Remembering the dead

Simonthepilgrim

Today, 11th July, we are remembering the dead of Srebrenica: 8000 Muslim men and boys murdered by Christian troops, their bodies desecrated and buried in mass graves.

The worst atrocity in Europe since WW2.

Do I need to say any more?

emmak

Please pardon my ignorance, Simon. When did this happen?

Simonthepilgrim

emmak wrote:

Please pardon my ignorance, Simon. When did this happen?

1995.

Here is one of many links:
http://www.gendercide.org/case_srebrenica.html

A girlfriend of mine worked with the International Commission on Missing Persons in the Former Yugoslavia. They had to identify the remains, tell the families and arrange reburial. The teams assembled included forensic archaeologists, geneticists, ethicists and the best equipment that is available. The ethical problems are immense and were approached in a new way.

Because the Serbian troops not only killed all the men and boys but also cut up the bodies and buried parts separately (which is an abomination to Muslims), the question arose: if only part of a person't body was found, do you tell the family or wait until the whole body is collected? How do you go about getting DNA samples for comparison? Should the mass graves be disturbed at all? How far is the evidence amassed personal and how far is it for use as evidence before the ICC? And lots of other questions that arise as the grim work goes on.

Much of the work was delegated to local groups rather than being imposed from above, a wonderful innovation that has helped the families by empowering them.

This is the link to IC-MP's website:
http://www.ic-mp.org/home.php

emmak

I recall it now. I was only 13, but I remember it being on the news.
"Mans inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn"
Civilasation makes you wonder.

emmak

I had a look at the sites you linked. I remember it quite well.
I read some about gendercide, a story about a woman who had a baby girl and refused to feed her four four days then fed her oleander sap and she died. How can people be so heartless. That was enough to move me to tears. I think about my baby girl and I simply cannot believe it. How could a mother do that to her little child? A newborn at that.

Adiana

Simon,

Thanks for posting that link. I was able to go to it and read about everything. I remember it being in the news but I had forgotten about it. I also have a friend that is Bosnian and he remembers everything. In fact, he related events about it in startling detail. He is a former colleague but is still a good friend of mine. He was a teenager when this atrocity happened. He just recently returned here from Bosnia---his mother passed away. I think that he plans to become a U.S. citizen (if he hasn't already done so; I haven't talked to him in awhile since he moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana) since he works here and attends college here in Indiana. He is a really nice person; he also just brought his bride-to-be with him. They plan to be married this September and she is also a very nice person.

Adiana

Simonthepilgrim

When I hear all the cant about catching OBL, I fear I get rather cynical. We have not managed to catch the Srebrenica genocides, although we know who they are, after 10 years.

The former Yugoslavia and the series of wars there after the death of Marshal Tito could have given us pause: they were intr-religious confrontations where three montheisms meet: Catholic Christianity (Croats), Orthodox Christanity (Serbs) and Islam. Instead, we acted late. European soldiers even helped the Srebrenica genocides disarm their victims before the slaughter.

Noi

Oh my! . . . It always leaves you speechless to hear about such crimes against humanity!!!

buddhafoot

These are the things I have a hard time with. Why I have such a dislike for "man-made" religions. I know this is something that I should get past, but the atrocities that men are able to inflict on each other in the name of some god.

It absolutely sickens me.

I had no idea this had happened. Must be because I've given up on what the television or newspaper can report to me without it being slanted one way or the other.

Another thing that bothered me about this was: when Kuwait was invaded - the US was up in arms about getting over there and defending that oi... I mean... the Kuwait people.

But, we let genocide take place in Bosnia for, who knows how long, before the UN finally steps in to stop the bloodshed.

A friend of mine who I played music with again lives in his home of Bosnia. I've asked him some questions about this - but it is a sore subject that, he said, goes back centuries. He did say that it is awful. The devastation from years of warring is terrible.

Remember Serajevo? Where the Winter Olympics were held (I believe in the late 80's)??? It's trashed - nothing but killing field.

Truly sad.

-bf

Simonthepilgrim

An old girlfriend who used to work with the International Commission on Missing Persons in the Former Yugoslavia now lives in Sarajevo. She tells me that the city is once again a thriving and exciting city as it was before the war.

For the IC-MP work:
http://www.ic-mp.org/home.php