Professor Caroline Sturdy Colls will participate in a number of events to mark Srebrenica Memorial Week this month. From the 6 – 11 July 2020, the YMCA North Staffordshire has organised a varied online programme which honours the victims of the crimes perpetrated in Srebrenica in 1995. Full event information is included below.

Event Information from YMCA North Staffordshire

This year we commemorate 25 years since the end of war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H). Yet again after the WWII, the European soil had thousands of people in search for a refuge, fleeing persecution, genocide, rape, and torture. Many  remains of innocent victims are yet to be discovered, meanwhile families are waking up every day in hope that perhaps that is the day their loved ones are to be found. 

Fully aware that #EveryActionMatters, since 2015 the YMCA North Staffordshire is committed to honouring the victims of Srebrenica genocide and hate crimes throughout the world, as well as raising awareness in order to prevent similar crimes happening ever again. 

Due to COVID 19 pandemic, this year’s commemoration will take place via several online events. Although having to postpone some of our plans for next July, we still managed to find a new and innovative ways of getting the wider audience introduced to the consequences of hate crime that took place  25 years ago in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

 “I hope that survivor’s testimonies  volunteered for our online archive,  as well as other events, will not just help wider audience get a better understanding of how quickly words of hate turn into crime that forever and irreversibly changes people’s lives, but also act as a deterrent to committing similar crimes ever again“, said Aida Salkic Haughton, a Bosnian war survivor, who educates the residents at the YMCA North Staffordshire  and the wider area on the consequences of hate and war crimes.

Susan Moffat, Director of New Vic Borderlines, who accompanied Aida and a company made up of young people and colleagues from YMCA and Staffs Uni on a field-trip to Bosnia as part of Remembering Srebrenica, added:

“As part of this experience I made a pledge to make sure that the voices of the survivors of the genocide and the on-going struggle for truth and justice would be understood and embraced. My mission was to create powerful piece of live document-drama which would inform, inspire and motivate. In Bosnia I met amazing artists, an inspiring group of women, and in our short time together we made a plan to create a live piece of theatre which we would tour in the UK and Bosnia in time for the 25th Anniversary of the Genocide, This Covid19 virus has interfered with our plan but it has not stopped us. Choreography, Singing, Composition, and the authentic stories are being worked into an online presentation, a trailer for the theatre piece which we will continue to work on together and hopefully next year make real. To remember is not enough, in remembering we have an opportunity to make a difference, we have the opportunity to promise not to be a by-stander. “  

The Programme for Srebrenica Memorial Week 6-12 July 2020 – Stoke on Trent:

Monday 6/7 –  Let’s cook Bosnian food online event – We will release a number of videos of people from Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H), UK and other countries cooking Bosnian food, willing to share Bosnian recipes, culture, tradition and customs. With these videos we would like to encourage people to try re-create some of these recipes and post them on social media  on 5th and 6th July using the hashtag  #BosnianFood @ymcans  @RemSrebWestMids  

All information/videos will be available at 9am at www.ymcans.org.uk/Memorial 

Tuesday 7/7 – Art Day & Online Art Gallery  –  YMCA NS is launching an online archive and art gallery with items/testimonies/photos/poetry sent to us by both Bosnians and British people  to help get a better understanding of B&H before, during and after the war. In addition, we will be hosting  an interview with artist Katie Taylor @7pm,  whose art piece will be  presented in our Online Art Gallery. 

All information/videos will be available from 9am at www.ymcans.org.uk/Memorial 

Wednesday 8/7 – Live Online Q&A  at  7pm – with Caroline Sturdy Colls, Professor in Conflict Archaeology and Genocide Investigation at Staffordshire University specialising in Holocaust studies, Abi Carter, forensic scientist and Wales Board co-chair of  Remembering Srebrenica charity, Phil Dann, retired businessmen and volunteer at YMCANS, and two Bosnian war survivors, Alma Aganovic and Aida Salkic Haughton.  

All information/videos will be available at 7pm am at www.ymcans.org.uk/Memorial as well as on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ymca.northstaffordshire/

Thursday 9/7 –  11 am Online Memorial Service –  guest speaker –  professor in Conflict Archaeology and Genocide Investigation at Staffordshire University – Caroline Sturdy Colls  

 The event will be broadcasted via   https://www.facebook.com/ymca.northstaffordshire/  &    www.ymcans.org.uk/Memorial 

Friday 10/7 – a broadcast of a 25 min video, which  was made in cooperation with director of New Vic Borderlines, Susan Moffat, and a number of artists and war survivors from Bosnia and Herzegovina. This video will be a trailer for the theatre piece that had to be postponed to the next year’s commemoration week due to COVID 19 pandemic. 

Video will be available from 9am at  www.ymcans.org.uk/Memorial

Saturday 11/7 – National online commemoration at 7pm organized by the Remembering Srebrenica charity.

Please visit www.srebrenica.org.uk for more information