The Hague, 12 November 2014
Bosnian author and activist Hasan Nuhanović, survivor of the Srebrenica genocide, today presented his latest novel “Zbijeg – Put u Srebrenicu” (“Escape – the Road to Srebrenica”) at the ICTY. The presentation was attended by His Excellency Ahmet Halilović, Ambassador of BiH to the Netherlands, Bosniaks living in the Netherlands and ICTY staff members.
“Zbijeg put u Srebrenicu” is the story about the horror of daily life of more than 100,000 Bosniaks in Srebrenica and surrounding areas in 1992 and 1993. In his presentation, Mr Nuhanović stressed that the book was about survival. He added that in the book he tried to describe the constant battle people fought to stay alive despite the every-day shelling and shooting of the town. Mr Nuhanović described the feelings he had then as ”being chased all the time with nowhere to run” and “being refugee in his own country”.
Talking about his motivation to write the book, Mr Nuhanović stated that he did not want to write it, but that he had to. He explained that his goal was to put down on paper the entire story about what happened in Srebrenica, from the beginning of the war, so all the people in the former Yugoslavia will know the truth. Concluding his presentation, he stressed that he hoped the book has an anti-war sentiment.
Following the presentation, the audience participated in a question and answer session in which, prompted by a comment from audience, Mr Nuhanović expressed hope that his book is a contribution to the collective memory of the war in the region and contribution to the future. Closing the question and answer session, Mr Nuhanović stated that criminal justice for war crimes is of crucial importance for the healing process in the region of the former Yugoslavia.
The promotion of Mr Nuhanović’s book was organized by the ICTY Outreach Programme.