How camp prisoners from Bosnia and Herzegovina left messages for future generations on pieces of clothing

During the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina, around 200,000 military and civilian prisoners passed through camps. Nearly 30,000 camp prisoners were killed, while others were released after being tortured, Patria writes.

During their time in camps, prisoners sought ways to leave messages about when they were brought to the camp, how long they spent in captivity...

In the Museum of Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide on Ferhadija Street in Sarajevo, a shirt from a former prisoner of HVO camps in Herzegovina is displayed, on which he wrote all the names of the prisoners who were imprisoned with him at that time.

This prisoner went through the Gabela, Silos, and Ljubuški camps. He managed to survive.

- People wanted to leave evidence of the torture they endured during captivity in various ways. Some of them did not believe they would survive – museum curator Nermina Ljutić told the Patria news agency.

- Sometimes they left messages on a piece of paper, sometimes on the camp wall, and sometimes on a piece of clothing, like this shirt – she adds.

The records that prisoners made during captivity were often used as evidence by the prosecution before the International Tribunal for various crimes in The Hague.

During the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina, more than 650 camps were opened. The largest number of camps were located on the territory controlled by the army of the then still unconstitutional Republika Srpska, Patria writes.