‘A true hell’: How three Srebrenica survivors defied death 30 years ago

Before the warfare scattered his family, Nedzad Avdic loved geography.

He had conscionable entered his teens. Growing up successful the colony of Sebiocina successful Srebrenica municipality, adjacent to the borderline with Serbia, Avdic could explicate the quality betwixt clustered and dispersed settlements. He learned however 1 could archer northbound from southbound by noticing which broadside of a histrion the moss grew on, and discovered however to find constellations and navigate by the North Star.

“I didn’t survey it for survival,” Avdic, present 47, would aboriginal constitute successful his memoir. “I studied it due to the fact that I loved it.”

But successful the outpouring of 1995, 3 years into a struggle that inactive scars the Balkans, helium would travel to unrecorded successful the geography of eastbound Bosnia, trudging done forests alongside 8,000 different Bosniak men and boys, trying to survive.

Avdic was 17 by past and surviving successful a United Nations-run exile campy successful the vale of Slapovici, conscionable southbound of Srebrenica, a tiny municipality successful eastbound Bosnia nestled successful a heavy vale adjacent the Drina River, which has historically served arsenic a earthy borderline with Serbia. At the time, Srebrenica had a colonisation of conscionable 6,000 and was locally known for its past metallic deposits, from which it took its sanction – the Bosnian connection for metallic is srebro.

The Slapovici exile camp, located successful Srebrenica municipality, sheltered astatine slightest 3,000 Bosniak refugees during the past 2 years of the Bosnian War [Photo courtesy of Nedzad Avdic]

The UN camp, built connected antecedently uninhabited land, was location to much than 3,000 displaced Bosniaks, South Slavic Muslims autochthonal to Bosnia and Herzegovina, who lived successful rows of Swedish-donated woody cabins. There was nary electricity, nary plumbing and ne'er capable food.

Bosnia was a young state then, recently autarkic aft the illness of Yugoslavia, having declared independency connected March 1, 1992, aft a nationalist referendum. At the time, Bosnia’s colonisation was ethnically divers – astir 44 percent Bosniak, 31 percent Serb and 17 percent Croat – making it 1 of the astir multiethnic republics of the erstwhile Yugoslavia.

By then, Bosnian Serbs had proclaimed what they would telephone Republika Srpska, a notional quasi-state that the community’s governmental leaders wanted to carve retired from Bosnia, ostensibly to support its interests.

Only a period later, connected April 6, Bosnian Serb forces, backed by Serbia, launched a warfare to prehend territory and expel non-Serbs towards that goal. Towns adjacent to the borderline were shelled, civilians forced out, and families similar Avdic’s had to flee.

His household – begetter Alija, parent Tima, and 3 younger sisters – would beryllium uprooted respective times passim the war: archetypal from their location successful Sebiocina, past from makeshift shelters successful Srebrenica town, earlier they reached the exile campy successful Slapovici.

In 1993, aft a Serb onslaught connected a schoolyard that killed 56, galore of them children, and wounded much than 70, Srebrenica and its surrounding villages were declared a UN “safe area,” by the UN Security Council on with 5 different towns and cities successful Bosnia. The declaration demanded an “immediate cessation of equipped attacks by Bosnian Serb paramilitary units against Srebrenica” and that Serbia and Montenegro, past called the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, “immediately cease the proviso of subject arms” to the Bosnian Serb paramilitary forces. But the Serb bombardment of the municipality and its neighbouring villages ne'er stopped.

A photograph of the Slapovici exile campy successful 1994. Advic lived determination with his family, but helium is not among the children successful this photograph [Courtesy of Nedzad Avdic]

At the time, Avdic told Al Jazeera, “We believed the warfare would yet extremity – that it had to.”

“The United Nations was there, the Blue Helmets, and we told ourselves the acheronian couldn’t past forever. Of course, we each feared for our lives – we knew that connected immoderate fixed time we could beryllium killed,” helium said.

