Aida Ćerkez on the Mothers of Srebrenica, Humor and Culture during War, and What Can Prevent Revenge

Bosnian journalist and writer Aida Ćerkez covered the war in Bosnia and the siege of Sarajevo. During the first two years of the conflict, she believed that her reports could help stop the war. But eventually, she realized that the world knew everything — and did nothing. At that time, she felt that others simply didn’t care about what was happening in her country. After such disappointment, Aida Ćerkez wanted to give up and leave the Balkans. However, an interview with a very old man became a turning point for her. He remarked that after her reports on the war in Bosnia, no one would ever be able to say they didn’t know what was happening there. She stayed in Sarajevo, continued writing articles, and reporting the news.Having lived through war in her own country, the journalist became able to recognize the signs of a potential armed conflict. She warned her Ukrainian colleagues and friends about the coming full-scale war in Ukraine. Aida saw the same signs. Throughout 2021, Russian troops were constantly stationed near Ukraine’s borders, under the pretext of military exercises. In the 1990s, the 44-month-long siege of Sarajevo also began with military drills in the mountains surrounding the capital. Yet many of her Ukrainian colleagues didn’t believe her. Ćerkez didn’t even hold it against them, as she herself had felt the same before the war in Bosnia began.After the full-scale invasion started, Aida Ćerkez wrote an open letter to Ukrainians in March 2022. “In the dark times that are ahead of you, you will lose faith sometimes and be overwhelmed by exhaustion. But I’m writing to you from the future and I’m telling you: “You will prevail just as we did,” she wrote. At the end of the letter, she rephrased the slogan printed on a T-shirt she wore during the siege of Sarajevo. The T-shirt, which she still keeps, reads: “Sarajevo will be, everything else will pass.” To Ukrainians, she wrote: “Ukraine will be, everything else will pass.”Journalist Angelina Kariakina speaks with Aida Ćerkez about the siege of Sarajevo and how culture helped its residents feel human, about the mothers of the victims of the Srebrenica massacre and the process of healing, about the tribunal, and why it is crucial to continue collecting evidence of Russian war crimes.Do you like our podcast? Support the Public Interest Journalism Lab with a Donation https://www.journlab.online/donations