Angelina Jolie issued a moving message on the 25th anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre. It was the bloodiest genocide that claimed the lives of 8000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys, around the town of Srebrenica during the Bosnian War July 1995.
Message of Angelina Jolie on Srebrenica Genocide
Angelina Jolie gave a message of hope and love for young men and women survivors in the region of Srebrenica. “I’m thinking today of the mothers of Srebrenica, and all the other survivors, whose husbands, brothers, sons were murdered in the genocide 25 years ago,” she said.
“I think too of the victims, in particular the children, who were denied the chance to live and love and have families of their own. It is a loss beyond words.”
Angelina Jolie is the honorary citizen of Sarajevo and recipient of the Heart of Sarajevo Award, given to her for her proactive engagement in the complexities of the world.
In her keynote address on Srebrenica, Angelina Jolie said she wants to address the young people living in the region and beyond.
Angelina Jolie's message to Bosnia and the Balkan youth. #AngelinaJolie #NeverForgetSrebrenica #Srebrenica #SrebrenicaGenocide #Srebrenitsa #BosnianGenocide #Bosnia #Serbia #RememberSrebrenica #Potočari pic.twitter.com/oVPx2aVDGV
— Redžep Demić (@DemicRedzep) July 11, 2020
“And I think of all the people of Bosnia-Herzegovina, that beautiful heart-shaped country in the heart of Europe, which has given me so many dear friends and wonderful experiences, and which to me will always stand for strength, warmth, and dignity.
“To all Bosnians: I send you my sympathy and my respect, and I grieve with you. You do not need to be prisoners of the past.
“You can resist attempts to divide you from anybody else based on their nationality, or ethnicity, or religion, or the color of their skin. She said you can reject discrimination and hate speech and propaganda and lies.
Angelina Jolie asks to discourage discrimination
“You can share a vision for a world built on equal rights and equal laws, respect for difference. A world in which the kind of murderous agenda that led to Srebrenica could not succeed” said Angelina Jolie in her speech on the Srebrenica massacre.
“That is the best way we can honor the families we remember today – and the victims of persecution everywhere, with whom we can be proud to stand.”
“You were not born when the Srebrenica massacre happened. You might wonder what it has to do with you. But the kind of hatred that led to Srebrenica still exists, as you know,” she says.
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“It lives on wherever people find excuses to single out others and deny them their rights as equal human beings. You may know this better than me.
Angelina Jolie said,”Srebrenica was a crime that did not happen overnight. It could have been prevented, even down to the last few hours.”
She urged that people listening to her message should discourage discrimination and upheld the universal value of human rights.
“Your generation can resist this, and it already is. This gives me hope,” she says. “That is the best way we can honor the families we remember today; and the victims of persecution everywhere, with whom we can be proud to stand.”
Activism on Bosnian war and Srebrenica Genocide
Angelina Jolie has been active on the subject of Srebrenica Genocide and the Bosnian War ever since her awareness of the international issue began to shape.
In the Land of Blood and Honey- her debut movie in 2011 as a director and writer dealt with the subject of the Bosnian War. Her first movie on the subject of the Bosnian War and massacre reflected her deep shock on the history’s darkest event.
On the 25th Anniversary of the Bosnian Genocide for the UK’s National Commemoration, Angelina Jolie shares the following words with Remembering Srebrenica and the Bosnian community.
Thank you, Angelina, for Remembering Srebrenica. #Srebrenica25 https://t.co/kqlRFl0cSk
— Remembering Srebrenica (@SrebrenicaUK) July 11, 2020
Jolie said her experience of exploring the themes of war and rape had a life-changing effect on her. She felt that unless people do not remember the genocide, there exists the potential for the repetition of such events.
“The time I spent and the people I met in Bosnia have changed me forever.”
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She also visited Bosnia as the Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nation’s refugee agency UNHCR and has funded the construction of houses for returnees in eastern Bosnia.
Angelina Jolie visited the Srebrenica Memorial Centre in 2014 where she met the widows and mothers of the genocide victims.
Angelina Jolie was among the high-profile dignitaries including Prince Charles, President of Bosnia-Her Herzegovina Šefik Džaferović, and Bill Clinton who were the part of the ceremony to remember the victims of brutal ethnic cleansing in the Srebrenica.