{"id":21502,"date":"2026-08-06T23:51:47","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T23:51:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onepathnetwork.com\/?p=21502"},"modified":"2026-09-02T04:47:54","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T04:47:54","slug":"how-the-bosnian-genocide-really-started-survivors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onepathnetwork.com\/au\/history\/how-the-bosnian-genocide-really-started-survivors\/","title":{"rendered":"How The Bosnian Genocide REALLY Started | Survivors"},"content":{"rendered":"<amp-jwplayer layout=\"responsive\" height=\"500\" data-player-id=\"bKajWAhe\" width=\"600\" data-media-id=\"mYeBld8d\" class=\"wp-block-amp-amp-jwplayer\"><\/amp-jwplayer>\n\n\n\n<p>The Bosnian War (1992\u20131995) remains one of the darkest chapters in modern European history. Over 100,000 lives were lost, and millions were displaced. At the centre of this tragedy was the Srebrenica genocide of July 1995, where more than 8,372 Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) men and boys were systematically executed by the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) under the command of Ratko Mladi\u0107.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But behind the cold statistics of international courts lie the deeply personal, harrowing memories of those who survived. This is the collective testimony of Bosnian genocide survivors Amir Mujkanovic, Ernest Kulauzovic, Mirsada Helac, and Selmo Suljic, alongside Tarik Begic, a Sydney-born son of survivors. From peaceful childhoods on rural farms to the terrifying 100-kilometre death march and the silent, enduring grief of its aftermath, their stories shed light on how rapidly a society can collapse into hatred, and the resilience required to rebuild.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-life-before-the-storm-peaceful-coexistence-in-bosnia\">Life Before the Storm: Peaceful Coexistence in Bosnia<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Before the outbreak of violence in 1992, Bosnia and Herzegovina was a vibrant, multicultural tapestry. Bosniaks (Muslims), Serbs (Orthodox Christians), and Croats (Catholics) lived side-by-side in integrated communities. For kids growing up at the time, life was defined by simple, rural joys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;I grew up on a farm. We had a big farm, horses, sheep, and cows. On special occasions, the whole family would get together, put a lamb on the spit, and just enjoy time together. We had a very tight community.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This sentiment of neighbourly warmth was typical. In Prijedor, Banja Luka, and Sarajevo, religious differences were secondary to human connection. Children played together, families shared meals, and community members greeted each other with respect across religious boundaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Interfaith respect: It was common for local Franciscan Catholic priests to exchange traditional Islamic greetings like &#8220;Assalamu Alaykum&#8221; and &#8220;Marhaba&#8221; with their Muslim neighbours.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Shared communities: Holiday celebrations, harvests, and daily life were communal efforts, free from the divisions that politicians would soon exploit.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Historical Context: The Demographic Makeup of Pre-War Bosnia<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the 1991 Yugoslav census, Bosnia and Herzegovina\u2019s population was highly diverse: approximately 43.5% Bosniak (Muslim), 31.2% Serb, and 17.3% Croat. This integrated demographic profile made the subsequent campaigns of &#8220;ethnic cleansing&#8221; exceptionally brutal, as military forces sought to forcibly separate tightly woven communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-winds-of-war-how-the-bosnian-conflict-began\">The Winds of War: How the Bosnian Conflict Began<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In March 1992, following the footsteps of Slovenia and Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina voted for independence from Yugoslavia. Almost immediately, the political and social atmosphere shifted. The Yugoslav People\u2019s Army (JNA), heavily controlled by Serbian nationalist forces, began moving military assets and heavy weaponry around major cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At first, many Bosniaks believed the national army would protect all citizens. Instead, they watched as their former classmates, teachers, and neighbours put on military uniforms and set up restrictive checkpoints along civilian roads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;You had cases where the teacher who used to teach you in school came out to kill you the next day. Why? There was only one answer: because we had a different religion.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The illusion of safety shattered on Eid morning in 1992, when artillery shells and heavy bombardment began raining down on cities across Bosnia. The very military that Bosnian taxpayers had funded was now laying siege to their homes. Neighbourhood mosques and cultural minarets became immediate targets, shelled by Serbian forces as a deliberate strategy to erase Islamic heritage from the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-fall-of-srebrenica-a-betrayed-safe-zone\">The Fall of Srebrenica: A Betrayed &#8220;Safe Zone&#8221;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In April 1993, the United Nations declared Srebrenica a &#8220;safe area&#8221; under UN protection. Demilitarised and guarded by a peacekeeping force of Dutch soldiers (Dutchbat), the enclave became a refuge for tens of thousands of displaced Bosniaks fleeing nearby ethnic cleansing campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, by July 1995, the UN &#8220;Safe Zone&#8221; had turned into an open-air prison. Serb forces cut off supply lines, causing widespread starvation. When the final assault on Srebrenica began, the vastly outnumbered Dutch peacekeepers offered no military resistance. The town\u2019s hospital was overwhelmed, forcing medical staff to perform desperate triage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Ammunition &amp; Supplies: The hospital ran completely out of basic medical resources.