DYADIC | MAPJD 2016/17 | Projects

2.154

On the 11th of July 1995 the UN safe-zone, with its mainly Bosnian Muslim population, was surrendered to the advancing Serb forces. Men from the age of 14 to 65 were separated from the women, which were transported to Muslim controlled land. Aware of the developing situation, hundreds of men headed to the surrounding mountains in search of cover and safe passage to friendly territory in Tuzla. The refugee convoy was ambushed by the Serb forces at Kameničko Mountain, not far from Srebrenica.

It has been 22 years since the fall of the Srebrenica enclave. Many never returned to Srebrenica due to the remaining hostilities between the Serb and Bosnian Muslim population, but some have. Ramiz, one of the survivors of the so-called march of death, had returned to his family home located on the slopes of the aforementioned Kameničko Mountain. Upon his return, Ramiz set out to venture the surrounding woodlands in search of the remains of his fallen father and brothers. His family was later found in one of the many mass graves surrounding Srebrenica. Nonetheless, Ramiz still walks the forests in search of remnants of human lives, hoping to bring solace to the many families still waiting on setting their loved ones to rest.

Despite the effort, more than a thousand people are still missing and it has become evident that many will never be found. Nature has taken its toll on the land and appropriated the many lost lives as its own, making them transcend into something greater.

Do not say that those who are killed in God’s cause are dead; they are alive, though you do not realize it.

Qur’an, 2:154

Ramiz has been walking these forests for the past 20 years in search of human remnants. But due to decay and the overtaking nature it has become increasingly difficult for him to locate any remains.
© 2017 Ivan Vranjic