Tag: Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Missing Children of War Database by BIRN BiH aims to draw public and institutional attention to this particularly vulnerable group and their fate, as well as to assist in the search for nearly 400 minors still sought by their families. According to the Missing Persons Institute, 1,297 minors went missing from the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina during the war.

BIRN BiH Director Denis Dzidic said the project was the essence and heart of what this organisation is doing – telling the stories of people who are often not very visible in society.

“In Bosnia and Herzegovina, there is not enough discussion about trauma, the search for the missing, and those who have the most horrible stories to share, namely parents whose children went missing,” Dzidic said, adding that he hopes the project will awaken the consciences of those who possess any information about these graves.

For the needs of the database, 35 profiles of missing children were recorded, including testimonies of their family members about them and their wishes, which they have never fulfilled, unfortunately.

Aida Lakovic Hoso, Good Governance Sector Leader at the UN Development Programme, UNDP, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, called the Database of the Missing Children a shining example of how investigative journalism, empathy, and technology can jointly contribute to justice, remembrance, and reconciliation.

The documentary, The Unlived Lives, which was screened in Sarajevo, tells the story of three parents from different parts of Bosnia who share the same fate – their newborn babies went missing without a trace, and their continuing desire to find them, even now, more than 30 years after the war began.

The film author, journalist Jasmin Begic, said that this was a never-ending story for the parents. He thanked the parents and family members who had agreed to share their stories.

“Youth was interrupted, as was the future for the children and the opportunity for their parents to enjoy watching their children grow. I hope this film will influence someone and that they will speak up to help move this story forward,” Begic said.

Besides Begic, the film crew includes film editor Elvedin Zorlak, cameramen Mirza Mrso and Anes Asotic, editors Dzana Brkanic and Semir Mujkic, producer Denis Dzidic, and project manager Katarina Zrinjski. Music for the film was made by Dino Sukalo and Dado Musanovic, and the song Why Aren’t You Here was performed by Elma Selimovic Tais.

A panel discussion on missing people after the screening included Fikret Bacic, one of the family members still searching for his two children, Adrijana Hanusic Becirovic, an expert in transitional justice who prepared a case study for the database, Emza Fazlic, spokeswoman of the Missing Persons Institute of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Boris Grubesic, spokesman of the Prosecution of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The project was implemented thanks to EU Support to the Confidence Building in the Western Balkans – which is funded by the European Union and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP in BiH.

The Network for Building Peace has presented the “Goran Bubalo” award for contribution to peace, equality, and justice to Denis Dzidic, director of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network of Bosnia and Herzegovina, BIRN BiH.

The committee for the award, which is named after the prominent peace activist who died in 2020, stated that it was giving the award to Dzidic for his long-standing work in investigative journalism and contribution to media freedom.

“As personal as this award is, my work would not be possible without the people I work with,” Dzidic said during the award ceremony held in Mostar on the occasion of the International Day of Peace.

“It means an incredibly lot to me that the nomination was made by people with whom I work every day,” Dzidic said, also thanking the Network for Building Peace as the award organiser.

When selecting the winners of this peace award, the nominees’ achievements in the year prior to receiving the award are taken into account, along with their ongoing contribution to improving human rights, preserving and building peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Radenko Udovcic, project manager of the Network for Building Peace, said that this recognition was given to people who had made an important contribution in Bosnia through their work.

“They reconciled, connected, offered solutions, and even did something in terms of cultural and political creative activity, like making some theatre plays that filled auditoriums and positively influenced public opinion,” he explained.

Udovcic says that every individual in Bosnia has the opportunity to get this award regardless of which part of the country they come from or their political affiliation, as long as they have done something to connect people.

The award was established in 2013, and was named after Goran Bubalo in 2020, in memory of the late founder and president of the Network for Building Peace.

During the ceremony in Mostar, Dzidic stated that he met Bubalo as a young journalist, when he had just started working on reconciliation and transitional justice topics.

“A few years later, when I was invited to a working group on the media and transitional justice on a project together with him, I talked to him for a long time about what I thought about the challenges of reporting on war crimes. He said: ‘Friend…’ and went on to build my idea. He made it infinitely better. But this was the first time I felt heard while dealing with the topic of my interest,” Dzidic said.

On Saturday, the Network also gave an award for continuous humanitarian work in Bosnia and Herzegovina to Pomozi.ba Association, which was accepted by project manager Midhad Brkan.

“We at Pomozi.ba believe that humanity has no borders, that empathy knows no differences, that small actions can initiate great changes. This award motivates us further to persist in this mission,” Brkan said.

International Peace Days were held in Mostar this year again. During events that lasted three days, round tables, debates, poetry evenings, and performances were organised, all containing peace as a common theme.

