15/05/1992 | Voices from the Drina

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Never seen Dad cry before. I found him sitting against a wall, crying. He stopped crying when he saw me. Apparently grandad has been killed. I hope this is just a rumour. I feel like my relationship with Dad is different now.

Supplies are running out in Stoborani. Coffee is getting weaker. Dad is getting more anxious, especially as he’s running out of cigarettes and is a chain smoker.

Village shop has closed down. Our only lifeline is that my Aunty occasionally send us milk and bowls of cottage cheese.

🧵 I have survived an evil I thought I would only ever read about in textbooks. This is my story. 👇

I, along with other Bosniaks, were detained by Serb occupying forces in Zvornik’s Ekonomija Farm. We were subject to atrocities that will stay with us to the grave.

On the night between 11 and 12 May, at around 2am, Serb Guard A came into the room where I was being detained and began cursing my “Turkish” mother (my mother is not Turkish). Serb forces are calling Bosniaks “Turks” for reasons I do not understand.

Guard B pushed me to the ground. He put one foot on my chest, then stomped my head with the other. I lost consciousness when my head hit the concrete.

Guard A asked me if I have children. I said yes. He ordered Guard B to bring my children to the Farm. He said to me: “You will rape your child first. Then Guard B will rape her, then I will, then all the other guards.” Guard B was to bring my kids within 10-15 minutes.

Those 10-15 minutes were the hardest, longest minutes of my life. Thank God Guard B never came back with my kids.

Meanwhile, Guard A ordered his colleague to bring a 2-metre long wooden acacia stake. They’re used for fences. Guard A then pushed the stake into my anus. I felt my eyes coming out of my sockets and blood running down my leg.