You were late with the Day of Mourning in BiH, Nizama did not deserve to have her death gambled with

By Amra Vrabac

If the BiH Council of Ministers was not capable of declaring Saturday or Sunday or Monday, when the murdered Nizama Hećimović was also buried, as a Day of Mourning in BiH, then they should not declare it at all.

On Friday, three people were brutally murdered in Gradačac, and three more were wounded, and the killer committed suicide after being surrounded by police. The murder of 38-year-old Nizama was watched live by thousands of people because the killer broadcast everything on Instagram. Gradačac was plunged into darkness that day. The panic, fear, despair, and anger of the citizens of Gradačac, as well as all those who sincerely sympathize with this unprecedented tragedy, are completely justified.

However, that anger grows even greater with the haggling over declaring a Day of Mourning in BiH. On the same day that three people lost their lives, just a few hours later, the 29th Sarajevo Film Festival opened in Sarajevo without any changes to the scenario or program. They did not even give up the fireworks, although there was enough time to cancel that midnight ceremony.

Three days of mourning were declared in Gradačac, and today in the Tuzla Canton because of the funeral of the murdered Nizama. The family's wish is for politicians not to attend the funeral. And that is completely justified.

If the BiH Council of Ministers was not able to declare a Day of Mourning the day after the tragedy, then it should not do so on any other day.

If the BiH Council of Ministers was of the opinion that a Day of Mourning should not be declared in BiH due to this tragedy, then we will never declare it for anything again.

How is it possible that our tragedy is always gambled with, while someone else's is greater and more important to us, considering all the victims who lost their lives.

If Sarajevo and BiH ever needed to spend a day in silence, it was Saturday, or today, or never. It is too late today for walks, for political arguments about who should have done what and who had to do what. We all had to fall silent and mourn for at least a day after the tragedy. Because it was not only Nizama who was killed, but also a father and son whose wife and mother are fighting for their lives. Nizama's cousin was wounded while trying to save her from the killer. A police officer who was trying to do his job was wounded. All of us who see aggressors around us but do not react are wounded.

And as long as this is the case, Nizama will not be the last. For the past two or three days, social networks and media have been full of confessions from abused women or those who managed to escape in time. The media also reminded us of those who did not succeed and whose lives were taken by the aggressor. There are too many such stories and cases for us to solve them with one day of mourning, one protest walk, or a social media post.

As a woman, as a citizen, as someone who is afraid of what I see, I would prefer police agencies and prosecutor's offices to do their job better. To check every permit for carrying weapons, to search expensive cars and their owners, to confiscate illegal weapons from them and sanction them. So, if they need to control all of us, let them do it. But too many lives have been lost for us to continue living in fear and feeling helpless because there is no one to protect us.

Regardless of whether a Day of Mourning is declared or not, every day in this country is a day of mourning. At least that's how I feel...