At the invitation of our friends from the Kvart Youth Centre in Prijedor, the “Jer me se tiče” [Because It Concerns Me] Initiative and the Culture of Memory Foundation from Prijedor, on 31 May, we joined in marking International White Armband Day to commemorate the civilians and children killed in Prijedor from 1992 to 1995.
The day before, on 30 May, members of the CNA team Davorka Turk and Nedžad Novalić participated in a panel discussion on memorialisation about why memorialisation is important, what kind of memorialisation we need, who has the right to public space, etc. The discussion also included Edin Ramulić from the Culture of Memory Foundation in Prijedor, a survivor of the Prijedor prison camp Trnopolje and long-time activist, Zdravka Karlica, president of the Organisation of Families of Captured and Killed Fighters and Missing Civilians, and Goran Zorić from the “Jer me se tiče” Initiative which has been organising International White Armband Day for seven years running.
In addition to examining memorialisation in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region, the discussion also focused on the concrete experience of the local community in Prijedor. As in previous years, White Armband Day was dedicated to supporting parents of children killed in Prijedor during the war in their efforts to acquire approval for a monument in the town centre, so the panel discussion, especially because it brought together representatives of victims’ associations from both the Serb and Bosniak side, was a good opportunity to discuss concrete memorialisation issues in Prijedor.
Given the extent of war crimes and casualties, today Prijedor finds itself somewhere between a difficult past marked by crimes, violence, as well as discrimination that has extended beyond the end of the war, and a future indicated by positive examples of trust building between communities, establishing dialogue and peacebuilding. The path is by no means linear and you will not be wrong in thinking that sometimes Prijedor seems to be going backwards.
Even after seven years of marking White Armband Day, the local authorities will not allow a commemoration for 102 children killed in the ethnic cleansing of Prijedor in 1992 to be held in the centre of town. The infamous prison camps of Omarska, Keraterm and Trnopolje still remain unmarked sites of atrocities. Survivors marked the Keraterm camp without obtaining approval from the local authorities, but the memorial plaque has remained to this day, while, on the other hand, a monument to fallen soldiers of the Republika Srpska Army has been erected at the Trnopolje camp, which at the same time forbids the marking of this site as a former prison camp for Bosniaks and Croats.
When it comes to memorialisation, Prijedor has unfortunately not moved ahead of BiH or the region as a whole. Public space, especially in the town centre, is the exclusive right of the majority people with political power in Prijedor today, monuments of returnees are relegated to yards of religious buildings and many sites of atrocities against members of the minority people remain unmarked. Examining the monuments provides ample information about today’s Prijedor – which people holds political power and is able to impose memory of its own truth, which memory is desirable, who the enemies are and how they are called, etc. The situation is seldom much different in other places, so Prijedor is not an exception.
On the other hand, Prijedor offers indications that a different path is possible. Apart from the fact that White Armband Day in Prijedor is organised by the “Jer me se tiče” Initiative that includes young Serbs from Prijedor, it is also noteworthy that local media report on commemorations to victims belonging to what is today a minority population. The Kozarski vijesnik daily and Radio-Television Prijedor, once cogs in the murderous propaganda machine of 1992, published obituaries in memory of the killed children of Prijedor this year, free of charge. This may seem like a small step, but just a few years ago, it was practically unimaginable. More importantly, what was once unimaginable today seems possible thanks to the efforts of many, purely as proof that things do not happen of their own accord and that steps that may seem small are backed by tremendous effort and courage.
White Armband Day, as a commemoration for all non-Serbs killed in Prijedor, can serve as an example for how to organise a commemoration that calls for inclusion and not exclusion of the community that bears the responsibility (meaning the political and moral responsibility, not criminal responsibility) for the committed crimes. A peaceful and dignified procession through the centre of town, without fiery speeches, with white armbands worn on the left arm, roses laid down in memory of 102 killed children, these gestures call on other citizens of Prijedor to join, to support the construction of the monument, to participate in remembering and thus contribute to a better future where no child, no person, will ever have to wear a white armband, visible or invisible, in order to be more easily identified as an enemy and eliminated.
Finally, the discussion on memorialisation also showed that there is dialogue and a basic understanding between associations of families from different sides. The readiness of leaders of victims’ associations to enter into dialogue with other victims is an extraordinary gesture of personal courage. Differences in perspective about the past have not disappeared, but something much more important has taken place: the readiness to recognise that the others are victims too and to honour victims and condemn crimes. Such communication at the local level between victims’ associations as contributors to memorialisation policy can serve as an example for other communities to follow.
We are happy that CNA can support such steps and our friends in Prijedor. Frankly, we feel that we have received much more than we gave, we always feel encouraged when we see that change is possible and taking place, we take inspiration from the courage of people who work on such difficult matters and traverse boundaries in their small communities.