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Featured Authors

Mirza Bašić

🧵 Bratunac has been attacked by Serbian soldiers. I’m going to try to write a thread of the main events. I’m still shaking from what’s happened.

I was inside with my brother and sister, when a neighbour came over crying. She said something was happening in Bratunac. She said there were a lot of soldiers, a lot of trucks moving through, and they were stopping people constantly.

Dad told us to grab some essentials so we could leave to head to Mum, who wasn’t in Bratunac. We got in the car to head towards Sandići.

As we passed through the town, I saw that there were really trucks, military trucks, parked on the pavement behind the bus station. There were people in uniforms, JNA uniforms as well as some other camouflage uniforms.

When we reached Kravica our car was stopped by Serb police and some other men in uniform. My father is the traffic police commander and has worked for the police all his life. He said, “Colleagues, what’s the problem?” An armed reservist with an automatic rifle replied, “We’re not colleagues. Get out of the car and open the trunk.”

Fear gripped me. My father opened the trunk and said, “If you need the equipment, here it is.” Nothing. The guy with the rifle said, “Who’s in the car? How many of you? Where are you travelling to?”

Then my father addressed the two policemen in normal uniforms, saying, “Colleagues, you know I’m a policeman, why all this?” They just kept quiet.

It bothered the reservist that my father addressed the policemen. He ordered him not to talk and cocked the rifle. Then all three of us in the car started crying, screaming, begging m father just to get in the car and go.

The reservist also ordered Dad to get in the car and keep driving, or else he would shoot. My dad backed away, started the car, and we set off.

I’m joining my Dad and brother to try and escape Srebrenica by foot. I was meant to go to the UN base in Potočari with Mama, but I was terrified of going there.

No more posts for this month.