being held at the Memorial Center in Potočari, followed by the funeral and burial of 30 victims of the Srebrenica genocide, the worst crime committed in Europe since World War II, in which the forces of the Army of Republika Srpska killed 8,372 Bosniak men and boys in a few days.

Almedina Dautbašić-Memišević is the youngest survivor of the Srebrenica genocide. She lost both her mother and father.
During her speech, she emphasized that 28 years have passed since the day she, as a 13-year-old girl, found herself in the compound of the battery factory.

"I was 13 years old, my sister 15, one brother 10, and the other 7. We had lost our mother earlier, and on that July 11th, my father set off through the woods, while we children, with my father's old, frail mother, arrived at the factory. Even now, when I look at this hall, the fear arises that the heavy hand of the criminal who, on July 12th, covered my brother's thin shoulders and said, 'You're staying,' might appear. I ran towards the criminal, and in a moment of his inattention, I pulled his hand, and so small, I hid in the bus. My father, unfortunately, did not survive. He was killed in Kamenica, and his remains were buried in 2009," said Almedina.

She emphasized that the children of the murdered Srebrenica civilians have grown into academic citizens of this country.

"We are strengthening the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Perhaps I should speak about the kindness of people who tried to ease the wound we carry, there are such people here among you today, who have come to pay respects at the sad field of tombstones in Potočari," she said, asking those present to pay special respects to the mothers.

Almedina spoke with great respect about the Mothers of Srebrenica.

"We tell you that we, the children of Srebrenica, and our newborns will not allow the victims of the genocide to be forgotten. I hope that those who, by denying the genocide and mass crimes, try to take away the right of these mothers to have once had sons, husbands, brothers, and us our fathers, are hearing this. The sooner they realize that Srebrenica is recorded under the heading of genocide, the easier it will be for their children to shed the stigma of crime," said Almedina.