The Trust Building Forum, Community Safety Forum and partners are bringing communities together on the evening of Wednesday 18th July 2018 at St Nicholas Church to hear from survivors of the Srebrenica genocide, which was the worst atrocity in Europe since the Second World War.
The atrocities in Bosnia and Herzegovina occurred 23 years ago, when General Ratko Mladić and his Bosnian Serb forces marched into the town of Srebrenica and systematically murdered over 8000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys.
Remembering Srebrenica aims to build a more courageous and cohesive society by sharing the deeply moving stories of survivors of the genocide and ethnic cleansing in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Nottingham is one of many towns and cities across the country putting on memorial events to challenge the stereotypes and prejudices that feed hatred.
Dr Musharraf Hussain Al-Azhari OBE DL, of the Trust building Forum states: “The Srebrenica genocide happened in our backyard under the gaze of UN peace keepers; this shows how horribly things can go if we do not tackle hatred in society. Were the Bosnians and the Serbs neighbours one day and suddenly became enemies the next day? No! There was a systematic hate campaign against the Bosnians over decades, which resulted in demonisation and justification of their slaughter. That’s why we have to guard ourselves against hatred of the other, we need to build Trust!”
Mohammed Sajid of the Community Safety Forum adds: “Our recent report into Hate Crime in the city of Nottingham has shed an important light on the scale and depth of prejudice and racism that can affect individuals and communities – particularly anti Muslim racism. In supporting this event and the work of the Community Safety Forum; which is the city’s new vehicle for rooting out and tackling hate crime.”, we hope to demonstrate the great dangers that can be associated with letting such hatred and hostility spread unimpeded. It is important now – more than ever before- to bring sections of society together to tackle hate and the causes of hate in our communities, lest we suffer the same fate as the people Bosnia less than a lifetime ago.”
We invite you to our Commemoration event to hear from Local Councillors, Faith Leaders and a female Bosnian Survivor: “We thought it would never happen to us, even in a million years! We really need to unite to stop this happening to anyone else. Please join me on 18th July where I will share my personal story of how the genocide simply destroyed us and how we are trying to rebuild our lives in Nottingham.” (Vernessa Subasic)
Thousands will gather at commemorations across the UK this week to make a pledge to remember the victims, learn from their experiences and act to make their communities safer, stronger more cohesive places for everyone. We look forward to seeing you all on 18th July 6.30pm-9pm, St Nicholas Church.
For more information please contact:
Robina Din | Email: robina@karimia.com | Mobile: 07541927232