Wales National Remembering Srebrenica Memorial Event
Event Information
Description
Saleem Kidwai OBE and David Melding AM, Co-Chairs of Remembering Srebrenica Wales invite you to join them on Wednesday the 12th of July 2017 at the Pierhead National Assembly, to remember those impacted by the genocide that took place in Srebrenica 22 years ago.
During the War in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the town of Srebrenica in Eastern Bosnia was declared a ‘UN Safe Area’ in 1993, under the watch of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR).
In July 1995, General Ratko Mladić and his Bosnian Serb paramilitary units overran and captured the town, despite its designation as an area “free from any armed attack or any other hostile act”. In the days following Srebrenica’s fall, men and woman were separated to be either killed, deported and/or raped. In a number of days 8,372 predominantly Bosnian Muslim men and boys were systematically massacred and buried in mass graves. These mass graves were later excavated by heavy machinery and reburied in various locations making it the most complex forensic jigsaw in history.
Thousands of women, children and elderly people were forcibly deported and an estimated 20,000 to 50,000 women and girls were raped. The exact number is unknown as a great number have remained silent due to stigma, shame and fear.
This year Remembering Srebrenica's theme is Breaking the Silence: Gender and Genocide
The theme explores the struggles women were faced with during - and after - the Bosnian war, but most of all their incredible strength in fighting for justice. Two decades on from the genocide, the women of Bosnia-Herzegovina have been at the fore front of helping rebuild a fractured society. They have marched, protested and spoken out not only for themselves but for those that cannot.
Join the board of Remembering Srebrenica Wales by commemorating the genocide, standing in solidarity with the women of Bosnia-Herzegovina and by learning lessons from the past to help challenge hatred and intolerance.