“But the standard of what would hap adjacent was beyond thing we could person imagined.”

The violative begins (July 6–10, 1995)

At dawn connected July 6, 1995, the hills astir Srebrenica thundered with artillery fire. It was the commencement of Operation Krivaja ‘95, an violative ordered by Radovan Karadzic, past president of the self-proclaimed Republika Srpska, aimed astatine capturing the enclave.

In the Slapovici exile camp, Avdic woke to the dependable of shelling.

“It conscionable wouldn’t stop,” Avdic said. “It was wide it had go excessively unsafe to stay.”

As Karadzic’s troops approached, Avdic and his household near connected ft – helium says connected July 8 oregon July 9 – fleeing into the hilly forests towards villages adjacent Srebrenica.

“Reaching those villages was our past refuge,” helium said.

Inside the municipality of Srebrenica, Hajrudin Mesic, 21, heard the aforesaid explosions from his family’s apartment. He had already mislaid 2 of his 4 brothers to the warfare – Idriz, 36, connected March 3 from a sniper, and Senahid, 23, from shelling successful the 1993 schoolyard onslaught connected Srebrenica. Now, successful July 1995, it felt similar the municipality itself was astir to fall.

“That greeting [July 6], everything shook,” helium said.

The service of Republika Bosnia and Herzegovina successful Srebrenica – portion of the country’s main subject force, formed successful April 1992 to support against Serb aggression and made up mostly of section defenders – had been disarmed by the United Nations 2 years earlier successful speech for peacekeeping, and had fewer resources with which to combat back. Dutch peacekeepers were present, but by then, their positions had already been pushed backmost respective times by the 25,000-soldier beardown Army of Republika Srpska, the Bosnian Serb subject force, leaving the town’s outskirts exposed.

On July 10, Serb forces started entering the town. Mesic was successful the bath erstwhile his parent began pounding connected the door.

“‘Hajrudin, son, get out, the bullets and shrapnel are falling successful our surviving room,’ I retrieve my parent screaming. They [the Bosnian Serb Army] were already successful the town.”

He grabbed a makeshift container and slipped retired with his aged parents, parent Zaha and begetter Selim, and his 2 remaining brothers, Hasan and Safet, darting done broadside streets, utilizing buildings for cover.

Srebrenica falls

Across town, 16-year-old Emir Bektic and his household realised it was clip to tally connected the greeting of July 11.

That day, Bektic’s father, Redzep, returned to their location successful Srebrenica covered successful blood. A kid had died successful his arms aft a ammunition deed a adjacent colony which was nether bombardment and wherever Redzep had volunteered to assistance transportation the dormant and wounded. “Srebrenica is nary more,” helium said. “We person to leave.”

After years of surviving shelling, starvation and isolation, the enclave had collapsed. At astir 4pm connected July 11, General Ratko Mladic, person of the Bosnian Serb forces, entered the UN-declared harmless area. They started separating Bosniak women, young children and the aged from men and boys, promising that the archetypal radical would beryllium allowed UN shelter.

Word dispersed among the 60,000 radical successful the enclave astatine the clip – Srebrenica municipality’s pre-war colonisation of 35,000, and the remainder radical who had been pushed retired of neighbouring areas by the Bosnian Serb forces.

Bosniaks fled successful 2 directions: women and children moved towards the UN basal successful the colony of Potocari, portion betwixt 12,000 and 15,000 unarmed men and boys acceptable disconnected into the hills, bound for Tuzla, the closest metropolis beyond Bosnian Serb reach, astir 100 kilometres to the north. It was a “free zone” that would warrant their safety.

Bektic and his begetter joined the forest-bound column. His parent and sister went to the UN base. “One question hung successful the air,” helium said. “Will we ever spot each different again?”

Meanwhile, Mesic and his household besides chose to divided – his aged parents went to the UN basal successful Potocari, portion helium and his 2 brothers went to the woods.

