In the pain of Srebrenica, remembering the power of one woman's life
News came today that Hatidža Mehmedović, who survived the war in Bosnia and led the Association of the Mothers of Srebrenica, had died in a hospital in Sarajevo.
I met Hatidža four years ago when I visited the Srebrenica Memorial, where the victims of the genocide -- the worst massacre on European soil since the Holocaust -- are buried. I remember it vividly. Sitting in a circle of other bereaved and widowed mothers of Srebrenica, quietly and with the utmost dignity, she told her story.
(Angelina Jolie visits the memorial center of Potocari near the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica in 2014.)
She painted a picture of life before the war, with her husband Abdullah and their two sons Azmir and Almir, who were 21 and 18 years old. She described the terrible days in July 1995, when they were forcibly separated from her and sent to their deaths, along with at least 8,000 other innocent men and boys. As well as her husband and sons, Hatidža lost her father, her two brothers, and scores of her extended family members.
Those who carried out the genocide went to considerable lengths to conceal or destroy the bodies of the victims. For 15 years, Hatidža searched for the remains of her family. She was one of the first survivors to return to Srebrenica. She lived bereaved and alone, facing threats and intimidation, in a climate of persistent attempts to deny the genocide.
She told me that when they finally found the remains of her husband and two sons, all she received to bury of Almir, her youngest, were two small leg bones. Instead of dwelling on the heartrending pain of that moment, she simply told me that she was fortunate. Many mothers, she said, still lacked even that small consolation.
(Hatidza Mehmedovic at the Potocari memorial center near Srebrenica.)
In many ways, Hatidža Mehmedović reminded me of the other Bosnian women I have met who survived the war, for the way she combined deep strength and resilience with tolerance and humility and a refusal to succumb to hate.
But Hatidža was also exceptional. For 23 years she was a tireless seeker of truth and justice. She never claimed any special status, but spoke on behalf of all the Mothers of Srebrenica. She did not distinguish between the victims, but regarded them as all equally worthy of dignity and recognition. Even as her health failed, she worked to organize aid convoys to take food and medicine to refugees in Syria. She died before her time, at just 65 years old, her death no doubt sadly hastened by all she had endured.
It is testimony to the depth of Bosnia's wounds that Hatidža did not live to see the end of the fight for justice and security for the survivors of Srebrenica. Others must take forward the burden she carried for so many years. But her example will live on, in the memories of all who knew her, and in the stories that we should all tell, wherever we live, so that the memory of Srebrenica never fades.
While her death fills me with sadness and regret for all the victims of the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, I am sure that I am not alone in remembering Hatidža with gratitude and awe.
There are times to dwell on the many lessons of the Srebrenica genocide, and where violent hatred toward any group or people can lead. But as Hatidža is laid to rest and mourned by her country, it feels like a moment to reflect on the power of a single individual life.
Hatidža Mehmedović lived an honest life. She never allowed anyone to frighten her or to corrupt her sense of truth and fairness. We too may never see justice in our lifetimes, but we cannot go wrong if we follow her example.
Editor's Note : Angelina Jolie is an actor, director, special envoy for the UN Refugee Agency and co-founder of the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative.
courtesy : cnn.com
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Trouble ‘Miyas’ everywhere only then they will leave Assam: Himanta Biswa Sarma
Says “Himanta Biswa Sarma, BJP are openly against them, we are saying it openly
New Delhi: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that four to five lakh “Miya voters” would be removed from the electoral rolls in the state once the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists is carried out. He also made a series of controversial remarks openly targeting the Miya community, a term commonly used in Assam in a derogatory sense to refer to Bengali-speaking Muslims.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an official programme in Digboi in Tinsukia district, Sarma said it was his responsibility to create difficulties for the Miya community and claimed that both he and the BJP were “directly against Miyas”.
“Four to five lakh Miya votes will have to be deleted in Assam when the SIR happens,” Sarma said, adding that such voters “should ideally not be allowed to vote in Assam, but in Bangladesh”. He asserted that the government was ensuring that they would not be able to vote in the state.
The chief minister was responding to questions about notices issued to thousands of Bengali-speaking Muslims during the claims and objections phase of the ongoing Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls in Assam. While the Election Commission is conducting SIR exercises in 12 states and Union Territories, Assam is currently undergoing an SR, which is usually meant for routine updates.
Calling the current SR “preliminary”, Sarma said that a full-fledged SIR in Assam would lead to large-scale deletion of Miya voters. He said he was unconcerned about criticism from opposition parties over the issue.
“Let the Congress abuse me as much as they want. My job is to make the Miya people suffer,” Sarma said. He claimed that complaints filed against members of the community were done on his instructions and that he had encouraged BJP workers to keep filing complaints.
“I have told people wherever possible they should fill Form 7 so that they have to run around a little and are troubled,” he said, adding that such actions were meant to send a message that “the Assamese people are still living”.
In remarks that drew further outrage, Sarma urged people to trouble members of the Miya community in everyday life, claiming that “only if they face troubles will they leave Assam”. He also accused the media of sympathising with the community and warned journalists against such coverage.
“So you all should also trouble, and you should not do news that sympathise with them. There will be love jihad in your own house.” He said.
The comments triggered reactions from opposition leaders. Raijor Dal president and MLA Akhil Gogoi said the people of Assam had not elected Sarma to keep one community under constant pressure. Congress leader Aman Wadud accused the chief minister of rendering the Constitution meaningless in the state, saying his remarks showed a complete disregard for constitutional values.
According to the draft electoral rolls published on December 27, Assam currently has 2.51 crore voters. Election officials said 4.78 lakh names were marked as deceased, 5.23 lakh as having shifted, and 53,619 duplicate entries were removed during the revision process. Authorities also claimed that verification had been completed for over 61 lakh households.
On January 25, six opposition parties the Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad, CPI, CPI(M) and CPI(M-L) submitted a memorandum to the state’s chief electoral officer. They alleged widespread legal violations, political interference and selective targeting of genuine voters during the SR exercise, describing it as arbitrary, unlawful and unconstitutional.