The film None Will Speak the Truth, authored by Detektor journalist Azra Husaric Omerovic, will be screened as part of the “BH Film” Programme on August 18.

In July 1992, Esef Dzenanovic was separated from his family and forcibly taken to one of the detention camps in Prijedor. He survived torture in three detention camps.

But before being exchanged and saved from certain death, he learned that his mother, sister, wife and two underage sons were no longer waiting for him at home.

Husaric Omerovic explains that the film was made following the marking of White Armband Day in Prijedor in 2022, when she first met Esef together with her colleague, Enes Hodzic.

“Holding three white roses, Esef stood outside the large groups of people, families, friends standing in a line for roses and ribbons with names of killed children. When we approached him, accompanied by a friend of his, hoping we would talk to him, he only briefly said that they had killed his mother, sister, wife, and two little sons,” Husaric Omerovic recalls.

She added that, every year, he brings three roses for his killed underage sons Alen and Ajdin, as well as his sister, Majda.

On that day, Esef had no strength to talk. Husaric Omerovic says that, by researching his family, she learned that he lost his entire family on July 23, 1992, when he and his father were imprisoned in detention camps. To this day, he has not found the remains of his family.

More than 30 years after the war, Esef is still searching for any information about his family, hoping that they will be buried with dignity and that their souls will rest in peace. He finds the will to live and relief from nightmares by the water; he goes fishing every day.

The film is directed by Azra Husaric Omerovic, edited by Elvedin Zorlak, and the screenplay and editing are by Semir Mujkic and Dzana Brkanic. The executive producer is BIRN BiH director Denis Dzidic. The director of photography is Alen Alilovic, while Emir Dzanan is the cameraman. The sound was recorded by Samir Hrkovic, and the music was composed by Damir Imamovic. The sound processing is credited to Nedim Imamovic.

Detektor has worked on this film for over two years. The scenes and dialogues were filmed in Esef’s family house yard in Prijedor, his current home in Switzerland, and on Swiss and Bosnian lakes, where he seeks to find peace.

“The sadness with which Esef lives every day and his way of coping motivated us to persevere in this idea and to make a film about a man whose everything was killed in July 1992, along with hope.

“Our desire is for this film to encourage those who have information about the location of their grave to speak up, so that their souls may rest, and Esef may find peace,” Husaric Omerovic said.

The 31^st Sarajevo Film Festival will be held from August 15 to 22. None Will Speak the Truth will be screened as part of the “BH Film” Programme.

As part of the Sarajevo Film Festival, the Association of Film Workers of Bosnia and Herzegovina is organising the “Bosnian Film Festival” Programme, presenting films from Bosnia as well as films by local authors living and working abroad.

Tickets for None Will Speak the Truth can be purchased in the pre-sale starting Monday, August 4.

“When I first heard of the story of Nino Catic, who was persistent and stayed in Srebrenica until the very last moment, I wished to be at least half as brave as he was in my work,” she said.

“For several years, I have reported on war crimes and the genocide in Srebrenica, so I am extremely glad that my work at Detektor has been recognised in this way, especially on the 30^th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide. I perceive this award as assuming responsibility to continue writing about the transitional justice topics in my future work,” she stated.

The jury, consisting of Marko Divkovic, Marinko Sekulic Kokeza, Sacir Filandra, Denis Latin, Sanjin Kodric and Andrej Nikolaidis, said it was a very important topic, praising “a journalistic job well done, calmly, with sufficient stance and sharpness of style.

“Praise goes for articles on the Detektor portal, primarily due to their investigative nature and for dealing with particularly important topics related to the Srebrenica genocide, genocide denial, without primarily being reduced to journalistic news only,” the jury added.

The awarded article approached the genocide topic in a less usual way and examined the violations of digital rights that deny that the Srebrenica genocide was committed.

In a piece published last July, Trepanic Hebib drew attention to children of those killed in the genocide, on whom denial leaves deep marks.

Besides Trepanic Hebib, who was awarded in the “Written Text” category, awards were also given to Nijaz Memic for a radio report, Haris Domazet for a television feature, Ivan Mandic for photography, and Aida Kaukovic in the “Blog” category.

Special awards were given to Ajsa Hafizovic-Hadzimesic and Kasim Softic, as well as posthumously to Denijal Smailbegovic, while appreciation letters were handed out to Srebrenica mothers Munira Subasic, Kada Hotic, Fadila Efendic and Nura Begovic, among others.

The “Nino Catic” award has been organised for the sixth year by the “Being a Journalist” Association on the initiative of Emina Hodzic and Dino Durmic.

Catic was a journalist from Srebrenica. In the war in Bosnia, he reported daily and informed the public about the suffering in his town. He last spoke live on July 10, 1995, and was last seen on July 11, 1995. His remains have never been found.

