These words uttered by Plutarch two thousand years ago were heard and taken to heart by too few people. To try to remove hatred, deprive it of eternity; wrest future generations from its grip, if we could not escape it ourselves—are the kind of principles these words should establish.
To stand at the site of an atrocity, to face and relive the horrors of war, to expose oneself again to that most powerful experience; and at the same time, to show compassion for suffering and sympathy for the pain of not just the victims from among your own people is an act of courage and dignity. An act that prevents a resurgence of hatred, an act that, as the Croatian Army veteran Dražen Horvat pointed out, “can show how the conflicts from that time and the reasons behind them can be overcome, that we can make a step towards reconciliation.”
One such step, in a series of courageous steps, was made by a group of war veterans from the region, former members of the Army of RBiH, HVO, VRS, HV, VJ, and JNA, under the organisation of the Centre for Nonviolent Action Sarajevo/Belgrade. Together, they visited Niš and sites of memory in this city, and attended the commemoration to victims of the NATO bombing in Aleksinac. Making sure that they were not the only ones to heed Plutarch’s words and that they did not walk alone along that path were their hosts from the City of Niš Disabled Veterans Association and the Peacebuilders Association from Kruševac.
We sat down together at the same table…
Their direct and often brutal personal experience of war can become a strong motivating factor for becoming actively involved in peacebuilding. It was with this motivation in mind that on 4 April 2019, the mixed group of war veterans and representatives of the Centre for Nonviolent Action paid their respects to the victims and laid flowers at the memorials to fallen citizens of Niš, civilians and soldiers, from the period 1991-1999. Niš was bombed for 29 days, 26 civilians were killed and 60 wounded. With this gesture, the war veterans not only sent a message of peace, but provided a model example of how to work on reconciliation in the region.
“We sat down together at the same table. There were misgivings at first, but from day to day, we grew to trust each other. I would like to use this opportunity to send a message to the politicians that we want to and we can live together,” said Hamdija Karić, a war veteran from Vitez in central Bosnia, a former member of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, adding that “thanks to the Centre for Nonviolent Action that brings together war veterans from the region, we have done what no politician in the Balkans has managed to do.”
The hosts also took the group to visit the Army Museum and Memorial Room at the Serbian Army building. At the Museum, the veterans were received by Lieutenant General Milisav Simović who was there to welcome them and guide them through the museum. With gratitude for his time and effort, the Museum visit left us with a bitter aftertaste because of the manner of memorialisation, where only Serbs are honoured as victims, while the victims from among the “others” have no place in the Museum.
Sowing the seeds
The group also visited Islam-aga’s Mosque in downtown Niš. The chairman of the jamaat committee, effendi Ragib Dobreva briefly presented the history of the mosque and the life of the Islamic community in Niš. The mosque had been set on fire in the night of 17 March 2004 by hooligans reacting to the destruction of churches and monasteries in Kosovo and Metohija. By the end of August 2013, the mosque had been renovated and reopened for religious services. However, today, the call to prayer is not heard from the minaret, but only inside the mosque.
The veterans visited the City Hall where they were received by Niš Councillor Mirko Zečević on behalf of the mayor. In pleasant conversation and a good atmosphere, Mr Zečević expressed his pleasure with the visit and added he was very pleased to receive a group that works towards reconciliation among all our peoples.
The most recent and striking experience of war in this part of former Yugoslavia is connected to the war in Kosovo and the NATO bombing of SRY. The possibility for war veterans who used to be on warring sides to come visit each other and lay flowers at sites of atrocities, in this concrete case the Albanians and the Serbs, still seems far-off and uncertain. However, that idea, clearly demonstrated, has now been sown like a seed that we hope will grow among the veterans and local authorities in Niš.
After the meeting, the war veterans visited the Second World War Concentration Camp “12 February” at the Red Cross and the Skull Tower.
Face to face with yourself
On Friday, 5 April 2019, the Centre for Nonviolent Action and the group of war veterans attended the commemoration to victims of the NATO bombing in Aleksinac, they paid their respects to the victims and laid a wreath at the memorial to citizens of Aleksinac killed in the bombing. During the NATO bombing of SRY, the town of Aleksinac was bombed twice. The worst of the bombing took place on 5 April 1999, when 11 citizens were killed and 50 were wounded. Some 700 residential buildings were destroyed, as well as health clinics and commercial buildings. Aleksinac was bombed again in the night between 27 and 28 May 1999. Three people were killed in this bombing.
“As veterans from all sides, we wanted to pay our respects to the victims and express our sympathies to the people of Aleksinac and this part of Serbia in their grief, when they remember the events from 20 years ago. For a number of years, we have been visiting sites of suffering in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia. We want to send a different message, to practice a different culture of memory that allows us to grieve victims on other sides and pay our respects, acknowledging that it was not just our people that suffered, but that we also understand the suffering of others. Veterans, with their brutal experience of war, today act as witnesses, testifying to war as the supreme evil of humanity, and want to be bearers of peace,” said Adnan Hasanbegović, a war veteran of ARBiH and today a peace activist and member of CNA, after the commemoration in Aleksinac.
Following the commemoration at the Aleksinac Culture Centre, a meeting was held with representatives of the Aleksinac Veterans Movement. It was also attended by Deputy Mayor Čedomir Rakić who welcomed the group and expressed his desire to be part of a team that works to build peace.
To come face to face with yourself, with others, to regain and re-earn the trust of others, to believe that we can and must live together, these are just some of the steps that the veterans undertake when making visits across the region. By no means easy, these steel-shod steps rung out loud and clear, confident and without fear, throughout our time in Niš and Aleksinac. We owe much of this to the hospitality and effort of our hosts, as well as the significant media support and coverage. Many media announcements, reports, appearances in a number of TV shows reinforced our impression of significant weight and attention given to our visit to these towns, which gives us further hope that the steps we are making are visible and that our mission is, hopefully, increasingly influential, supported and welcomed.
The photo gallery is available HERE
Announcements:
http://niskiportal.rs/vest/Centar-za-nenasilnu-akciju
TV appearances
https://www.facebook.com/veroljub.smiljkovic/videos/10219016034981768/
TV reports:
http://www.belami.rs/video-ex-yu-ratni-veterani-polozili-vence-stradalim-gradanima-nisa/
https://tvzonaplus.rs/nekada-protivnici-danas-zagovornici-pomirenja/
https://www.facebook.com/RadioTelevizijaBosphorusAleksinac/videos/2227752930773279/
News stories:
https://jugmedia.rs/ratni-veterani-iz-okruzenja-svi-bolimo-istu-bol/