The Unquiet Dead Read online

  Ambassador Ahmed Snoussi, Representative of Morocco to the Security Council. Provisional Verbatim Record of the Three Thousand and Eighty-Second Meeting, held at Headquarters, New York Saturday, 30 May 1992: Security Council. S/PV.3082, 30 May 1992, p. 25.

  Today a funeral procession was shelled. The whole city is without water.

  Letter dated 28 September 1992 from the acting president of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the United Nations, addressed to the president of the Security Council. S/24601, 29 September 1992, p. 2.

  Charred bodies lie along the street.

  Letter dated 9 September 1992 from the Permanent Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the United Nations, addressed to the president of the Security Council. S/24537, 9 September 1992, p. 2.

  Chapter 11.

  All my joys and my happiness up to then have been replaced by pain and sorrow for my son and my husband.

  Srebrenica survivor Sabaheta, as quoted in Selma Leydesdorff, “Stories from No Land: The Women of Srebrenica Speak Out,” Human Rights Review (April 2007, Vol. 8:3), 191.

  Chapter 12.

  Whoever was on the list to be killed would be killed.

  Quoting Schefik, a thirty-eight-year-old construction worker taken to Manjača. Charles Lane, “Dateline: Croatia,” The Black Book of Bosnia, ed. Nader Mousavizadeh (New Republic, 1996), 84.

  I have just been informed that the besieged city of Jajce has fallen to the aggressor.

  Letter dated 29 October 1992 from the Permanent Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the United Nations, addressed to the president of the Security Council. S/24740, 29 October 1992.

  Massive air attacks continue in Bosnia today. We cannot defend ourselves yet no one is coming to our aid.

  Letter dated 28 September 1992 from the acting president of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the United Nations, addressed to the president of the Security Council. S/24601, 29 September 1992, p. 2.

  For having uttered a wrong word, people are taken away or killed.

  Letter dated 9 September 1992 from the Permanent Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the United Nations, addressed to the president of the Security Council. S/24537, 9 September 1992, p. 2.

  The camps remain open.

  Letter dated 4 November 1992 from the Permanent Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the United Nations, addressed to the president of the Security Council. S/24761, 5 November 1992.

  The enemy ring around the city is being strengthened with fresh troops.

  Letter dated 22 June 1992 from His Excellency Mr. Alija Izetbegović, President of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to the United Nations, addressed to the president of the Security Council. S/24214, 22 June 1992.

  For the past three days, Serb forces have been conducting a fierce offensive against the town of Bihac.

  Letter dated 9 February 1994 from the Permanent Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the United Nations, addressed to the president of the Security Council. S/1994/142, 9 February 1994, p. 2.

  Today Serb forces shelled the city of Tuzla. While writing this letter, the city centre is under heavy mortar attack.

  Letter dated 14 January 1994 from the mayor of the City of Tuzla to the United Nations, addressed to the president of the Security Council. S/1994/45, 14 January 1994, p. 2.

  The famous National Library has been set on fire and is still burning.

  Joint letter dated 26 August 1992 from the acting president of the Presidency and the Prime Minister of Bosnia to the United Nations, addressed to the Security Council. S/26500, 26 August 1992, p. 2.

  Defend us or let us defend ourselves. You have no right to deprive us of both.

  Alija Izetbegović, President of Bosnia and Herzegovina, before the Security Council. As quoted in Paul Lewis, “At UN, Bosnian Presses His Plea for More Land,” New York Times (8 September 1993).

  If Allah helps you, none can ever overcome you; but if He should forsake you, who is there after Him that can help you? In Allah, then, let the believers put their trust.

  Sura Al Imran. Qur’an 3:160.

  Chapter 13.

  No one knows what will come tomorrow

  and no one knows in what land he will die.

  Sura Luqman. Qur’an 31:34.

  Chapter 14.

  Somewhere life withers, somewhere it begins.

  Srebrenica survivor, from Srebrenica: A Cry from the Grave, directed by Leslie Woodhead ([distributor Thirteen/WNET PBS], 1999).

  Chapter 15.

  While the Serb soldier was dragging my son away, I heard his voice for the last time. And he turned around and then he told me, “Mummy please, can you get that bag for me? Could you please get it for me?”