It was the aforesaid with Avdic, his begetter and uncle. Avdic’s parent and his sisters headed to the UN basal successful Potocari, portion they marched towards Tuzla.

On July 11, astatine astir 6 -7pm section time, aft 2 days of travelling connected ft from the exile campy successful Slapovici, they reached the villages of Jaglici and Susnjari, astir 15 kilometres (9 miles) away, wherever they joined thousands of different men and boys. But the villages were nether bombardment. The horses and cattle that radical were utilizing to ferry the dormant and wounded panicked, moving helter-skelter. “In that chaos, I mislaid my father,” Avdic said.

He abruptly recovered himself engulfed successful a assemblage of strangers. “I didn’t recognise a azygous look astir me,” helium said. In a panic, helium began shouting for his father, pushing done the wide of people, calling his sanction implicit and over.

“But I ne'er saw him again,” helium recalled. “Surrounded by thousands of people, I inactive felt utterly alone.”

He joined them connected the agelong locomotion done the acheronian forests of eastbound Bosnia, hoping to scope Tuzla.

The decease march

The way to Tuzla, which remained nether Bosnian authorities power passim the war, was heavy with oak, beech and pine, but besides scattered with a dry, brittle fern autochthonal to Bosnia’s forests successful summer. Temperatures were punishing, climbing arsenic precocious arsenic 34 to 36 degrees Celsius (93–97 degrees Fahrenheit) successful the July heat. Every measurement done the adust undergrowth risked exposure. The ace of a subdivision oregon the rustle of dried ferns could springiness distant their presumption to adjacent Serb forces.

“We walked successful silence,” recalled Bektic. “Not retired of discipline, due to the fact that of fear. No 1 wanted to pull death.”

“I was exhausted, hungry, and thirsty. We’d lone managed to drawback immoderate nutrient we could find successful the location earlier marching done the woods. There was nary clip to prepare. That travel … each of it … was astir unbearable for maine astatine 16.”

On the nighttime of July 12, astatine Kamenicko Brdo, 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Tuzla, the radical that Bektic and his begetter were portion of reached a stream.

Overwhelmed by thirst, Bektic bent down to drink, but the h2o was heavy with mud. “It wasn’t truly water. It was much similar muddy sludge. I felt soil successful my mouth,” helium said.

Still, that azygous mouthful was each helium had. Moments later, chaos erupted. Serb soldiers chopped done the column, pulling retired 15 to 20 radical who had crossed the stream. They were ordered to ascent a tiny elevation and sit. Then came the words that changed everything: “You are prisoners.”

“At that moment, they [the Bosnian Serb soldiers] were lone debating 1 happening – however to termination us,” helium said. “Some of them said, ‘Let’s termination them close here,’ portion others suggested, ‘No, let’s instrumentality them down to the watercourse and slaughter them there.’”

Exhausted and terrified, Bektic laid his caput successful his father’s lap.

“No substance what happens, we’ll enactment together. Just enactment with me. Don’t autumn asleep,” his begetter said.

But Bektic did autumn dormant and woke up lone the adjacent day to find that helium was leaning against a beech tree, alone.

Emir Bektic [right], property 10, with his begetter Rezdep [Photo courtesy of Emir Bektic]

“My archetypal instinct was to hunt for my father,” Bektic said.

He called out. Waited. Searched. “Maybe helium had gone to get water. Maybe helium would travel back.”

He didn’t, leaving Bektic with a beingness of questions: What had happened to his father? Had helium been marched to his decease by the soldiers? Had his begetter propped him against the histrion successful the acheronian to fell him from the Bosnian Serb Army? How had helium slept done it all?

“The past happening I retrieve from that nighttime is his embrace.”

After days connected his ain successful the forest, Bektic recovered different radical of Bosniaks, among them his uncle and his 2 cousins. But Serb soldiers soon surrounded them again, demanding surrender. Some tried to flight and were shot. As they were marching down the road, Bektic passed “hundreds of murdered people” successful the heat, and helium had to beryllium cautious not to “step connected a body”.

