Srebrenica Memorial Center: 100 testimonies of genocide survivors recorded in 2021

(Patria) - The Srebrenica Memorial Center has been extensively working on recording video testimonies of genocide survivors in Srebrenica over the past two years. Cooperation in this field was initially established with the War Childhood Museum from Sarajevo, with whom 100 video testimonies of individuals who were children and teenagers during the war were documented, and with BIRN (Balkan Investigative Reporting Network) with whom 100 video testimonies were recorded for the project 'Lives Behind the Fields of Death'.

Thanks to new equipment and the Memorial Center's team, which developed a special methodology for documenting oral history, 100 more video testimonies of genocide survivors were recorded independently this year, produced by the Memorial Center. This is only the first phase of the oral history project, supported by the Government of the United Kingdom through the 'Truth, Dialogue, Future' project. Hasan Hasanović, curator at the Memorial Center and coordinator of the oral history project, emphasizes the importance of testimonies from those who survived the siege and genocide.

'The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has judicially established the facts about the genocide in Srebrenica; that is a huge amount of evidence. However, since every museum strives to foster empathy in visitors, the personal accounts of survivors are the strongest weapon in achieving that goal. On the other hand, by recording oral history, we permanently store our memories of the tragic past, thereby ensuring that this narrative will be passed on to future generations. Finally, oral history is the most powerful tool in the fight against denial, minimization, approval, or justification of genocide.'

The recorded testimonies were also used for the video exhibition, which, through the testimonies of survivors, covers twenty thematic units that speak not only about the war but also about the community that once existed, which had traditions, a society, and a normal course of life before the war events. The video exhibition 'Srebrenica: Our Story' was opened thanks to previously recorded testimonies and is a permanent exhibition at the Memorial Center in Potočari.

'By completing the first phase of this project, the Srebrenica Memorial Center has shown that it has developed the capacity for independent work; thus, the complete production, interviewers, and technical team are resources and staff of the Srebrenica Memorial Center. To the approximately 200 personal stories that MCS has recorded so far in cooperation with WCM and BIRN BiH, we have added 100 new personal stories that are permanently stored in the MCS archive and will be available to researchers from all over the world. I take this opportunity to thank the survivors once again for their willingness to share their experiences with us and thus contribute to the culture of remembrance of the genocide and the development of the Srebrenica Memorial Center,' stated Mahir Omerović, who, along with Hasan Hasanović and cameramen Redžep Ustić and Ahmedin Đozić, worked together on this project.

Over 150 hours of video material were recorded during this year, and filming took place in Tuzla, Sarajevo, and Srebrenica. Of the 100 genocide survivors, 56 men and 44 women participated. Thanks to the support of the Government of the United Kingdom, the continuation of the oral history project is planned for next year as one of the Memorial Center's priority projects, primarily due to the fact that many surviving witnesses are dying without their testimonies being stored in the only institution in our country that deals with preserving the memory of the victims and the genocide in Srebrenica.