An exhibition, “The Lives behind the Fields of Death”, of the Srebrenica Memorial Centre and the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network of Bosnia and Herzegovina, BIRN BiH, has been moved and reopened in an extended form in the Battery Factory in Srebrenica.

The “Memorial Room” consists of four main spaces – a room where personal items of the 1995 genocide’s victims are displayed, a multimedia room with 100 videos of survivors’ testimonies, a video room showcasing a documentary, Samir Mehic Bowie – Letters from Srebrenica, as well as a video exhibition of oral history, “Srebrenica: Our Story”, authored by Hasan Hasanovic, head of the oral history team.

The project “The Lives Behind the Fields of Death” began in October 2020. A hundred survivors and family members of those killed donated items that connected them to the events of the siege and genocide in the “safe area” of Srebrenica in July 1995. The Srebrenica Memorial Centre took over the items for permanent safekeeping, while BIRN BiH recorded the testimonies of survivors about the suffering of their family members or close friends.

At the opening of the permanent exhibition, the director of the Srebrenica Memorial Center, Emir Suljagic, explained that this was a “new-old” exhibition, which taught about the genocide in a multimedia form, representing a joint fight against genocide denial, false narratives and revisionism.

BIRN BiH director Denis Dzidic said that “The Lives behind the Fields of Death” project had been ongoing for five years. It was significant not only for giving a voice to victims but also for allowing different stories to be told during a time of denial, he said.

The Netherlands’ ambassador, Henk van den Dool, said the Memorial Room was the result of two projects funded by the Netherlands’ government, which supported the fight against denial and historical revisionism. He said the project aimed to emphasize personal stories beyond mere numbers and statistics.

Srebrenica mother Munira Subasic also addressed the participants at the opening, calling for humanity, doing good, and fighting against injustice and hatred. She thanked all those participating in the struggle to preserve victims’ memories.

BIRN BiH and the Memorial Centre, through the MATRA project (of the Regional Partnerships Fund of the Government of the Netherlands), give a voice to the families of the victims, sharing stories about people killed in the genocide in Srebrenica. The aim is to contribute to “social change”, while fighting against genocide denial, as well as discrimination against returnees who lost their loved ones in the genocide.

Fahrudin, directed by Alen Drljević, is an animated documentary about seven-year-old Fahrudin Muminović, who survived the mass shootings in Orahovac.

On July 14, 1995, more than 800 men and boys were killed by Bosnian Serb forces in Orahovac, one of the largest execution sites of the Srebrenica genocide. Muminović survived and was later a witness in several Hague tribunal war crime trials.

The movie is based on an idea by BIRN BiH director Denis Džidić, who explained during a panel after the screening that after he interviewed Fahrudin Muminović a few years ago, he intended to make a documentary.

But he had always wondered if such a format could visually convey all the horrors the seven-year-old had experienced.

“At the end of all those recordings, while attempting to make a script, I came up with an idea that the best way to depict this was through a certain clash between something childish, animated, perhaps simplified – something that we all instinctively associate with something very innocent – and the horrors he survived,” Džidić said.

The film was screened at the Europe House for schoolchildren and students from Srebrenica and Sarajevo, who, according to the authorship team, will most authentically experience the story in this format.

Drljević noted that the film took only two-and-a-half months to produce, adding that its special form consisted of connecting animation with documentary elements.

“In fact, this is what in my opinion gives strength to this film narrative. It gives it the authenticity that could not be achieved with animation or a documentary alone,” Drljević said.

The animation was done by Antonio Ilić, who spoke about the challenges of portraying authentic emotion, explaining how he and the rest of the team jointly reflected on how to project emotion and make an impression on viewers, “so as to leave something that will be remembered”, Ilić said.

One of the youngest employees at the Memorial Center, Mirela Osmanović, whose relatives were among those killed in Srebrenica in July 1995, reflected on the fact that Fahrudin still lives in Srebrenica – and still meets people who possibly participated in war crimes and genocide.

“Not only was his childhood interrupted, but I can safely say that his life was destroyed,” Osmanović said.

Fermin Cordoba, from the European Union’s Delegation to Sarajevo, in collaboration with which the film was screened in Sarajevo, addressed the audience before the screening.

Cordoba praised the film as an example of how different multimedia formats can be used to discuss the culture of remembrance and transitional justice in different ways.

“Projects and ideas like this help to discuss such difficult topics from different perspectives, and we hope that this film will inspire others to do the same,” Cordoba said.

Improving knowledge in the field of law and exchanging specialist and scientific information are some of the goals in a new collaboration between BIRN and the International University of Sarajevo.

The deal, signed by IUS rector Ahmet Yıldırım and BIRN BiH director Denis Dzidic, aims to improve science, practice, and education in the field of law, implement new projects and increase the  exchange of experiences between the two organisations. 

