“The generation born in 1995 did not experience the war, but grew up with the legacy of the war”

Prof. dr. EDINA BEĆIREVIĆ - Professor at the Faculty of Criminalistics, Criminology and Security Studies, University of Sarajevo [Bosnia and Herzegovina]

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?

"In Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the region, individual and collective experiences, as well as media and art forms, cannot be separated from the political context. As David Campbell pointed out, post-conflict identities are constantly reconstructed through “narrative frameworks” available in the public space; and these frameworks are shaped by political power and dominant discourses. The Srebrenica genocide, although legally recognized by both the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ), continues to be denied or relativized in many parts of the region. It is crucial to emphasize that the genocide against Bosniaks cannot be reduced only to the legally convicted genocide in Srebrenica, but that it must be understood as a process that lasted from 1992 to 1995. This process included systematic campaigns of ethnic cleansing, mass executions, rapes, camps, forced displacement and the deliberate destruction of cultural and religious heritage, with the aim of eliminating the Bosniak people from the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This broader understanding of genocide is supported by a growing number of researchers who advocate the concept of genocide as a process, i.e., cumulative genocide.

Therefore, the genocide in Srebrenica should be viewed in the context of the wider aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina, perpetrated by Serbia and Montenegro and, to a lesser extent, by Croatia, as confirmed by the ICTY rulings. Nevertheless, legal recognition of these facts has not led to social consensus and revisionist narratives dominate the region. The result is that we live in parallel realities, and this selective, revisionist practice is our everyday life. What is perhaps the most emotionally difficult is the alienation that occurs even among those who are formally “on the right side of history”. Dealing with the denial of genocide is painful, but no less difficult is the deep emotional misunderstanding on the part of those who acknowledge genocide, but still fail to comprehend the depth and stratification of this trauma. We experience such experiences not only in individual relations, but also in the political field, as a reflection of the broader, historically rooted attitude of the West towards Bosnia and Herzegovina. The plight of the Bosniak people is recognized declaratively without true empathy and political consistency."

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 generation born in 1995 did not experience the war, but grew up with the legacy of the war. Their understanding of the past largely depends on what environment they grew up in, how history was presented to them, who their teachers, parents were, what media they followed. Many are still surrounded by symbols that glorify the perpetrators of crime and deny the facts established by the courts.

However, from this generation have grown individuals who consciously and courageously choose a different path. These are young people who understand that history is not only what is left to them in family stories, but also what they actively explore, question and choose to pass on. In the books they write, the projects they run, the documentaries they make, we see how a culture of memory based on responsibility and knowledge is built.

It is encouraging that part of this generation is actively seeking additional sources of information and critically questioning the dominant narratives that unfortunately deny genocide. Alternative ways of information and education, as well as regional and wider international connections, lead them to turn to international court judgments and relevant historical documentation to interpret the past.

Research shows that transgenerational memory in BiH functions through the complex dynamics of formal education, family socialization and political discourse. Members of the generation born immediately after the war internalize the messages that dominant narratives convey through memory rituals, media coverage, and social symbolism. But research also shows that part of them are developing critical distance, especially in urban areas.

On the other hand, in spaces where there is an institutionalized culture of remembrance, such as the Srebrenica Memorial Center, young people have the opportunity to encounter testimonies, documents and analyses that affirm facts and encourage reflection on ethical responsibility."

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?

"At first glance, the question of how generations in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region, especially those who survived the wars of the 1990s and those born in 1995, shaped mutual understanding of the past, starts from the assumption that such generational generalization can be made. In reality, there is no clear generational division when it comes to historical memory or attitudes towards war. In some, the passage of time has opened up space for critical thinking; in others, it has deepened denial or indifference.

But let me try to answer your question somewhat on the example of student protests in Serbia. Thus, student protests show that younger generations, many born after 1995, can be surprisingly resistant to authoritarianism and state-sponsored historical revisionism. It seems that many young people are not at all interested in the history of the 1990s, especially the topic of genocide and war crimes. However, more and more people are becoming aware that the denial of the past is not only used to reinterpret history, but as a means to conceal corruption, maintain impunity, and preserve an authoritarian regime.

For example, students in Serbia point out that the key problem for them is the present and the future, not the past: they want a functional, legal and democratic state. This may open up the possibility that the path to confronting the past, that is, the past of their parents, begins through a political awakening. When (or if) not only in Serbia but throughout the region truly democratic institutions begin to be created, more space will be opened, both socially and psychologically, to honestly deal with the past.

As for those of us who survived the war, the picture is equally complex. Some of us still live with the trauma and preserve the memory of what happened; others remain trapped in denial, or are simply exhausted and apathetic. For us, for the generation that survived the war, it is already too late. It is too late to make some common sense out of the past that would encourage regional change for the better. The younger generations have that energy, how they will use it, we'll see."

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?

"Realistically, no one can say for sure what collective memory will look like from now until 2055. Perhaps the dominant patterns will remain the same, and perhaps it is the new generations that will surprise us. After all, who could have predicted that in 2024, students in Serbia, who were born long after the wars, would be the ones who would seriously challenge Vučić's autocratic regime.

If the deepening of ethnic divisions, educational fragmentation and weakening of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina continue, we can only have "more of the same" in the next thirty years. However, if young people awaken, if they realize that strengthening trans-ethnic and civic solidarity is the only way to create a functional state, it is possible to open up space for ethical learning and remembering the past. It all depends, of course, on what kind of society we will have."

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?

"In the next 30 years, the transgenerational memory of the war in BiH will be increasingly shaped by global political disruptions and the crisis of universal values. Double standards in responses to conflicts such as Gaza and Ukraine have eroded trust in international law. In this context, the UN Resolution on the International Day of Remembrance of the Srebrenica Genocide is an important global framework of resistance to relativisation, which goes beyond local policies and recalls that the truth about crimes is a universal value.

The future of memory will depend on the ability, despite geopolitical pressures, to preserve documented facts and support an ethical attitude towards the past."



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.