the shadow

20 years ago today, the Bosnian people faced the greatest genocide in Europe since the Holocaust in World War II. Over a period of 11 days, more than 8,000 of the men and boys were massacred while the women faced unspeakable torture. All this while the UN “peacekeepers” watched from the safety of the surrounding hills. According to some eyewitness testimonies Dutch peacekeepers were among the refugees watching as the Serbs raped and murdered them. Those same “peacekeepers” had declared Srebrenica a “UN Safe Zone” before the Serbs came and killed everyone.

Why did the Serbs kill the Bosnians? Because the Bosnians are a proud European Muslim people. The Bosnians were killed for their Islam.

I will never forget when I met a Bosnian girl and her mother, both refugees, from that time.

“So where are you from?” “I am from Srebrenica.” “Where is the rest of your family?”

She gave me a slightly annoyed look as if to tell me I should know better, and repeated:

“I am from Srebrenica.”

Rooftop Dreams, Varanasi.