Since 2005 the March of Peace has been held in Bosnia and Herzegovina in memory of the victims of the Srebrenica genocide in 1995 during the Bosnian War.  It was then, on July 11th, that Serbian troops overran the UN safe zone that had been established in Srebrenica despite the presence of 450 Dutch UN peacekeepers and took over the city.  In the ensuing days estimates are that between 10,000-15,000 men and boys fled to the nearest Muslim safe haven, the town of Tuzla, some 60 miles away.  It was during that attempted escape that over 8,000 men and boys would be massacred by the Bosnian Serb troops, their bodies strewn and dumped in mass graves in the surrounding woods and countryside.  The March of Peace traverses the same winding and mountainous dirt road between Srebrenica and Tuzla and is often referred to as “Death Road”.  The three day march begins in Tuzla and ends in the small village of Potocari, a suburb of Srebrenica.  It is here where the memorial center is located.  Mass graves of the remains of those who have been found dot the hillside.  In the center of town, a stone wall etched with the names of those who have been identified over the years.  On day four, July 11, a service is held to honor those who lost their lives, and hold funerals for the remains of those found and identified through DNA testing over the course of the previous year.

On July 8 of this year Mirsad and his wife Mizeta joined thousands of others on the March of Peace.  Survivors of the genocide and family members of those who lost their lives.  Others came from small villages, towns and cities from across Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Europe and around the world to pay their respects and honor those who lost their lives during their flight from the Bosnian Serb army some 24 years ago.  Mirsad and I spoke about the emotional yet rewarding experience.