  Witness DD, a Bosnian Muslim woman, speaking about how she lost her husband and two sons in the July 1995 Srebrenica genocide. She testified on 26 July 2000 in the case against Radislav Krstić. Witness DD’s complete “Voice of the Victims” statement is available through the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia at http://www.icty.org/sid/10124.

  Chapter 16.

  The National Library of Sarajevo is burning.

  Joint letter dated 26 August 1992 from the acting president of the Presidency and the Prime Minister of Bosnia to the United Nations, addressed to the Security Council. S/ 26500, 26 August 1992, p. 2.

  A radio broadcast instructed Muslims to put white ribbons around their arms, go outside, form columns and head towards the main square.

  Emir Beganović, a Bosnian Muslim man. He testified on 19 July 1996 in the case against Duško Tadić and on 4 and 5 May 2000 in the case against Kvočka et al. His complete “Voice of the Victims” statement is available through the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia at http://www.icty.org/sid/10120.

  Chapter 17.

  I don’t have a photograph of my child when he was small … I want to apologize for crying,” Mrs. Čehajić told the court, “because you cannot compare this with what has happened, but this is also something that is important to many people.

  Minka Čehajić, a Bosnian pediatrician. She testified on 14, 15, and 16 May 2002 in the case against Milomir Stakić. Čehajić’s complete “Voice of the Victims” statement is available through the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia at http://www.icty.org/sid/186.

  Chapter 18.

  Simply, they left no witnesses behind.

  Emir Beganović, a Bosnian Muslim man. He testified on 19 July 1996 in the case against Duško Tadić and on 4 and 5 May 2000 in the case against Kvočka et al. His complete “Voice of the Victims” statement is available through the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia at http://www.icty.org/sid/10120.

  I would like to appeal to you to ask, Mr. Krstić, whether there is any hope for at least that little child that they snatched away from me, because I keep dreaming about him. I dream of him bringing flowers and saying, “Mother, I’ve come.” I hug him and say, “Where have you been, my son?” And he says, “I’ve been in Vlasenica all this time.” So I beg you, if Mr. Krstić knows anything about it, about him surviving someplace …

  Witness DD, a Bosnian Muslim woman, appealing to Judge Rodrigues at the Krstić trial. She testified on 26 July 2000 in the case against Radislav Krstić. Witness DD’s complete “Voice of the Victims” statement is available through the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia at http://www.icty.org/sid/10124.

  Chapter 19.

  How is it possible that a human being could do something like this, could destroy everything, could kill so many people? Just imagine this youngest boy I had, those little hands of his, how could they be dead? I imagine those hands picking strawberries, reading books, going to school, going on excursions. Every morning I cover my eyes not to look at other children going to school and husbands going to work, holding hands.

  Witness DD, a Bosnian Muslim woman, speaking about how she lost her husband and two sons in the July 1995 Srebrenica genocide. She testified on 26 July 2000 i
n the case against Radislav Krstić. Witness DD’s complete “Voice of the Victims” statement is available through the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia at http://www.icty.org/sid/10124.

  Collect your ammunition and let’s go to the meadow to kill the men.

  Gojko Simic, Commander of the Anti-Tank Platoon of the Fourth Battalion, 1st Zvornik Brigade, as quoted in Srebenica: Reconstruction, Background, Consequences and Analyses of the Fall of a “Safe” Area (Netherlands Institute of War Documentation, 2000): part 4, chapter 2, p. 72. Available online at http://www.srebrenica-project.com/DOWNLOAD/NOD/NIOD%20Part%20IV.pdf.

  Chapter 20.

  All wounds will be healed but not this one.

  Bekir Izetbegović, Bosnian member of the Presidential Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As quoted in Markar Esayan, “Srebrenica, Cain’s Sign and Poetry,” Today’s Zaman (10 July 2011). Available online at http://www.todayszaman.com/columnists/markar-esayan-250045-srebrenica-cains-sign-and-poetry.html.

  Chapter 21.