They were taken to a elevation and ordered to beryllium successful rows. A Serb commandant announced that immoderate boys would beryllium released, and that immoderate lad who wanted to spell should basal up. Several boys astir Bektic’s property stood up.

“At that moment, nary of america truly understood what was happening”, Bektic said.

“My uncle insisted that I get up and go, and we softly argued,” helium said. “I conscionable wanted to enactment with my uncle. I had started to consciousness harmless again, and nary substance what happened, I wanted to stay by his side.

“My parent and sister had gone to Potocari, and I had nary quality of them. My begetter was determination successful the wood – killed oregon taken, I didn’t know. I was wholly alone, and conscionable being with my uncle and among different radical I knew made maine consciousness a small much safe.”

But eventually, helium caved to his uncle’s pleas.

“Go,” the commandant said. As helium stood up, helium saw buses lined up successful the vale beneath and ran towards them. He caught the past 1 conscionable arsenic its doors were closing. The autobus was packed with women and children coming from the UN basal successful Potocari, going towards Tuzla. “Don’t inquire anything,” 1 pistillate told him arsenic they covered him with a blanket.

‘Clapping for our executioners’

Further westbound successful the forest, connected July 13, adjacent the colony of Kamenice successful Bratunac municipality – a erstwhile Bosniak colony that had been burned and destroyed by Serb forces successful 1993 – Avdic’s radical was besides chopped disconnected by soldiers. “They [the Bosnian Serb military] threatened america implicit megaphones, saying they’d weaponry america if we didn’t surrender,” helium said. “Then they promised to dainty america nether the Geneva Conventions.”

“At first, they acted civilly. Then it started. The beatings. The insults. The humiliation.”

Avdic was determination adjacent the front. The soldiers told them to permission their belongings, that everything would beryllium returned. He near his bag, with household photos inside, adjacent to a tank. Standing determination connected the road, helium inactive remembers that vessel successful beforehand of him, and the vehicles nearby. On 1 of them, written successful Cyrillic, were the words: The Queen of Death.

Other vehicles began to get – civilian Volkswagen Golfs, packed with soldiers sitting connected the hoods, roofs, and inside. More soldiers followed. Then came bluish and achromatic constabulary cars, inactive the pre-war Yugoslav models.

The constabulary remained down arsenic Bosnian Serb soldiers ordered men and boys to commencement jogging towards a meadow astir a kilometre from Kamenice. As they crossed the asphalt road, buses filled with refugees from Potocari pulled up and were forced to stop. The captured men were present blocking the road.

“Among them, I recognise a miss I went to schoolhouse with,” said Avdic. “And it’s evident that immoderate of the refugees successful the buses recognise immoderate of the radical successful our column, too. Women are crying arsenic they astir apt recognised their household members among america – sons, brothers, fathers.”

Eventually, the men and boys were ordered to proceed moving towards Kamenice, portion the buses moved successful the other absorption towards Tuzla.

They reached a meadow successful the destroyed Bosniak colony of Sandici. “The writer was already trampled, arsenic if idiosyncratic had played shot there,” Avdic recalled. “Others had been determination earlier us. And they had already been taken away.”

Only later, portion testifying earlier the International Criminal Tribunal for the erstwhile Yugoslavia (ICTY) successful The Hague, would Avdic larn what had happened connected that aforesaid meadow conscionable hours earlier: Ramo Salkic, a captured Bosniak refugee, had been filmed calling retired to his teenage lad Nermin to articulation him wherever the Serb soldiers stood. That footage, utilized arsenic cardinal grounds successful the prosecution of the Srebrenica genocide, showed the chilling infinitesimal of surrender. Both begetter and lad were aboriginal executed.

That night, a Serb worker told Avdic and others, “You’ll beryllium returned to your families. Everything volition beryllium fine.” But the dependable dripped with sarcasm, Avdic recalled.

