Rochdale remembers Srebrenica with memorial event

Remembering Srebrenica memorial event

The Rochdale Council of Mosques and Rochdale Council held the Remembering Srebrenica Memorial Event at Touchstones on Tuesday (5 July).

The event commemorated the atrocities of 11 July 1995, towards the end of the Bosnian War, when General Ratko Mladić and his Serbian paramilitary units overran and captured the Bosnian town of Srebrenica, despite its designation as an area “free from any armed attack or any other hostile act.”

In the days following, in the first-ever UN declared Safe Area, Mladić's men systematically murdered more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys and buried them in mass graves. The United Nations called it ‘The greatest atrocity on European soil since the Second World War’.

The Mayor Councillor Ali Ahmed and Consort Sultan Ali were joined by the leader of Rochdale Council Councillor Neil Emmott, members of the community, the police and leaders of various faith and non-faith groups, to remember the atrocity that took the lives of so many innocent Muslims.

The audience heard from a number of speakers and finally from Mrs Nezira Cohadzic, a survivor of the genocide. Her emotional account of what happened on 11 July 1995 was a chilling reminder of what hate can do to communities.

Nadeem Mir QPM, of Rochdale Council of Mosques, said: “It was important not to forget the harrowing ordeal innocent people went through on that fateful day. Through raising awareness of hate and its causes we need to learn from the past to ensure this never happens again.”

The event concluded with community members lighting 11 candles to signify 11 pledges a community would take to end hate:

• We pledge that when we hear the language of 'us and them', we will reach out and find common ground with our neighbour.
• We pledge that, when we hear stereotyping and scapegoating, we will find and share alternative positive stories.
• We pledge that, when we see discrimination in our schools or workplaces, we will challenge this and promote equal opportunities for all.
• We pledge that, when we hear dehumanising language, we will remind the speaker of our common humanity.
• We pledge that, when we see members of our community becoming disenfranchised, we will make a concerted effort to engage and include them
• We pledge that, when we hear divisive propaganda, we will challenge this effectively.
• We pledge that we will protect those who speak out against human rights abuses.
• We pledge that, where we see persecution, we will do everything in our power to protect those who are suffering.
• We pledge that, where we believe that extermination is taking place, we will call on our governments and the international community to take immediate action.
• We pledge that we will always challenge denial by believing the victims and sharing their stories.
• We pledge that we will always choose the side of those who are suffering over the side of the oppressor.