Background - The Bosnian Genocide involved three ethnic groups; the

Croats, the Serbs, and Muslims. It took place in the Republic of Bosnia
Herzegovina on April 1992. Along with the war, Serbia set out to ethnically
cleanse Bosnian territory by removing all Bosnian Muslims, known as
Bosniaks. Serbians and Bosnian Serbs, attacked Bosniaks with Yugoslavian
military equipment and surrounded the capital city of Sarajevo. Before this, a
enigmatic dictator, Josip Broz Tito, kept control over the various ethnic
groups. After Titos death, politicians began exploiting Serbs, Croats, and
Bosniaks and made them fight against each other. The multi-ethnic republic
of Bosnia-Herzegovina soon became the site of the deadliest warfare. The
genocide in Bosnia claimed the lives of an estimated 100,000 people.
Justification - In April 1992 the Serbians wanted to ethnically cleanse
Bosnian territory. Their plan was to remove Bosniaks otherwise known as
Bosnian Muslims. Girls and women were raped while everyone else was
tortured, murdered and starved in concentration camps. When Yugoslavian
military surrounded Sarajevo, most Bosniaks were taken to these
concentration camps. The reasonings behind the genocide were that of a
somewhat prejudice and barbaric concepts. People were judged on who they
are, and for that, thousands had died. This is similar to many other
genocides, seeing that people were murdered for being themselves, for
being born unlucky. Many did not believe in this reasonings, seeing that it
cries inhumanity. Today. a handful of survivors live to tell their stories, and to
preach the obvious, horrendous acts, taken place during the Bosnian
Genocide.

Primary Source - There has been many first hand accounts of the Bosnian
genocide, seeing that it was very recent. This includes the story of 32 year
old Elmina Kulasic. She was 7 years old during the genocide, and her story

starts out with her being transferred out of Trnopolje with half her family
after a month of horrors, with her father and two elder sisters missing. On
the train to the city of Zagreb, Elmina recalls an uncanny encounter with a
Croat. He was the same age as her father, watching quietly as her mother
sobbed. Elmina states He told us that the Chetniks [Serbian nationalists]
had probably killed my elder, disabled sister, and raped my other one. He
said that it was only a matter of time before my father was dead. I remember
the words, but I did not understand them. There was no sympathy. This is a
clear example of the mistreatment and cruelty being done during the
genocide. There have also been a couple of movies that had centred around
the Bosnian genocide. For example, Belvedere. It is about a woman whose
relatives are victims of a mass killing during the genocide, in which the
woman spend her days wandering from grave to grave, hoping to identify
the remains of her sons, brothers, husbands, and fathers. The movie
statement 710399 is about 4 men who survived the war in srebrenica and
who were taken in by serb families only to disappear again. All these movies
were based on first hand accounts, all expressing the grief during the
genocide. People had reacted with strength, fighting for what they believed
in. But sadly, the will of a mans need to kill can not be overcomed. I cant
walk out my front door without having the fear that i am going to die.
When will it be my time. These are actual thoughts Bosnians had during
the genocide, showing the true fear that had been conflicted on the
innocent.
Response -Nations around Bosnia had realized the negativity of all the
killings, and had witnessed many reports leaking out of Bosnia, discussing
the horrific acts taking place. These include the concentration zcamps that
had brought back memories of the Holocaust, catching the public's attention.
The international community did little to prevent the bloodshed committed
against Bosniaks and Croats in Bosnia while they were occurring. The U.S
had very little involvement in the matters, with the U.N taking very few

steps. Eventually, they had established 6 safe areas that were to be

protected by international peacekeepers. Although there was little action
being done, the U.N had actively seeked justice amongst those who had
committed acts of atrocities against Bosniaks and Croats. In May 1993, the
U.N. Security Council created the International Criminal Tribunal for the
Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) at The Hague, Netherlands. Radovan Karadzic and
the Bosnian Serb military commander, General Ratko Mladic, were among
those indicted by the ICTY for genocide and other crimes against humanity.
While it is a form of justice, in my opinion, it was not enough. To me, justice,
isn't the head of the matter. To prevent or at at least suppress the killings
and the outbreak, would of been a much more humane and effective
approach. While they did seek those that had committed crimes, the 100,000
dead did not live to witness what they rightfully deserve
Legacy- The Bosnian genocide was more than the deaths of thousands. It
was the cry of men women and children, being punished for something they
did not want. Like all points of history, the Bosnian genocide has largely
affected the world. It has, over time, given birth to the dismal clash of
civilizations thesis of Samuel Huntington. The Clash of Civilizations is a
theory that people's cultural and religious identities will be the primary
source of conflict in the post-Cold War world. It was proposed by political
scientist Samuel P. Huntington in a 1992. This was echoedoften by direct
referencein Al Qaedas rhetoric about Crusaders. It is startling that it
these horrific acts had taken place, less than 24 years ago, and to me, it can
show how our humanity, our modern right and wrong, is a concept that has
remained constant since the beginning of mankind. This genocide is not only
important because it had affected thousands, it is important because it
happened, and it allows reflection for us all. As I a pessimist, hope for a
change, sixty-four year old survivor, Fatima Alijic puts it: Genocides still go
on in the world. Srebrenica didnt teach anyone a lesson.