“They placed america each successful rows and laid the wounded up of us.” Then came the order: prevarication down, hands down heads – and applaud. “All of us, together, arsenic hard arsenic we could,” Avdic said. “We spent 2 to 3 hours doing that.” By the clip the clapping stopped, the wounded were gone. “They had been taken into adjacent houses and killed,” helium said. “Gunfire echoed each astir us.”

Then came the shouting: “Long unrecorded the king! Long unrecorded Serbia!” The soldiers forced them to chant with them successful unison, similar a choir.

Packed into trucks, Avdic and others were past driven done Bratunac municipality adjacent Srebrenica and beyond. “Serbs cursed america from the sidewalks, threw stones,” helium said.

The July heat, helium recalls, was “unbearable” wrong the truck. “I retrieve peering done a spread successful the tarpaulin [on the broadside of the truck]. In fact, that spread is what helped maine breathe, truthful I wouldn’t suffocate. People astir maine were losing consciousness. They couldn’t breathe,” helium said. “A existent hell.”

With nary h2o and incapable to carnivore the thirst, radical started drinking their ain urine, helium said.

“They were screaming, shouting, asking for water, saying: ‘Open the tailgates, oregon termination america already. We can’t instrumentality it immoderate longer.’”

Avdic tried to support way of time, but aft hours without nutrient oregon water, helium could nary longer focus. Bosniak men connected the motortruck who had earlier seen a UN conveyance walk by – and had hoped it was coming to rescue them and instrumentality them to Tuzla – began to suffer hope. Rumours dispersed that they weren’t heading to Tuzla aft all, but to Bijeljina, a metropolis northeast of Tuzla adjacent the borderline with Serbia, wherever Serbian nationalist paramilitary groups were maintaining a attraction camp.

A Bosnian pistillate stands adjacent the tombstone of a relative, up of a wide ceremonial marking the 30th day of the Srebrenica genocide, astatine the Srebrenica Memorial Center successful Potocari, adjacent Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, connected July 10, 2025 [Amel Emric/Reuters]

They drove similar that for astir 50km, until they arrived astatine a schoolhouse successful Petkovici, astir 70km from Srebrenica. By that time, it was already the greeting of the adjacent day, July 14.

As the men were offloaded from the trucks and forced into the school, soldiers began beating those successful the beforehand with rifles and pipes.

“It was chaos,” Avdic said. “They couldn’t onslaught everyone accelerated enough.”

Inside the school, much Serb soldiers were waiting. One shouted, “Whose onshore is this?” Another answered, “This is Serb onshore – ever has been, ever volition be.” The men were forced to repetition the operation successful unison.

The ground-floor classrooms were already packed. Screams echoed from down closed doors. Avdic and the others were taken upstairs to the second-last schoolroom connected the archetypal floor. Inside, helium recognised his uncle. He learned that they had been unneurotic earlier successful the meadow, but Avdic had not noticed him then.

At 1 point, radical started whispering astir escape. “We should effort jumping retired the windows … oregon making a tally for the doors,” idiosyncratic said. “Maybe idiosyncratic would past that way, otherwise, we are each going to beryllium killed.”

Hearing the commotion, Serb soldiers stepped successful and tried to calm the crowd. “The Red Cross is coming, hole to beryllium exchanged.”

“And we each believed it. In a concern similar that, you’d judge thing for a accidental to survive,” Avdic said.

His garment was inactive soaked with urine from the journey, truthful helium turned to the idiosyncratic adjacent to him and asked if they had a spare T-shirt. A antheral sitting adjacent to him pulled retired 1 and handed it over. “The Red Cross was coming, and I felt embarrassed to beryllium seen similar that, each soaked. I was shy,” helium said.

The soldiers started taking men retired of the classroom, 5 oregon six astatine a time. When it was his crook to spell outside, Avdic asked his uncle to travel with him. “But helium refused. He stayed behind.”

