Remembering the Srebrenica MassacreJuly 11, 2022 by Ashwin Telang
|
|
Each year, July 7th is a painful day for Bosnian Muslims. Twenty-seven years ago today, Europe witnessed the largest genocide since World War II on Bosnian soil. The conflict expelled nearly 20,000 refugees and claimed over 8,000 lives. As we remember this bloody injustice, we should direct attention to modern mistreatments of Muslims — discrimination, refugee bias, the Uyghur genocide, and the Rohingya genocide.
After Bosnia-Herzegovina was declared independent, Bosnia-Serb forces began a larger campaign of ethnic cleansing called “Greater Serbia.” They violently removed Muslim Bosniaks from Bosnian territory. Most Muslims died in hiding from starvation. Meanwhile, “thousands were executed and then pushed into mass graves with bulldozers.” The nation was sent into a tailspin. Even more disorienting, some reports suggest that Bosniaks were buried alive.
Its effects still echo today. Many graves and victims' bodies are still being found today, demonstrating how massive the genocide spread. What’s more, while Serbia has accepted responsibility, it refuses to recognize such crimes as genocide — where the streets of Bosnia were salted with corpses and women were horrifically raped.
It pains me to write about such horrors. I can only imagine how survivors and their descendants must feel. It must be agonizing to know that their ancestors endured such a crippling disaster.
I hope that remembering the Srebrenica Massacre can become a pipeline for advocacy. Muslim immigrants are still regularly mistreated in America. Meanwhile, European countries reject pools of immigrants primarily because of their Muslim ethnicity. In China, Uyghur Muslims are forced into relentless labor and murdered for non-compliance. To remedy and protest these atrocities, consider donating to the Islamic Relief Charity Organization.
The Srebrenica Massacre will never be forgotten. Nations should shed its horrific elements in a more constructive light — a model of genocide that should never be repeated. But make no mistake: other genocides still prevail, and their victims beg for support.
After Bosnia-Herzegovina was declared independent, Bosnia-Serb forces began a larger campaign of ethnic cleansing called “Greater Serbia.” They violently removed Muslim Bosniaks from Bosnian territory. Most Muslims died in hiding from starvation. Meanwhile, “thousands were executed and then pushed into mass graves with bulldozers.” The nation was sent into a tailspin. Even more disorienting, some reports suggest that Bosniaks were buried alive.
Its effects still echo today. Many graves and victims' bodies are still being found today, demonstrating how massive the genocide spread. What’s more, while Serbia has accepted responsibility, it refuses to recognize such crimes as genocide — where the streets of Bosnia were salted with corpses and women were horrifically raped.
It pains me to write about such horrors. I can only imagine how survivors and their descendants must feel. It must be agonizing to know that their ancestors endured such a crippling disaster.
I hope that remembering the Srebrenica Massacre can become a pipeline for advocacy. Muslim immigrants are still regularly mistreated in America. Meanwhile, European countries reject pools of immigrants primarily because of their Muslim ethnicity. In China, Uyghur Muslims are forced into relentless labor and murdered for non-compliance. To remedy and protest these atrocities, consider donating to the Islamic Relief Charity Organization.
The Srebrenica Massacre will never be forgotten. Nations should shed its horrific elements in a more constructive light — a model of genocide that should never be repeated. But make no mistake: other genocides still prevail, and their victims beg for support.
|
Join the CommunityThe United States of America
|
Read Our Stories
|