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Amputations: Doctors were forced to amputate limbs with handsaws, without any anesthetics or pain relief.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Realising that the UN would not defend them, families had to make an agonising, split-second decision: stay at the UN base in Poto\u010dari and hope for protection, or flee through the surrounding mountains into Bosnian-controlled territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-100-kilometer-death-march-surviving-against-all-odds\">The 100-Kilometer Death March: Surviving Against All Odds<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For the men and older boys of Srebrenica, staying behind meant almost certain death. An estimated 10,000 to 15,000 Bosniak men formed a column to attempt a perilous 100-kilometre (approx. 62 miles) trek through Serb-controlled forests and minefields toward the free territory of Tuzla. This journey would become known as the &#8220;Death March&#8221; (Mar\u0161 Smrti).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Selmo Suljic, along with his father and three brothers, was part of that column. From the moment they crossed the boundary of the enclave, they were relentlessly pursued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;As soon as we got into their territory, they started attacking us. They started shooting, dropping grenades, and dropping bombs. From the very beginning, people started getting killed.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The horrors of the march extended beyond artillery fire:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Starvation:<\/strong> Fleeing civilians survived on tree leaves, raw mushrooms, and wild fruit.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Chemical Warfare:<\/strong> Serb forces reportedly contaminated water sources with hallucinogenic or toxic chemicals. Survivors who drank from these streams suffered severe psychological breakdowns and disorientation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Separation:<\/strong> Amid constant shelling, families were permanently separated. Selmo and one brother made it to safety on the seventh day of the march, only to learn later that another brother had been killed and his body lost. To this day, his remains have never been recovered.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-potocari-and-the-selection-lines-a-mother-s-defiance\">Poto\u010dari and the Selection Lines: A Mother&#8217;s Defiance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While the men marched through the forests, thousands of women, children, and elderly people gathered at the Dutch UN base in Poto\u010dari. Mirsada Helac was among them. Inside the crowded, sweltering factories, conditions were horrific. There was no food, and those who tried to search the nearby fields for sustenance were warned back by Dutch soldiers, who gestured that Serb forces were waiting to slaughter them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When the buses and trucks arrived to deport the women and children, Serbian soldiers lined the boarding area, systematically separating any male who appeared to be of military age, some as young as 12, for &#8220;interrogation.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mirsada recalls the terrifying moment a soldier pointed at her young brother. Her mother refused to let him go, standing defiantly between her son and the armed guard. As tension escalated, a remarkable stroke of fate occurred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;We had a former neighbour, a Bosnian Serb who had joined their army. He recognised my mom, approached the guard, and said, &#8216;I know this family. Let this child go.&#8217; The guard was so frustrated he grabbed my brother by his clothes and shoved him onto the truck.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Others were not so fortunate. From the windows of the departing trucks, the women watched helplessly as columns of captured Bosniak men, bloodied and beaten, were led into nearby fields to be shot. These bodies were later buried in mass graves, which were repeatedly dug up and relocated with heavy machinery to hide the evidence of the crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-pain-of-arrival-reunited-in-tuzla\">The Pain of Arrival: Reunited in Tuzla<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For those who reached the free territory of Tuzla, the physical relief of survival was instantly overshadowed by the agonising wait for news of loved ones. Refugee camps became centres of desperate searching, with families scouring crowds for missing fathers, husbands, and sons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Selmo Suljic remembers the bittersweet moment of reuniting with his mother and sisters, and the heavy burden of delivering devastating news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;My mother was actually very happy to see us, and she immediately asked, &#8216;Where is your brother?&#8217; What do you say? We had to tell her the truth: he didn&#8217;t make it. She had already lost one son in 1992. Telling her she lost a second was incredibly hard.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-intergenerational-trauma-a-grandfather-s-legacy-and-a-holy-quran\">Intergenerational Trauma: A Grandfather&#8217;s Legacy and a Holy Quran<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The trauma of the Bosnian genocide did not end with the Dayton Peace Agreement in late 1995. It was passed down to the next generation, often carried in silence by fathers who sought to protect their children from the horrors they had witnessed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tarik Begic, born in Sydney, Australia, grew up knowing little of the deep grief his father hid. It was only as a teenager that Tarik witnessed his father break down after waking from a dream about his lost 17-year-old brother, Jamal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During the escape through the forest, Tarik\u2019s father, grandfather, and uncle Jamal had attempted to flee together. When Jamal became separated in the chaos, Tarik&#8217;s grandfather made a fateful decision. He handed his personal Quran to his son and walked back into the forest to find his missing boy, declaring that he would not live his life if his son did not survive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;My grandfather was never seen again. His body was eventually found and buried in a mass grave next to his son. This Quran is the only physical thing I have left of my grandfather.