IUS assistant professor Mirza Ljubovic said the deal originated from a desire for increased collaboration within the NGO sector among institutions that promote media values, develop a culture of research and expertise in media law. This was why BIRN BiH was chosen as  a partner.   

Ljubovic said that, through this collaboration, joint lectures, conferences, and other activities offering students practical experiences outside the classroom would be set up. 

“We want to offer students this practical experience too, because of very important projects and lectures, which will be significant for the public, too – on transitional justice, restorative justice, and development of a culture of remembrance,” Ljubovic said. 

Dzidic said BIRN BiH was happy to build as many partnerships with academic institutions as possible in order to ensure synergy between the academic community and researchers, alongside investigative journalism and BIRN’s experiences, especially in the areas of transitional justice and the rule of law. 

“This is the best way for our materials to be used for educational purposes and for assisting in building a better society long-term,” Dzidic said. 

Previously, BIRN BiH signed several memoranda in different cantons, enabling teachers and professors to use an interactive platform when implementing programme content in history teaching.

This year the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIRN BiH) will be a strategic partner of the Srebrenica Memorial Center in order to mark the 30th anniversary of the genocide.

This year the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIRN BiH) will be a strategic partner of the Srebrenica Memorial Center in order to mark the 30^th anniversary of the genocide.

The centre will screen three documentaries, hold a summer school, run sample classes and open a memorial room based on a long running project, entitled ‘The Lives Behind the Fields of Death’, alongside other activities.

BIRN BiH has cooperated with the Srebrenica Memorial Center previously. The largest project has been “The Lives behind the Fields of Death”, which began in October 2020, when 100 testimonies of surviving genocide witnesses were filmed. They are now part of a permanent exhibition alongside items the survivors donated for preservation in the memorial room set up in the Memorial Center in February 2022. Following a series of positive reactions, the project continued by filming another 100 oral histories.

Earlier this month the Memorial Center and BIRN BiH opened an exhibition titled “From Words to Violence: The Lives Behind the Felds of Death” at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to mark the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica. The exhibition consists of 12 displays from the material previously recorded by BIRN BiH and the Memorial Center, alongside around 200 more testimonies during an oral history project.

The memorial room previously placed in the administrative building will be relocated to a separate exhibition space in a former battery factory, where visitors will have the opportunity to listen to 100 short interviews with genocide survivors, in addition to visiting a small cinema space and see artifacts donated or found in mass graves.

The space will be multimedia-equipped, and BIRN BiH’s documentary “Samir Mehic Bowie – Letters from Srebrenica” will also be exhibited there.

The film follows written conversations between members of a rock’n’roll band from Srebrenica, whom the war separated in the spring of 1992. Drummer Faruk left Srebrenica, while guitarist Samir stayed in the town. Through their letters, they dreamt of reuniting until July 1995. As part of the 30^th anniversary, the documentary was screened in Zagreb, Tuzla, Mostar, and Visoko.

“Visitors to the memorial room in Potocari contact us every day with positive experiences, and we are really proud and satisfied that this exhibition will become a permanent exhibition at the Memorial Center. But also that we have managed to tell the stories of survivors in a way that we have managed to preserve their voices,” Dzidic said.

Emir Suljagic, director of the Srebrenica Memorial Center, pointed out the importance of this collaboration, especially given the sensitivity and complexity of reporting on genocide.

“This year, on the 30^th anniversary, our message is that the story of Srebrenica will be told by survivors from Srebrenica. This is our story. That is why it is important for us to have partners who are proven friends, and who have the respect and trust of our community, and these are certainly the journalists and editors of BIRN BiH, who have a proven sensibility for such topics,” Suljagic said.

BIRN BiH’s documentary “Pravda i правда” [Justice and Truth] which deals with peace and transitional justice, as well as experiences of Bosnia and Herzegovina and war-torn Ukraine, will be screened at the SrebrenicaDocs Festival on June 25.

The third film by BIRN BiH to be screened in Srebrenica and Sarajevo is an animated documentary titled “Fahrudin”. The story of Fahrudin Muminovic, a boy who survived a massacre in Orahovac, is one of the most devastating testimonies of the brutality of the genocide and the power of human survival. Fahrudin was only seven when he and his father were taken to be shot together with other men and boys from their community. His father did not survive, while Fahrudin, who was hit with bullets and covered with bodies of the dead, stayed alive.

The films “Fahrudin” and “Samir Mehic Bowie – Letters from Srebrenica” will be screened for participants in the Memorial Center’s summer school in Srebrenica.

As a contribution by BIRN BiH to the commemoration of the 30^th anniversary of the genocide, sample classes on the Srebrenica genocide were held in Tuzla and Srebrenica using materials available in the Database of Judicially Established Facts about the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Detektor will report on these and other activities of the Memorial Center, and during the commemoration in Potocari on July 11.