  I apologize to the victims and to their shadows. I will be happy if this contributed to reconciliation in Bosnia, if neighbors can again shake hands, if our children can again play games together, and if they have the right to a chance.

  Dragan Obrenović, Statement of Guilt (30 October 2003). Dragan Obrenović was a senior officer and commander within the Bosnian Serb Army in July 1995. He was convicted for persecutions carried out through the murder of hundreds of Bosnian Muslim civilians, committed in and around Srebrenica. Under the plea agreement, he agreed to testify in other proceedings before the Tribunal, including those trials related to Srebrenica. Obrenović was sentenced to seventeen years’ imprisonment. His complete statement is available through the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia at http://www.icty.org/sid/219.

  Chapter 22.

  Mr. Stakić is here. He’s a physician just like I am, and he made decisions concerning the camps. He knew that we were there. He knew that his colleague Jusuf Pasic, who was facing retirement, had been taken to Omarska and killed there. He knew about dozens of doctors, physicians being taken to Omarksa and killed. Why? These people were the Muslim intelligentsia and they meant something. Is there an answer to all of this?

  Dr. Idriz Merdžanić, a Bosnian doctor who treated victims of the Trnopolje Camp. He testified on 10 and 11 September 2002 in the case against Milomir Stakić. His complete “Voice of the Victims” statement is available through the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia at http://www.icty.org/sid/202.

  Chapter 23.

  Verily God will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.

  Sura Ar-Ra’d, “The Thunder.” Qur’an 13:11.

  Chapter 24.

  We heard it on the radio. They will send the airplanes now. They will save us now.

  Witness DD, a Bosnian Muslim woman, appealing to Judge Rodrigues at the Krstić trial. She testified on 26 July 2000 in the case against Radislav Krstić. Witness DD’s complete “Voice of the Victims” statement is available through the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia at http://www.icty.org/sid/10124.

  I’m not going to any safe place. The Serbs are going to take me.

  Hasan Nuhanović, translator at the UN base at Potočari, discussing the fall of Srebrenica. As cited in Joe Rubin, “Srebrenica: A Survivor’s Story,” Frontline/World (28 March 2006). Available online at http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/bosnia502/interviews_hasan.html.

  Chapter 25.

  30 Dutch = 30,000 Muslims.

  Note handed to a Dutch lieutenant by a Muslim officer in Srebrenica. Mark Danner, “What Went Wrong?” (PBS.org, 1999). Published online in conjunction with Srebenica: A Cry from the Grave, directed by Leslie Woodhead ([distributor Thirteen/WNET PBS], 1999). Available online at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/cryfromthegrave/aftermath/t2_essay.html.

  Chapter 26.

  It is a crime committed against every single one of us.

  Jean-René Ruez, Chief War Crimes Investigator, Srebrenica. Srebrenica: A Cry from the Grave, directed by Leslie Woodhead ([distributor Thirteen/WNET PBS], 1999).

  Chapter 27.

  When I close my eyes, I don’t see the men.

  Srebrenica survivor. Srebrenica: A Cry from the Grave, directed by Leslie Woodhead ([distributor Thirteen/WNET PBS], 1999).

  In fourteen days, Srebrenica will be gone.

  A statement made by a VRS (Bosnian Serb Army) soldier to one of the military personnel trying to get through to Srebrenica on 4 July 1995. It is unclear if it was a DutchBat driver or a company medic who was warned. Srebenica: Reconstruction, Background, Consequences and Analyses of the Fall of a “Safe” Area (Netherlands Institute of War Documentation, 2000): part 4, chapter 5, p. 260. Available online at http://www.srebrenica-project.com/DOWNLOAD/NOD/NIOD%20Part%20IV.pdf.

  When the Serbs took Srebrenica, they wiped from the earth three generations of men.

  Mirsada Malagić, a Bosnian Muslim woman, speaking about the women whose husbands were killed in the Srebrenica massacres in 1995. She testified on 3 and 4 April 2000 in the case against Radislav Krstić and on 16 February 2011 in the case against Zdravko Tolimir. Mirsada Malagić’s complete “Voice of the Victims” statement is available through the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia at http://www.icty.org/sid/191.

  The young boys were crying out for their parents, the fathers for their sons. But there was no help.

