'Minor on the Path of Death': How Hasib, as a 14-Year-Old, Covered the 100-Kilometer Route to Tuzla and Survived the Genocide

(Patria) - The organizers of the "Mostar Summer" event each year in July strive to arrange appropriate content to, in some way, mark the anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide.

In this regard, last night at the Mostar Culture Center, a promotion of the book "Minor on the Path of Death" by author Hasib Suljić was held.

- The book is written from the perspective of a boy, what I saw, how I as a boy experienced certain events, certain situations.

It describes a short part of my pre-war life, then the time spent during the aggression in my hometown, and I placed a bit more emphasis on the journey from Srebrenica to Tuzla, which in my case lasted almost three weeks, more precisely on the 19th day I reached free territory.

Unfortunately, there is a lot of material there, which is why I devoted a bit more attention to that period - emphasized the book's author, Hasib Suljić.

He stresses that the writing process was long and difficult, but that he had no reason not to write.

- The book is written primarily for the generations to come. It serves as a warning so that younger generations know what they might encounter in the future.

I certainly do not wish for anyone to experience such an ordeal, but the goal of the book is to leave a written record. Simply put, so that what I and other survivors went through is not forgotten, and it is also written for those who did not manage to survive.

I always put first the persistent denial of everything we went through. Then, over time, I felt a desire to meet some people who helped me a lot to stay alive, and this was the only proper way to thank those people.

Of course, there are countless other reasons. Essentially, I had no reason not to write, no matter how difficult it was - said Suljić.

The book was published a little over a year ago, and this is its first promotion in Mostar and Herzegovina.

- I am glad that the organizers of 'Mostar Summer' recognized this story and included it in the event's program - concluded Suljić.

His friend Nermin Mujkanović, who also survived the genocide as a child, spoke about the book.

- This book is special because it is written, let's say, in the language of a child. The author, literally as a child, survived all those ordeals, horrors, and as a child, along with a large number of people from Srebrenica at that time, set off towards Tuzla, breaking through more than 100 kilometers to free territories through all those ambushes.

I don't know if we can even imagine a situation where a 14-year-old child goes on such a path. The book is small in volume, but very heavy with information.

I think books like this have special significance, because it is a living experience that should be read, thought about, and we should learn so that it does not happen again and work on these things so that as many people as possible learn and take a lesson - emphasized Mujkanović.