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I Remember Srebrenica

On 11 July 1995, 8,372 Bosnians were systematically massacred and buried in mass graves in Srebrenica. Thousands of women, children and elderly people were forcibly deported, and a large number of women were raped.

This year (July 2016) will be 21 years since the Srebrenica genocide – Memorial Month. The Srebrenica Memorial honours the victims and survivors of the genocide and war.

“Spread Love and Not Hate…”

In 2015, a group of artists went on a physical and mental journey to Bosnia and Herzegovina, where they took part in a learning visit to understand the true meanings of hate, forgiveness and survival. The aim was to utilize the lessons manifested from the dreadful events that occurred in Srebrenica to foster a world in which our differences become our strengths. The artists had the honour of meeting the incredible mothers who had survived the systematic massacre in Srebrenica, and tragically lost their husbands, sons, brothers and nephews along the way.

“When I asked the surviving mothers what I can do to help, they said to me: ‘Spread love and not hate, and share what you have learned here with others.’”

– Farah, You Press Co-founder

The bravery and strength of the mothers had a profound impact on Farah’s view of the world. His experience inspired him to form a partnership with the charity (Remembering Srebrenica) that organised the trip to create a unique creative arts project called ‘I Remember Srebrenica.’

After 10 months of planning (without any funding or resources, but with the help of the charity and the community), we managed to take a group of talented artists and students to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The whole creative team travelled together to participate in a 4-day learning intensive about the Bosnian war and genocide. The team learned how the genocide affected individual lives and the community as a whole by speaking face-to-face with the survivors and mothers of Srebrenica.

Within 4 weeks of the team’s return to London, powerful responses to the event were produced and showcased at a tester event in November 2015. The money generated from the event was donated to the mothers of Srebrenica who were still in the process of identifying the bodies of their loved ones as a result of the genocide.

Forgotten Stories

In July 2016, we retold the forgotten stories of the people who were brutally overlooked. We strive to give a voice to the innocent victims who deserve to be heard.

On 15th July 2016, we held an event called ‘I Remember Srebrenica’ at Oxford House, Bethnal Green to honour the victims and survivors of the genocide and war through poetry, music and spoken word.

Our group was deeply inspired to create art focusing on human rights and the tragedies of war. Many pieces touched on individual survival stories from what has been described as the greatest atrocity in Europe since WWII.

The video below is an example of an original piece created for the event.

 

I Remember Srebrenica Album

This album is dedicated to the innocent victims of the Bosnian Genocide. All the stories in this album are true and based on the lessons learned from the surviving victims and the mothers of Srebrenica.

Spotify SoundCloud

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