On Thursday, Feb. 15, Hasan Hasanovic came to East Tennessee State University to give a lecture on the Bosnian War. Pi Sigma Alpha hosted Hasanovic, a survivor of the Bosnian War.

Hasanovic’s lecture covered his life growing up in the at the time united Yugoslavia, the decline in the opinion of the Bosnian people by the Serbian, his story of survival, the harsh atrocities of the genocide and his work to preserve the history of the war. He is currently the head of the Oral History Memorial in Bosnia and often travels to spread awareness of the genocide.

Hasanovic told the room about growing up in a small Muslim town 15 miles outside of the city of Srebrenica during the days when the socialist state of Yugoslavia was still unified. There was little concern about politics and people were happy to drive to Srebrenica to work their factory jobs in the mornings and return to work in the fields in the evenings. He recalled his family being happy and full despite having five mouths to feed. Hasanovic had a younger brother and a twin brother.

“Growing up I used to travel five miles on my own, gathering mushrooms and herbs to sell. Not today, now I fear for my daughter,” said Hasanovic.

But these days did not last as Yugoslavia collapsed in 1992 following its first set of democratic elections. As nationalistic parties began to peak in popularity throughout Yugoslavia, so did the hatred for the majority Muslim Bosnian people by the Serbians.

Hasanovic told how tensions rose within his community and, like many others, split. One day his house was searched by Serbian militias that were formed from their Serbian community members. He believed that his father was going to be killed that night. Not long after the incident, his family packed up and left for a safer place to live.

“We lived like animals in huts, they had burned down the houses,” Hasanovic said as he described foraging for food and hiding in tents. When the dogs began to bark they knew that the Serbians were coming and that meant to hide.

He told of hiding in a sewage drain at the age of eight after a grenade exploded in front of him and how his father was given a gun with only 10 bullets to defend his family. He spoke about the courage his father always showed, keeping his family together and providing the best he could, even if he had to beg for food.

“Refugees would walk for miles in enemy territory just to steal from the barns they used to own. Sometimes they would be ambushed or step on mines and never return,” said Hasanovic.

Eventually, Hasanovic and his family made it to a UN outpost where they were told that they were under their protection. At the age of 16, Hasanovic would go watch for supply airdrops and collect them, that was until he watched one of his friends get killed by one falling on him.

In April 1993, during the ceasefire Hasanovic and other kids were playing soccer, when several grenades were detonated on the field killing over 100 people and maiming 74 teenagers. Every year Hasanovic returns to this field to speak about the violence that happened there. This massacre occurred four days after the area was declared a safe zone.

While nobody was ever prosecuted for this attack, Hasanovic carried the trauma with him for the rest of his life and uses his speeches to help him process his post-traumatic stress disorder that he still struggles with today.

The zone was reclaimed by the UN soldiers and they re-established school and other affects of normal life. However, rumors of the UN abandoning people in Africa that were experiencing similar genocides began to circulate.

“Are these people really supposed to protect us?” said Hasanovic.

In 1995, these worries proved true as Serbians began to attack the area again. NATO promised to protect them with airstrikes but they never came and people began to flee the area. Women and children who still trusted the UN would take a shorter trip on trains and buses to another UN base while the men and teenage boys would begin a trek that became known as the “Death March.” This included Hasanovic, his father and twin brother.

On this bloody journey, Hasanovic faced several ambushes and watched as people around him were shot and killed. During one such ambush, Hasanovic was separated from his brother and father and would never see them again.

“I saw a man get shot in front of me one night. I couldn’t save him, but his jacket could help me. It felt awful to take but I needed it,” Hasanovic said while describing the struggles of the “Death March.”

After hiking across mountains and rivers without sleep, food or clean water, Hasanovic finally made it to free territory. He was taken in by a grandmother who gave him food and warm clothes.

It was two weeks until he found his remaining family, his mother and younger brother. They were in an airport full of refugees. When he got there he was surrounded by now widows hoping that he was their husband or son.

Shortly after, he was back in school and cutting hair for a living. The world continued moving despite the tragedies that had occurred, eventually he went on to work as an interpreter in the United States Army.

Photo taken at the Genocide Memorial.(Contributed/minimalistjourneys.com)

In 2003, the Hage finally began processing the war crimes that had taken place. They used his and his brothers DNA to identify the bodies of his father and twin brother in a mass grave. His surviving family and himself were invited to the funeral for those who died, where President Bill Clinton addressed nearly 70,000 refugees in front of crowds of press.

While there was some closure with the funeral, Hasanovic continued to have nightmares and eventually decided to begin a memorial where he works, at the Srebrenica Memorial. Today, Hasanovic lives in Bosnia with his wife and daughter. He is the author of the book Surviving Srebrenica and travels the world to give speeches.

“I felt like we lost, but now I feel like we are winning,” said Hasanovic.

For more information on the Srebrenica Genocide, visit srebrenica.org.uk.

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