NEWS
The Bülbülzade Foundation brought together the mothers of Srebrenica, who lost their loved ones in the Srebrenica Massacre, with the mothers of Sednaya, who experienced similar suffering during the civil war in Syria.
The Srebrenica Mothers, who lost their husbands and children in the genocide that took place in front of the eyes of the whole world in the town of Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on July 11, 1995, came together with Syrian mothers whose husbands and children disappeared in Sednaya Prison during the Syrian civil war that began in 2011.
Highlighting the importance of bringing together the Mothers of Srebrenica and Sednaya, Turgay Aldemir, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bülbülzade Foundation, said, "We attended an international symposium on persons with disabilities in Damascus and discussed missing persons with the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other deputy ministers. We discussed what we could do together. I explained the struggle of the Srebrenica mothers and IFS Emmaus in this area. They now want to share their experience with you and collaborate with you in particular in the struggle for the missing persons and mothers in Syria. Over a million people have died in Syria. More than 220,000 women have been abused in prisons, and tens of thousands of children have died. There is a very deep wound. May your experience be a remedy for this wound to heal, may it be a hope. We also have friends here from Sednaya. They witnessed suffering that even they cannot describe. But we will not cover it up, we will not hide it, we will talk about it. We will condemn those who caused the crime, those who led to the crime, and those who committed the crime, both in the conscience of humanity and before the law."
At this meaningful gathering brought together by shared pain, the deep scars left by war on human life were discussed, and calls for justice and human rights were reiterated. Mothers who lost their children and spouses in the Srebrenica Genocide expressed the difficulty of returning to the same place despite witnessing what the Serbs did after the genocide and trying to continue their lives there. Voicing their 30 years of pain, they recounted how they lost their children and husbands and the legal avenues they pursued during this process. Emphasizing the importance of their legal struggle, the mothers of Srebrenica said, "We are all around 60 years old, and we think many of us will be gone within five years. But we are very happy that our struggle has been so successful. Now we think we can go in peace.“ Expressing their solidarity with the Syrian mothers' pain, the mothers said, ”We have experienced the same pain. We also want to stay in touch. We want to talk to our mothers constantly. We are always by their side. Thank you for bringing us together. We thank everyone. Our Muslim brothers and sisters, the whole world. We hope these mothers will be well too."
The Sednaya mothers, who lost their children and husbands during the Syrian civil war, recounted the hardships they endured. The mothers, who said they lost their children when barrel bombs were dropped from planes in the center of Aleppo, stated that there are still underground prisons in Syria and that they believe their children, from whom they have not heard, may be there. Emphasizing that the pain they experienced is still very fresh, the Sednaya mothers said, "Mothers have come all the way to Turkey for us. This is very precious to us. We also want to listen very carefully to their experiences and how they overcame this issue of patience. We are aware of our path, but we always want to stay in touch. Together, we can find ways to learn, evaluate patience together, and get to know each other better. We may have told our story to many people so far, but no one can understand us as much as these mothers, and no one ever will, because they have experienced the same thing as us." The Srebrenica mothers, expressing their solidarity with the Syrian mothers' pain, said, “We have experienced the same pain. We also want to stay in touch. We want to see our mothers constantly. We are always by their side. Thank you for bringing us together.”
At the end of the meeting, the “Srebrenica Flower,” a symbol of the Srebrenica Massacre, was presented by the Mothers of Srebrenica to the Mothers of Sednaya Martyrs. Following the meeting, the mothers took part in a day-long city tour covering Gaziantep's historical and cultural sites. After the tour, the mothers gathered for dinner and shared their thoughts.
We sincerely thank the Civil Law Association and IFS Emmaus for their support in making this meaningful meeting possible.