Once retired successful the hallway, soldiers ordered him and others to undress, tied their hands and marched them downstairs. He followed with others, leaving the cleanable garment behind.

There was humor successful the hallway, bodies successful beforehand of the school, and much astatine the main entrance. He expected to beryllium changeable close there. But the soldiers loaded them backmost onto a truck.

Once the motortruck was full, the soldiers fired a fewer bullets done the tarp to scare those inside. Screams filled the aerial arsenic immoderate radical were deed and wounded. Bodies crushed against each other, but Avdic, who was not hit, managed to enactment connected his knees.

Amid cries astir him, Avdic recognised a dependable down him: “It was my geography teacher.”

The motortruck started moving. When it yet stopped, it was astir midnight. The men and boys were again ordered to get out.

Soldiers began pulling radical retired again. By now, Avdic was definite that they were to beryllium executed. “It each happened truthful fast,” Avdic said. “I tried to fell down others, pressing myself into the assemblage – but truthful was everyone else, each idiosyncratic trying to shield themselves down idiosyncratic else.”

But Avdic had besides accepted that helium was going to die.

“The lone happening I wanted astatine that infinitesimal was to portion immoderate water. I felt devastated that I’d dice thirsty.”

As helium looked ahead, helium saw what felt similar an endless assemblage — thousands of men. Then, the gunfire began, abrupt and fierce. He couldn’t callback the nonstop infinitesimal helium was hit. There was chaos, shouting, bodies dropping each astir him. Then – blackness.

When helium regained consciousness, symptom surged done his body. His close limb and broadside were burning; his full assemblage trembled. The stench of gunpowder clung to the air. Bullets had been fired astatine point-blank scope – they had torn done the radical without mercy. Bodies laic each astir him.

In the haze, helium heard voices, soldiers nearby. One said, “Check if anyone’s inactive alive.” Another replied coldly, “They’re each dead.”

Then came silence, followed by the dependable of vehicles pulling away. Somewhere nearby, helium noticed a antheral inactive moving. He called retired softly, “Are you each right?” The antheral responded, “I am. Come. Untie me.”

“I can’t … I can’t …” Avdic whispered. His dependable faded successful and out.

Somehow, aft what seemed similar eternity, helium managed to stitchery his spot and crawl implicit to the man, who had survived, astir unharmed, due to the fact that helium had been crushed nether the value of the bodies falling connected him, and so, was saved from the bullets.

With thing other to use, Avdic began chewing done the ropes that bound the man, dilatory and painfully. Thread by thread.

The soldiers were gone, truthful the antheral stood up and began to walk. Avdic, inactive tied and injured, crawled beside him, implicit the bodies of executed men and boys, immoderate inactive warm. They stumbled into a factual drainage canal hidden successful the brush, wherever the antheral untied Avdic’s wrists and began to transportation him. When the antheral grew excessively tired, Avdic would resistance himself guardant connected his stomach, inch by inch.

They survived connected chaotic apples plucked from trees. Weakened and bleeding, Avdic would beg the man, “Please, permission maine behind. Save yourself.” But the antheral refused, each time.

For days, they crept done dense forests, dodging Serb patrols, slipping past scorched Bosniak homes, and sleeping successful the ruins of villages burned years earlier. Each clip Avdic could spell nary farther, the antheral pointed to the adjacent elevation and whispered, “Just that 1 much … past we’ll stop.”

Eventually, they crossed into Bosnian-held territory successful Zvornik adjacent Tuzla, hardly alive.

“Someone poured h2o connected me,” Avdic aboriginal recalled. “And I cried. That’s erstwhile I knew. I had survived.”

Nedzad Avdic, present [Courtesy Avdic]

A shoelace

After surviving the shelling of his flat successful Srebrenica, Mesic joined the file fleeing done the wood with his 2 brothers, Hasan, 36, and Safet, 34, connected July 11, portion their parents had already taken refuge astatine the UN basal successful Srebrenica.

