Vijesti Informativnog centra o Međunarodnom krivičnom sudu za bivšu Jugoslaviju (MKSJ) Sarajevo
Marking White Ribbon Day in Sarajevo: Young People Send a Message on the Importance of the Culture of Remembrance and Solidarity with the Victims of Prijedor
The White Ribbon Day was commemorated in Sarajevo today through the program “White Ribbon Day: Remembering the Victims in Prijedor, Learning Lessons from the Past.”
The City of Sarajevo implemented the event through the organisational department the Sarajevo Information Centre, in collaboration with the Association “Education Builds BiH – Jovan Divjak.” The program was supported from four city municipalities and the Faculty of Political Sciences in Sarajevo.
Students from the Faculty of Political Sciences and Philosophical faculty at the University of Sarajevo, along with scholars and volunteers from the “Education Builds BiH – Jovan Divjak” Association, participated across four locations in Sarajevo. They wore white ribbons as a symbol of remembrance for the victims of crimes committed in Prijedor in 1992. During the program, students engaged with citizens to discuss the importance of marking White Ribbon Day, the significance of the culture of remembrance, and the preservation of judicially established facts regarding war crimes.
The Deputy Mayor of Sarajevo, Mirela Džehverović, emphasized that commemorating White Ribbon Day is a vital act of remembrance, responsibility, and solidarity with the victims’ families.
“It is our obligation to nurture the culture of remembrance and to pass the truth, based on judicially established facts, down to younger generations. It is especially important that young people are the ones sending a message today that victims must never be forgotten, and that society must build its future on the values of peace, human dignity, and tolerance,” Džehverović stated.
The program carried strong symbolism, with young participants wearing black t-shirts featuring the verses of Abdulah Sidran, surrounded by 102 white roses to honour the 102 murdered children of Prijedor.
102 white roses around Sidran’s words. 102 interrupted childhoods. An obligation for all of us — to never forget.
The youth of Sarajevo wore white ribbons today to honour the victims of Prijedor, sending a message that the culture of remembrance belongs to new generations just as strongly as it does to those who remember the events firsthand.
Among those attending the commemoration were Sarajevo City Councillor Bojan Vučković, former City Councillor Samir Fazlić, as well as the Deputy Chairmen of the Novo Sarajevo Municipal Council, Samir Suljović and Adnan Zeković.
