Film 'Bedem' about the Siege of Old Vitez and book 'Memoirs Behind the Rampart' by Nedžad Abdić presented

(Patria) - Nedžad Abdić, a journalist for the Media Center of the Islamic Community and BIR Radio, is the author of the documentary film 'Bedem' and the book 'Memoari iza bedema' which were presented today in Vitez.

The publisher of this book is the Media Center of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the promotion was held as part of the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the HVO crimes against Bosniaks in Ahmići, Donja Večeriska, and other places in the municipality of Vitez, organized by the Bosniak Cultural Community (BZK) 'Preporod' - Municipal Society Vitez.

The book was discussed by Dr. Amir Kliko, research associate at the Institute for Research of Crimes Against Humanity and International Law of the University of Sarajevo, and M.Sc. Hasan Hasić, journalist for IIN Preporod, and after the promotion and film screening, a joint iftar was held.

The book 'Memoari iza bedema' is a collection of Nedžad Abdić's memories, which he, as he says, spontaneously gathered into this form.

"I didn't plan to write a book. It all started spontaneously when I wrote the first story about an event in which I described the death of my cousin Faruk. After the first positive reactions and comments, I started thinking more about the events from the period of the siege of Old Vitez, where I spent 316 days as a twelve-year-old," says Abdić.

Since 2018, he has been writing about the people from his neighborhood based on his memories.

"I described events related to those people that are deeply etched in my memory. I cried over every story I wrote, and it wasn't easy to recall those difficult moments spent 316 days in Old Vitez under siege by the HVO," says Abdić.

The book consists of a total of 32 stories that vividly describe the time of the siege, the deaths of loved ones, shelling and sniping, days without water, electricity, food, with constant fear for his own life and the lives of his loved ones.

"At the urging of friends and people who survived the siege of Old Vitez, I decided to publish the texts and preserve them from oblivion in a book titled 'Memoari iza bedema'. Also, at the time when I was writing the stories and publishing them on social networks, many people approached me with the idea of making a documentary film, and since I am a journalist, that idea seemed logical to me, to record the period from 1992 to 1994 in Vitez through a multimedia document," explains Abdić.

He named the film 'Bedem' because, despite the fierce attacks by the HVO and HV on Old Vitez, these three neighborhoods in the heart of Vitez remained an unconquered fortress for 316 days, from April 16, 1993, to February 25, 1994, when the Washington Agreement was concluded.

The film uses numerous, previously unpublished, authentic archival footage and wiretapped conversations. The cinematographer was Adis Patković, and the music and arrangement were done by Arel Češljar and Meho Radović. After this event in Vitez, promotions are planned in other Bosnian-Herzegovinian cities.

Viewers will be able to watch the film on Sunday, April 16, 2023, on BIR TV from 10:00 PM, and on Hayat TV from 11:00 PM. (hours)