Revisiting Srebrenica, on the ruins of genocide
Srebrenica limps under the weight of Europe’s last genocide. Houses that were bombed to ruins twenty years ago, have become nothing more than big flowerpots. They stand next to small-town stores that struggle to survive in an economy that is still recovering. “Srebrenica was below ground zero. We have only just started building the future”, says Mayor Ćamil Duraković.
Coen van de Ven & Kasper Goethals
Adim Duraković (26 years old) looks tired, his face is grayish and he has deep shadows under his eyes. He rubs his hand over his short-shaven head and waves his arms in discontent. From the terrace of a dilapidated hunter’s lodge he looks at his city in the valley. “We could be so rich. If the war hadn’t happened, I would read the newspaper every morning, before going to work”, he says. The middle class dream seems miles away for Adim. He has been unemployed for five years and sees no better prospect for the future. To kill the time, he parties the nights and days away with friends in the ruins of Srebrenica.