  A survivor of the Srebrenica massacre, describing the preparations for executions. Srebenica: Reconstruction, Background, Consequences and Analyses of the Fall of a “Safe” Area (Netherlands Institute of War Documentation, 2000): part 4, chapter 2, p. 71. Available online at http://www.srebrenica-project.com/DOWNLOAD/NOD/NIOD%20Part%20IV.pdf.

  I realized then that nothing good was in store for us in Potočari.

  Mirsada Malagić, a Bosnian Muslim woman. She testified on 3 and 4 April 2000 in the case against Radislav Krstić and on 16 February 2011 in the case against Zdravko Tolimir. Mirsada Malagić’s complete “Voice of the Victims” statement is available through the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia at http://www.icty.org/sid/191.

  Chapter 28.

  Any rape is monstrously unacceptable but what is happening at this very moment in these rape and death camps is even more horrific.

  Semra Turkovic, women’s rights advocate in Zagreb, Croatia. Quoted in Angela Robson, “Weapon of War,” New Internationalist (vol. 244, June 1993). Available online at http://www.newint.org/features/1993/06/05/rape.

  Chapter 29.

  We saw them rape the hadji’s daughter—one after the other, they raped her. The hadji had to watch too. When they were done, they rammed a knife into his throat.

  Alexandra Stiglmayer, ed., Mass Rape: The War Against Women in Bosnia-Herzegovina (University of Nebraska, 1994), 82.

  Chapter 30.

  Mina was crying the most. She said, “We are not girls anymore. Our lives are over.”

  Stephen Kinzer, “Bosnian Refugees’ Accounts Appear to Verify Atrocities,” New York Times (17 July 1995).

  Chapter 31.

  It is inconceivable for me all of this that is happening to us. Is life so unpredictable and brutal? I remember how this time last year we were rejoicing over building a house, and now see where we are. I feel as if I’d never been alive. I try to fight it by remembering everything that was beautiful with you and the children and all those I love.

  Last letter of Muhamed Čehajić to his wife, Minka Čehajić, 9 June 1992. Minka Čehajić is a Bosnian pediatrician who testified on 14, 15, and 16 May 2002 in the case against Milomir Stakić. Her complete “Voice of the Victims” statement, along with the translation of her husband’s letter, is available through the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia at http://www.icty.org/sid/186.

  Any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a nati
onal, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

  (a) Killing members of the group;

  (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;

  (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

  (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;

  (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

  Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (entered into force 12 January 1951), Article 2 (United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 78, p. 277).

  You Muslim women, you Bule, we’ll show you.

  Witness 50 (she testified with her name and identity withheld from the public), a teenage rape victim from Foča, speaking about how ICTY convict Zoran Vuković raped her. She testified on 29 and 30 March 2000 in the case against Dragoljub Kunarac, Zoran Vuković, and Radomir Kovač. Witness 50’s complete “Voice of the Victims” statement is available online at http://www.icty.org/sid/188.

  You will see, you Muslims. I am going to draw a cross on your back. I’m going to baptize all of you.

  Witness 50 (she testified with her name and identity withheld from the public), a teenage rape victim from Foča, speaking about how ICTY convict Zoran Vuković raped her. She testified on 29 and 30 March 2000 in the case against Dragoljub Kunarac, Zoran Vuković, and Radomir Kovač. Witness 50’s complete “Voice of the Victims” statement is available through the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia at http://www.icty.org/sid/188.

  Chapter 32.

  This was the city’s still center, the very essence of Islam: in a walled courtyard, water, a tree, and the warm geometry of stone. In the deep blue velvet sky by the minaret hung a sliver of incandescent silver light: the first moon of spring.

  Francis R. Jones, “Return,” Why Bosnia?, ed. Ali Rabia and Lawrence Lifschultz (Pamphleteer’s Press, 1993), 33.

  We see

  that things too quickly grown

  are swiftly overthrown.

  Ibn Hazm, The Ring of the Dove, trans. A. J. Arberry (Luzac, 1994, Rpt.). Available at Islamic Philosophy Online, Inc. at http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/hazm/dove/index.html.