After a time oregon 2 of moving, the file stalled – apt adjacent Kamenica, a colony successful the Zvornik municipality adjacent the borderline with Serbia – and was attacked by soldiers. Kamenica was 1 of the deadliest points on the flight way from Srebrenica, wherever Bosnian Serbs killed hundreds of men done a bid of ambushes arsenic they tried to fly done the forest.

A fierce barrage of gunfire rained down connected them. Mesic’s member Hasan was changeable successful some arms.

Amid the chaos, Mesic and his brothers tried to support moving, but helium mislaid show of some Safet and Hasan.

“I couldn’t spot them immoderate more,” helium said.

He pressed connected with a tiny radical of survivors, carrying the wounded done the woods.

At 1 point, rainfall began to fall, and the survivors welcomed it. “It masked our steps,” helium recalled. “Soaking wet, exhausted, we laic down and slept broadside by side, successful the mud, nether the rain.”

Mesic’s member Safet is believed to person been executed by Bosnian Serb forces successful the Srebrenica genocide. His remains person yet to beryllium found. He was 34 [Courtesy of Hajrudin Mesic]

Along the route, helium reunited with a adjacent friend, who shared his brother’s name, Hasan. “Only past did I consciousness a small safer again,” Mesic recalled. “I wasn’t unsocial immoderate more.”

But Mesic, Hasan and their radical would person to look much gunfire. In the forests supra Kamenica, the constrictive trails had turned into disposable roads, beaten down by thousands of hopeless feet.

Locals called it the trla, a tragic corridor etched into the scenery by decease marches. Serb forces were already there, lying successful wait.

“They fto america pass, and past opened fire,” Mesic said. “Many were killed.”

He deed the crushed on with Hasan. “I retrieve the dependable of them changing firearm magazines,” helium said. Hasan was shot. “Please don’t permission me,” helium begged.

“I didn’t, I couldn’t,” Mesic said.

Once again, Mesic survived, with Hasan.

By the clip the 2 reached Brezik village, 50 kilometres (about 30 miles) from Tuzla, Mesic’s shoes had agelong fallen apart. He was walking successful bladed socks that had torn, and his feet were blistered. In 1 hand, helium clutched respective small, bruised chaotic pears which helium had picked up successful the wood – “the benignant adjacent livestock wouldn’t eat,” helium said.

“But we were starving. I couldn’t fto them go.”

They were adjacent to what they believed was escaped territory erstwhile bullets deed the ungraded astir them again. “We person made it truthful far,” Mesic told his friend. “But I don’t cognize if we’ll marque it this time.”

Serb soldiers were positioned connected adjacent houses, truthful the 2 crawled done high, uncut writer to debar being noticed until they fell into an abandoned Serb service trench. Inside, they recovered 2 wounded Bosniak men and a boy, who had been changeable by the soldiers. The men died successful beforehand of them. The boy, 16-year-old Musa, was bleeding heavy from his leg.

“He looked astatine maine and said, ‘Do you person a shoelace? Anything I tin necktie my limb with?’” Mesic recalled. “You deliberation I had shoelaces? I didn’t adjacent person shoes.”

In symptom and panic, Musa began to outcry out: “Serbs! I’m wounded! Come assistance me!” From determination beyond the trench, a dependable called back: “Drop your limb first!” Musa answered, “I don’t person a weapon! I’m a kid!”

“He inactive believed idiosyncratic mightiness help,” Mesic said.

But nary assistance came. Musa was changeable and killed wherever helium lay.

Mesic’s parents, Selim and Zaha, reached Tuzla with different refugees. They survived [Courtesy of Hajrudin Mesic]

Realising they whitethorn beryllium next, Mesic and Hasan ran for their lives nether fire, slowing down lone erstwhile the soldiers were retired of range. “I inactive had the pears successful 1 hand.”

It was night, and they decided to hold for dawn earlier moving again.

But suddenly, Mesic heard idiosyncratic calling retired to them.

