The Bosnian experience shows that the life of Ukrainians after the war will never be the same as before.
Thirty years ago Mirsad fled into the woods and became a refugee when the worst European war since 1945 broke out in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Today, he again watches with a bitter feeling of deja vu as Europe's greatest war since World War II begins again.
“What is happening in Ukraine is terrible. An absolute disaster. It brings back a lot of memories for me, “the Bosnian told Politico.
Eventually, Mirsad returned home a few years after the war. He has to live in a region controlled by the same people who killed his brother, terrorized his parents, and burned his village. But Mirsad returned only because he was forced to. Its history illustrates how difficult it can be to return, even if international support and peacekeeping forces ensure security.
On May 3, 1992, at the beginning of the notorious ethnic cleansing in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serb soldiers entered the village of Granca, killed three men who did not escape, shot dead a young girl named Selma Godzic, and burned many houses. Eventually, Serbs took control of the entire region in eastern Bosnia near Srebrenica, where Serb forces staged the largest massacre in Europe since World War II, trying to drive out the majority Muslim population. With nowhere to go, Mirsad, 31, and other villagers returned 10 days later from the forest and surrendered. Serbs detained them and beat them in a nearby school gym for several days. There, security guards shot dead several men in front of other prisoners. Mirsad overheard Serbs happily discussing the murder of another man. He soon realized that they were talking about his brother.
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Later, Mirsad was among those deported to territory controlled by the Bosnian government.
“When I came to the city of Vysoko, I felt sick, I had a fever. I could not get rid of the feeling of fear, “recalls the Bosnian.
With the help of smugglers, as well as crossing the border on foot in the mountains, Mirsad was able to get to Germany, where his sister lived. There he met his future wife, Azemina, who fled a nearby village where 64 villagers were killed on May 9. She fled to Srebrenica.
Frozen Conflict
In 1995, an international peace agreement effectively froze the conflict, leaving Bosnia and Herzegovina nominally a single country but politically divided into two. One part, including the area where the village of Mirsada is located, is now called Republika Srpska. The other part is a federation created by Bosnian Muslims and Croats. Trying to get rid of tens of thousands of refugees, the EU has declared that Bosniaks must return home. And to avoid the resumption of ethnic cleansing, peacekeepers were sent to the country to take care of people's safety. Only now have they become a minority in their home region. The important thing is that the peace agreement was supported by both the West and Russia.
“Of course, the temptation to return home is great. But who wants to live in a region controlled by the same people they had to flee from? Do Ukrainians want to return to Russian-controlled Mariupol? ” – it is said in the article.
Mirsad definitely did not want to return. When Germany told him it was time to leave its territory, he went to Sweden and asked to be granted refugee status. But he was denied. In 2003, he finally returned home with his wife Azemina and two daughters. The Bosnian's parents returned earlier, tired of fleeing to another part of Bosnia. Often in times of war, older people are the least willing to leave their homes. But when soldiers with machine guns doused the couple with gasoline and threatened to set them on fire, they fled, leaving the burning house behind. Thanks to foreign aid, they were able to rebuild it later.
“Local Serbian builders came to build our house. They greeted each other happily, as if nothing had happened, “Mirsad's mother said.
Half of the 2 million displaced Bosniaks have returned home, according to UN figures. Unlike Mirsad, many of them refused to return to where they had lived before for fear of persecution.
Life among ghosts
A Politico journalist recalls visiting Bosnia from time to time since 2006 to visit the families he met during the war. Mirsad once showed him a tree behind which he hid “on the same day” and watched the cattle in the village being burned alive along with the barns. According to the Bosnian, after his return he still feels as if he is surrounded by ghosts of the past.
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“It was so good here , I remember this place like that. May began that day. Everything was green, it was so beautiful, “says the man.
Upon his return, Mirsad engaged in various strange pursuits. He harvested strawberries and other crops in the fields of neighbors who never returned. In the street, people discussed the past only in whispers, fearing that someone might overhear them. He was horrified when he came to pick up his daughter from a school in the nearby town of Bratunac. prisoner, and my brother and other people were killed there. It is impossible not to feel fear there, “Mirsad explained.
He said some of those who attacked his home village of Granca came from Serbia. Others were local, even neighbors. In the end, one of these neighbors was even convicted of participating in the attacks, but not for the murders, but only for the burned houses.
“I was asked to be a witness. But I still have to live here. And no one will guarantee my safety, “the man said.
After the war, Serb neighbors moved to the other side of the street to avoid meeting him. So Mirsad wonders if they are ashamed of what they have done. At the same time, he avoids traveling to Bratunac. Because Bosnian Muslims are not happy there. They are not allowed to visit some local shops and cafes.
Trying to look to the future
Granch is empty, the village seems almost deserted. But Mirsad and his family are doing their best to keep the horrible past from poisoning their lives. He and Azemina have two daughters who received a good education, first at a local school and then in Srebrenica, along with mostly Serbian students.
“We need to think positively. If they say I'm different, I'm sad, I feel sorry for them. We should not hate each other, “said Janita's eldest daughter.
Mirsad complains that his daughter is being taught the Serbian version of history, Serbian language and Serbian literature, as if they do not live in Bosnia at all. p>
“Replace Serbian with Russian and get what awaits Ukrainian children in schools in Russian-controlled territories,” the newspaper writes.
Mirsad's daughters went to study and work in the city of Tuzla in Bosnian-controlled territory. It is unlikely that they will return to their native village. Sarajevo or emigration in general attracts many Bosnians who think their war-torn country cannot secure their future. The war in Ukraine has put Bosnia and Herzegovina in danger. Republika Srpska leaders praise Vladimir Putin and his war against Ukraine. They are threatening to begin the process of secession from Bosnia as well.
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Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU has doubled its peacekeeping force on Bosnian territory, fearing that geopolitical instability could undermine Bosnian peace. Mirsad is watching the events in Ukraine with sadness, anger and disgust. He says the Russian war reminds him very much of what he went through. But the Bosnian adds: “The bombing and shelling of cities is much worse than it was here. Why all this? ”
To justify his wars in the 1990s, Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic spoke of the need to protect Serbs who remained outside his country when Yugoslavia disintegrated. At first, the aggression against Croatia was justified, and then against Bosnia, where about 100,000 people died. Putin, mourning the collapse of the Soviet Union, repeats Milosevic's statement only about the Russians. Like, in Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova, they also need to be “protected”. “If Putin fails to defeat Ukraine, he will do everything to make it a weak and divided country on the verge of death. Bosnians know very well what it is like, “the article reads.