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-returning-to-the-homeland-locking-the-empty-family-home\">Returning to the Homeland: Locking the Empty Family Home<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In the decades following the war, many survivors rebuilt their lives in diaspora communities in Australia, America, and Europe. Yet, the pull of the homeland remained strong for the older generation. Selmo\u2019s parents eventually returned to Bosnia in the early 2000s, rebuilding their farm despite ongoing provocations from local Serb authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But time eventually claimed those who survived the bullets. Following the passing of his mother in 2009 and his father in 2024, Selmo returned to Bosnia one final time to lay his father to rest and close the family estate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;The hardest thing was when we locked the house and left, knowing that a chapter of our lives was completely finished. When your parents are there, you fight to go back. But now, locking that door and knowing you have no one left there&#8230; it is incredibly hard.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-we-can-prevent-history-from-repeating\">How We Can Prevent History from Repeating<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The testimonies of Bosnian genocide survivors are not merely historical records; they serve as an urgent warning for the modern world. Here are the critical lessons we must carry forward:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Support Genocide Education: <\/strong>Educating young generations on the dangers of systemic hatred, prejudice, and nationalism is the most effective tool for preventing future atrocities.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@OnePathNetwork\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Recognise Early Warning Signs: <\/strong>Genocide does not happen overnight. It begins with divisive political rhetoric, the dehumanisation of minorities, and the systematic targeting of cultural and religious institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Failure of Neutrality:<\/strong> The fall of Srebrenica proved that international peacekeeping forces cannot protect vulnerable populations without a clear mandate and the political will to enforce safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Preserve Oral Histories: <\/strong>As the generation of survivors ages, recording their direct testimonies is vital to countering historical revisionism and genocide denial.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Bosnian War (1992\u20131995) remains one of the darkest chapters in modern European history. Over 100,000 lives were lost, and millions were displaced. At the centre of this tragedy was the Srebrenica genocide of July 1995, where more than 8,372 Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) men and boys were systematically executed by the Army of Republika Srpska [&hellip;]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":21503,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"googlesitekit_rrm_CAow4-bBDA:productID":"","content-type":"","newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[90],"tags":[],"series":[],"speaker":[],"coauthors":[402],"class_list":["post-21502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history","entry"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/onepathnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Bosnian-Genocide.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/onepathnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Mums-on-the-RunV3.jpg?fit=2160%2C2160&ssl=1","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":[],"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/onepathnetwork.com\/au\/feed\/podcast\/mums-on-the-run","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"8DsHTehv7Y\"><a href=\"https:\/\/onepathnetwork.com\/au\/history\/how-the-bosnian-genocide-really-started-survivors\/\">How The Bosnian Genocide REALLY Started | Survivors<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/onepathnetwork.com\/au\/history\/how-the-bosnian-genocide-really-started-survivors\/embed\/#?secret=8DsHTehv7Y\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;How The Bosnian Genocide REALLY Started | Survivors&#8221; &#8212; OnePath Network\" data-secret=\"8DsHTehv7Y\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/onepathnetwork.com\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n"},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/onepathnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Bosnian-Genocide.jpg?resize=600%2C400&ssl=1","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/onepathnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Bosnian-Genocide.jpg?resize=600%2C600&ssl=1","author_info":{"display_name":"Osama Ramlawie","author_link":"https:\/\/onepathnetwork.com\/au\/author\/osama-ramlawie\/"},"app_featured_thumbnail":false,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onepathnetwork.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onepathnetwork.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onepathnetwork.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onepathnetwork.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onepathnetwork.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21502"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/onepathnetwork.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21502\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onepathnetwork.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onepathnetwork.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onepathnetwork.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onepathnetwork.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21502"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onepathnetwork.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=21502"},{"taxonomy":"speaker","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onepathnetwork.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/speaker?post=21502"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onepathnetwork.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=21502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}