Srebrenica Memorial Day 2023
Posted 11th July 2023
The 11th of July is Srebrenica Memorial Day. This day nationally commemorates the around 8,000 Muslim men and boys who were brutally murdered at the hands of Ratko Mladić’s Bosnian Serb Army from 11th July – 31st July 1995 in and around the town of Srebrenica. It also seeks to bring greater awareness of the wider genocide which took place during the Bosnian War by sharing the personal stories of those who experienced the atrocities. The conflict was a harrowing reminder that even just fifty years after the Holocaust, communities in Europe were being torn apart by war, imprisoned in concentration camps, and reduced to refugees. It reminds us too though of Bradford’s important role throughout the centuries in welcoming all as a ‘city of sanctuary’, whether they be the Irish in the 1840s, Bosnians in the 1990s, or Ukrainians in the 2020s.
DMA was very fortunate today to take part in Bradford’s civic commemoration at City Hall, hosted by Councillor Gerry Barker, the Right Worshipful the Lord Mayor of Bradford. Bakir Kesedzic 11Y delivered a powerful and moving account of his parents’ experiences during the genocide. This took a great deal of personal strength and he – along with the other Y10 students who accompanied us to show their support (Keyaan Malik, Ensar Emini, Adam Tahir, Christ Kossi, Omar Shahein) – really did demonstrate our values of resilience, courtesy and integrity throughout and were an absolute credit to us all.
We will be following up on this day with a further focus in PDS lessons and Cultural Studies based on the work of the Remembering Srebrenica charity to be completed by all students in the coming academic year, culminating in further DMA representation at the annual event in the years to come.
You can find out more about the Remembering Srebrenica charity here, and Bradford’s role as a ‘City of Sanctuary’ here.