Student Sumeja on the Crimes in Ahmići: A Letter to Little Sejo

(Patria) - With a commemorative and religious program and a commemoration, the 26th anniversary of the horrific crime committed by HVO units against Bosniaks in Ahmići will be marked today, when on April 16, 1993, 116 civilians were killed, including 33 women and children. 

Sumeja Ahmić, a student at the “Vitez” Elementary School, wrote a literary composition on this occasion, which we publish in full:

'APRIL 16, 1993' 

Allahu akbar - the voice of the imam stretches, calling to prayer, calling to salvation. But, instead of that melodious voice from the old mosque that the hajji gave as a charity, little Sejo is awakened by the sounds of grenades. 

Everyone became agitated, without thinking they flee as far as they can. And little Sejo lies in his cradle, all in tears and scared, not knowing that he will die today. 

His mother and he remain in the house. He was only a few hours old. He was just learning how to drink milk without choking. His mother only managed to change his diaper a few times, she didn't even have time to see him smile, but I am sure he will do that in the afterlife when they meet. 

He didn't even live to see his first teeth, nor does he know what it feels like to bite into an apple that a neighbor gave you, the apple so juicy and red. He didn't even learn to walk, nor did he have time to show his mom how he kicks a ball and that when he grows up he will become a footballer. He didn't have time for anything… 

A bottle of cold milk sits on the table, the mother tries to put Sejo to sleep, and Sejo cries incessantly. Suddenly, the mother falls to the ground, and Sejo falls silent. That was the sign that they had been killed, that they had been mercilessly shot multiple times. The mother lies on the floor in a pool of blood, and Sejo on her chest… 

They destroyed everything, houses, mosques, animals, everything that stood in their way. Regardless of whether it was old or young, sick or healthy, they killed them all. 

Sejo was the youngest victim, he was only three months old. 

As I sit in the house, which was rebuilt because they destroyed it too, I think about those immoral creatures who turned everything into the ashes of childhood, who turned spring into the coldest winter, who forced both the elderly and children to leave their hearths. 

And that is why I swear to myself and to little Sejo that I will never and must never forget April 16, 1993. 

Sumeja Ahmić 
“Vitez” Elementary School

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The Hague Tribunal sentenced seven former HVO members for the crime in Ahmići, while before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the same crime, Paško Ljubičić was sentenced to 10 years in prison. 

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia ruled that the murders in Ahmići were a crime against humanity, and one of the commanders of this operation, Dario Kordić, was sentenced to 25 years. He was released at the beginning of June 2014.

Zoran, Mirjan and Vlatko Kupreškić were sentenced to prison terms of 6 to 10 years for participation in the attack, but were acquitted by a final verdict in 2001. Drago Josipović received 12, and Vladimir Šantić 18 years in prison. Dragan Papić was acquitted.