He has spent 30 years defending the more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys murdered in the UN-protected enclave of Srebrenica.
‘We are still here’
“This flower means that we are still here and that there will be more of us,” said Ms. Subašić.
The marble flower has 11 white petals surrounding a green center. The petals represent July 11, the UN-designated International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Srebrenica Genocide. White symbolizes the innocence of the victims; Green is reminiscent of the shroud placed on Muslims when they die, and also of new growth and hope.
Despite the horrors of 1995, Ms. Subašić said the survivors “raised our children without revenge, without hatred,” calling the children the new generation.
Representing the new generation was his 12-year-old grandson, Karim, who skipped school today in Bosnia and Herzegovina to attend. He had lost his grandfather and great-uncle, as well as 70 other members of his family in 1995.
Participants attend the opening of the “Flower of Srebrenica” Memorial in honor of the victims of the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica.
The fight must continue
“I’m proud of her,” Karim told UN News about his grandmother. “She is inspiring. I hope she continues to fight so no one experiences this again.”
He added that he and his friends don’t talk about what happened because they’ve all lost family members and it’s “too sad.”
Counter revisionist history
Speaking at the ceremony, UN Under-Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said the new monument counters the history of denial, distortion and revisionism.
“Denial itself is an attack on humanity itself. It distorts history, dehumanizes its victims, and deepens divisions that make future atrocities possible,” he added.
Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide, Chaloka Beyani, called the defense of Ms. Subašić and thousands of other mothers “an act of love and remembrance for the victims” and a global commitment to prevent future genocides.
Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed with other participants at the inauguration of the “Flower of Srebrenica” Memorial in honor of the victims of the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica.
Srebrenica and Rwanda
The Srebrenica Flower Memorial is a gift from Bosnia and Herzegovina to the United Nations Secretariat as part of the Srebrenica Genocide and the United Nations Outreach Programme.
It is located near another genocide monument: the Kwibuka flame that commemorates the victims and survivors of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
“The monuments to the genocide committed in the heart of Europe and in the heart of Africa bear witness to the truth, but they also warn humanity that it will never again allow the genocide to be repeated,” said Denis Bećirović, member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.