Srebrenica Now at Hammersmith Town Hall(28/01/06)
Hammersmith and Fulham marks Holocaust Memorial Day with exhibition and discussion on life after conflict (28/01/2006)
Hatidza’s kitchen (pictured right) looks domestic and secure – but her experience over the past decade has been far from ordinary. She lives in Srebrenica, the scene just over ten years ago of the worst genocide in Europe since World War Two.
She fled the besieged Bosnian town in July 1995 when the massacre took place and Serb forces killed more than 7,000 men and boys. But, though life is hard in Srebrenica now and she lost many family members, she went back to her old home in 2002, keen to piece her life back together again. “I was scared but determined to return,” says Hatidza.
Hatidza’s photograph, which was taken by her grandson Salahudin, will be on display from 17 January to 7 February 2006 with others from Srebrenica in the glass atrium outside Hammersmith Town Hall to mark Holocaust Memorial Day on 27 January.
The exhibition is part of a project run by Werkgroep Nederland Srebrenica, a Dutch Bosnian organisation working in Srebrenica. The aim is to bring people from different ethnic groups together to create something that breaks the patterns of the past and lessens tension.
For the Hammersmith display, the UK-based Refugees and the Arts Initiative will create a room, typical of Bosnia, in the glass atrium and display the photographs and their captions in it.
The show was launched by an open discussion – ‘Living together in a violent world’ – which brought together different refugee groups within the borough who have experienced conflict in their countries. The meeting was hosted by Hammersmith & Fulham Refugee Forum at Hammersmith Town Hall and closed with a performance by London Sevdah Choir, which specialises in music from Bosnia, both solo voice and accordion.
Cllr Stephen Burke, leader of the council, said: “The message of peace that Holocaust Memorial Day promotes has even greater resonance in London following the bombings of 7 July 2005 and these events follow on from the Peace Week celebrations which took place in Lyric Square in September.
“For centuries people from all over the world have lived side-by-side in our borough, making it an exciting, multicultural community and a great place to live and work. Our strength is our diversity and those who seek to divide us will only succeed in making us stronger.”
- For more information, email susanroberts@bridging-arts.com, visit www.bridging-arts.com or call 020 8749 9010.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
- For the first time since 27 January was designated as the UK’s Holocaust Memorial Day, this date falls on a Friday which has implications for a number of faiths. Consequently the national event will take place on the evening of Thursday 26 January 2006. For more details visit www.hmd.org.uk
- Srebrenica Now, managed by bridging arts is currently on display at Wormwood Scrubs Education Centre. For more information, please call Susan Roberts on 020 8749 9010 or 0794 1252444.
- Srebrenica Now opened at the Salon des Arts, London, on 8 July 2005 to mark the 10th anniversary of the genocide at Srebrenica. It was staged by bridging arts in partnership with the Salon des Arts and the Refugees in the Arts Initiative, with funding and support from the Srebrenica Justice Campaign, the refugee support group BH Community UK, Refugee Week 2005 and the Bosnian Institute.
- Srebrenica – declared a ‘safe area’ by the United Nations – was allowed to fall to besieging nationalist Serbs in July 1995. More than 7,000 men and boys were massacred. The women of Srebrenica were forcibly evacuated from the enclave, and today live as refugees in their own country. In Tuzla they have formed themselves into a campaigning group ‘Zene Srebrenice’ or ‘Women of Srebrenica’ to fight for justice. Following a tour of Britain by the pressure group, the Srebrenica Justice Campaign was launched to support their demands.
- bridging arts specialises in events, art installations and performances with a message so that people without a voice can speak out through the arts. For more details visit www.bridging-arts.com