As part of the Srebrenica Memorial Center in Potocari, a facility for housing exhumed biological material, personal items and clothing of unidentified victims of genocide was opened on Wednesday. Emir Suljagic, director of the Srebrenica Memorial Center, said moments like this are rare, and recalled a touching story of how they collected all the necessary funds for the facility’s construction.
“We have come a long way over the past 30 years. The most important lesson I've learned is not to cross this path alone. It’s crossed together with friends,” he said, recalling that some things related to the identification of victims and documentation of the genocide – happened in Srebrenica for the first time in history.
He said that objects testifying to life in the Srebrenica area in the period from 1992 to 1995 have been placed in the Tuzla Commemorative Center for far too long, due to lack of capacity.
“We were primarily motivated by the objects because we had a huge hole. From now on, we are the institution that has the best place to house these objects in the safest manner and for the longest time, to help us tell that story,” he announced.
The funds for the construction of this facility were pooled by the Srebrenica Memorial Center and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) through the PRO-Buducnost peace project, which is implemented by Catholic Relief Services (CRS). The facility represents a significant contribution to the memorialization and prevention of genocide denial.
“We are here today out of love, not out of hate,” Suljagic said, revealing a special story about one of the donations sent to the Center, which came from a man who left Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1950s and settled in Australia.
“His son called me and said that in his will he left funds for the Memorial Center – exactly the amount we needed to start this project,” Suljagic pointed out.
The opening ceremony was attended by various national and international dignitaries and ambassadors, among which was the US Ambassador to BiH, Michael Murphy, who also addressed the guests.
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