“How can we remember the war without losing faith in the world?”

Prof. dr. SENADIN MUSABEGOVIĆ - professor, writer, poet [Bosnia and Herzegovina]

Photo: Damir Deljo

GENERATION OF LIVED HISTORY

The war does not end with the cessation of the conflict. Survivors continue to carry it deep inside them. The way post-war society relates to war affects individuals and shapes transgenerational memory.

• How has the generation that lived in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region during the wars in the former Yugoslavia – and especially during the genocide in Srebrenica – experienced and shaped this history in the past 30 years: through personal memories, reflections, but also through narratives in the media, films, books, textbooks and rituals of remembrance?

"About this war, in contrast to the memory of the NOB, there is an insistence on the memory of the victim itself. Namely, the memory of the Second World War was created through the perspective of the victors. After this war, in the nineties, the one who was the biggest victim is still a victim in peace. In fact, when the territory was divided into entities, it was calculated how much territory someone conquered with violence. The more powerful he was, the better were the conditions for negotiation. Therefore, it was not a question of moral principle, but of force. The peace agreement was accepted as a compromise and that peace agreement stopped the war, froze it, but the conflict continues. It internally divides the community itself, so everyday discourse is marked by conflict. The conflict became internalized. The question is: how can we remember the war without losing faith in the world? It often happens that those who survived the genocide consider themselves the 'chosen people', who, from the position of the victim, are often vindictive towards other peoples. The answer would be: you need to nurture your memory, but also know how to distance yourself from it. To be independent of it. In fact, the memory of crimes should be turned into creative energy that opens up to life."

A GENERATION BORN IN HISTORY (THOSE BORN IN 1995)

Thirty years later, we are once again witnessing the shaping of history amidst political manipulations of narratives. That is why transgenerational memory is required to carry a culture of remembrance and responsibility to the truth – in the name of future generations who must learn how peace is built and preserved.

• How does a generation born in the year of the Srebrenica genocide today understand this history? And how did growing up in this heritage shape their sense of identity, memory, and responsibility?

"The problem is how to remember the genocide without falling into narcissistic self-mourning, closing ourselves in the cult of the victim. On the other hand, the international community says that we need to overcome the story of the war and think about the future, and this discourse is very superficial, banal. This same international community constantly keeps us in conflict, and then talks about peace. Its role is extremely hypocritical, they are now mourning the genocide in Srebrenica, but they do not admit that a frenzied genocide is currently taking place in Gaza. They are not ready to talk about their own responsibility, which is why they did nothing to prevent the genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina. They cherished a false solidarity with the multiethnic community in Bosnia and Herzegovina and were indolent towards the suffering of the Bosniak people."

TRANSGENERATIONAL MEMORY DYNAMICS (1995-2025)

Society in Bosnia and Herzegovina is still marked by war traumas. Prevailing ethno-national policies keep citizens in fear, under constant threat of a new war – for their own interests. Politics has instrumentalized trauma.

• How – and whether – generations from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the regions that lived through the wars in the former Yugoslavia, especially the events of 1995, and the generation born that same year have shaped mutual understanding of the past? To what extent are their views aligned today – and how do they differ?

"The wars of the 1990s were marked by another process, which is the process of transition, the transformation of society. The fact is that Bosnia and Herzegovina was attacked by two nationalist projects created by neighboring countries: Serbia and Croatia, but also, through the war, a political and social change of society took place. We remembered differently in socialism, because when we talked about the past, we tried to build a new society, to be oriented towards the future. Today we live in a sensationalist capitalism, which is based on instant memory, forcing us to focus on the consumerist moment. This consumerist consciousness is intertwined with the nationalist imagination. Although they should exclude each other, they are intertwined, they support each other. In my opinion, every memory of genocide has meaning if it develops in us a sense of solidarity with the fates of people we do not know, not only in a national context, but also in a universal one. Let us recall that the genocide against the Bosniak people took place in the 1990s and that it is a reflection of a policy that has been implemented since the nineteenth century, but the genocide against the Serbian people took place during the NDH and this should be remembered."

REGIONAL FUTURE: TRANSGENERATIONAL MEMORY, HERITAGE OR TRAUMA (2025-2055)

Thirty years after the war, ethnic identity still dominates the civic. In post-war society, the structure of ethnically divided space often makes civic initiatives impossible, as they are automatically attributed an ethnic sign.

• How could political, social, educational and cultural development in Bosnia and Herzegovina – and more broadly in the region – affect how transgenerational memory will be preserved, reinterpreted or denied in the next 30 years?

"I personally do not believe in a centuries-old transgenerational memory of traumas. In fact, the traumas of our ancestors are lurking within us, fears are etched in our psyche, but I do not believe that, for example, the Serbian people carry the trauma of the Battle of Kosovo, which took place in 1389, in their collective consciousness. The fact is that it remained in the collective memory, while other battles did not! Why? Because there has been a politicization of memory, a politicization of collective memory. Now, should the memory of such a historical event be erased, because it glorifies the ‘cult of the defeated’, the ‘cult of the victim’? No, it should not, but it should be interpreted from the multitude of its meanings, because every mythical story is multifaceted. But if the narrative about the Battle of Kosovo itself has a vengeful character towards other peoples, then it is inadmissible. Let us remember that the Hague indictee, General Ratko Mladić, calls for revenge and for one historical event: the fight against the Dahijas during the First Serbian Uprising.

In today's context, the question arises: have the people of Srebrenica who survived the genocide achieved their rights? Are they perhaps threatened by another genocide? Let us recall that the genocide occurred because neighboring states sought to ethnically reshape Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that threat still exists. In post-war Bosnia, the dignity of those who were victims of genocide has not been restored, so that they can live in peace and hope for a better future."

GLOBAL FUTURE: TRANSGENERATIONAL MEMORY, INDIFFERENCE OR REVISIONISM (1995-2025-2055)

In the modern world, geopolitics is rapidly conditioning historical narratives and transgenerational memory – openly trading influence in conflicts and party choices through daily-political revisionism.

• How could global political disruptions, conflicting international historical narratives, and changing norms on justice and human rights shape the ways in which knowledge of wartime events from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the region will be transmitted, challenged, or withheld across generations over the next 30 years?

"I could answer this question by referring to European civilizational values, which respect human rights, whose foundations are woven with an anti-fascist tradition, which rests on the principle of ‘unity in differences’, which is open to the Other, especially to minorities, such as, for example, Bosniaks, who are protected in Christian Europe due to their religious diversity, because for Europeans the Islamic civilization is also part of its identity. However, unfortunately, I cannot refer to this, because today’s European politics is wholeheartedly moving towards a ‘clash of civilizations’. The civilizational values ​​of the interpenetration of cultures and civilizations have been nullified, while genocide is taking place, in the face of which Europe is not just a silent observer, but a participant, and that is the genocide in Gaza. European politics is necessarily heading towards revisionism. Although Europe is fighting anti-Semitism, the defeated fascist forces have disguised themselves in democratic attire and they are leading today’s European politics. This process of infiltrating defeated pro-fascist forces, who disguised themselves in democratic attire, first happened here - for example, in the name of national reconciliation, the Ustashas and Partisans reconciled, and then the Chetniks and Partisans - in the 1990s when Yugoslavia was breaking up and Bosnia and Herzegovina was being divided, and now it is happening almost throughout Europe."



The opinions and insights expressed in this text reflect solely the views of the author. We publish these contributions to encourage reflection and open space for diverse perspectives on the topic of transgenerational memory in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the wider region.