About 30 metres away, determination was a worker waving, motioning for them to travel over. Mesic said to Hasan, “He’s calling us. Maybe he’s 1 of ours?” Hasan replied, “Are you kidding? That’s a Chetnik [a Serb nationalist combatant oregon paramilitary].”

“If it was a Chetnik, helium wouldn’t beryllium smiling similar that – he’d sprout america from here,” Mesic said. Hasan inactive didn’t privation to go.

Mesic was torn. He said again, “He’s smiling, that’s thing lone a person would do.”

Then, adjacent to the worker calling retired to them,  Hasan recognised his person Sakib. “It’s our army! It’s Bosniaks!” helium told Mesic. The terrain of Brezik is rugged and breached up, and the 2 had crossed into Bosniak-controlled territory without realising it.

They ran towards the Bosnian soldiers, who gave them bread. They had survived.

Hajrudin Mesic present [Courtesy Mesic]

The ones who lived

Days aboriginal successful Tuzla, Mesic was reunited with his parents, who had fixed him up for dead.

Meanwhile, the autobus Bektic had boarded successful Potocari took him to Tisca, from wherever helium walked arsenic portion of a civilian file to Kladanj, adjacent Tuzla. “Even though I was portion of a agelong column, I inactive felt wholly alone,” helium said. “But I survived. And that means I person to speak.”

In 2004, the International Criminal Tribunal for the erstwhile Yugoslavia (ICTY) ruled that the Srebrenica killings were genocide. Serb leaders Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic were some convicted of genocide – Karadzic successful 2016, Mladic successful 2017.

In 2007, the International Court of Justice recognised Srebrenica arsenic an enactment of genocide and recovered that Serbia failed successful its work to forestall it.

In conscionable a fewer days successful July 1995, much than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were murdered. Their remains were scattered crossed wide graves, galore of them aboriginal disturbed successful efforts to fell the crime. At slightest 25,000 women and children were expelled from the town. According to the State Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina, astir 25,000 women were raped during the war. The existent fig is believed to beryllium importantly higher, arsenic galore survivors apt person ne'er travel guardant due to the fact that of the stigma associated with rape. In 2006, Bosnia and Herzegovina became 1 of the archetypal countries to legally recognise survivors of wartime intersexual violence, but children calved of wartime rape weren’t recognised until 2022.

To this day, much than 1,000 families are inactive waiting to find and hide their loved ones killed successful the Srebrenica genocide. Those recovered are being buried successful Potocari.

In the aboriginal 2000s, Avdic testified astatine The Hague successful the trials of those accused of committing genocide successful Srebrenica. He aboriginal co-wrote a publication with his sister, The Hague Witness, present translated into English and being translated into Arabic. He mislaid his father, 3 uncles – including the 1 who was with him successful the schoolhouse successful Petkovici, an aunt, 3 cousins, and galore others successful the genocide. From his contiguous family, his parent Tima and his 3 sisters had survived. He ne'er got backmost the household photographs helium had near successful his bag. Today, helium lives successful Srebrenica.

Emir Bektic present [Courtesy Bektic]

Mesic mislaid 4 brothers, including Hasan and Safet –  the brothers helium was fleeing Srebrenica with – and 24 relatives connected his mother’s side. Hasan, who was changeable successful some his arms, was yet killed by stepping connected a excavation placed by Bosnian Serb forces. His remains were recovered and laid to remainder astatine the Potocari cemetery, portion Safet is inactive missing to this day. Mesic lives successful Sarajevo, wherever helium teaches past and geography. Each year, helium takes his students to Srebrenica and the memorial successful Potocari.

Bektic mislaid astir 10 of his household members and relatives, among them his begetter Redzep, who was recovered successful a wide sedate successful Kamenica. His uncle and 2 cousins, who were with him, were besides executed. Today, Bektic lives successful Sarajevo and is the writer of A Dawn Alone, a idiosyncratic relationship of his endurance during the Srebrenica genocide, translated into English and Turkish.