Ziyah Gafić: Everyday objects, tragic histories

Translator: Muamer Seljubac Reviewer: Adisa Ejubovic

These are simple objects:

Ovo su jednostavni predmeti:

clocks, keys, combs, glasses.

satovi, ključevi, češljevi, naočale.

They are the things the victims of genocide in Bosnia

To su stvari koje su žrtve genocida u Bosni

carried with them on their final journey.

nosile sa sobom na njihovom posljednjem putovanju.

We are all familiar with these mundane,

Svima su nam poznati ovi uobičajeni,

everyday objects.

svakodnevni predmeti.

The fact that some of the victims carried

Činjenica da su neke od žrtava nosile

personal items such as toothpaste and a toothbrush

lične predmete poput četkice i paste za zube

is a clear sign they had no idea

jasan je znak da nisu znali

what was about to happen to them.

šta će im se ubrzo desiti.

Usually, they were told that they were going to be

Uglavnom, govoreno im je da će biti

exchanged for prisoners of war.

razmjenjeni za zarobljenike rata.

These items have been recovered

Ovi predmeti su pronađeni

from numerous mass graves across my homeland,

u brojnim masovnim grobnicama širom moje domovine,

and as we speak, forensics are exhuming bodies

i dok sada pričamo, forenzičari ekshumiraju tijela

from newly discovered mass graves,

iz novootkrivene masovne grobnice,

20 years after the war.

20 godina poslije rata.

And it is quite possibly the largest ever discovered.

I vjerovatno je najveća ikada otkrivena.

During the four years of conflict

Tokom četiri godine sukoba

that devastated the Bosnian nation in the early '90s,

koji je razorio bosansku naciju u ranim 90-im,

approximately 30,000 citizens, mainly civilians,

oko 30.000 građana, uglavnom civila

went missing, presumed killed,

je nestalo, vjerovatno ubijeno,

and another 100,000 were killed

i još 100.000 je ubijeno

during combat operations.

tokom ratnih operacija.

Most of them were killed

Većina njih je ubijena

either in the early days of the war

ili u prvim danima rata

or towards the end of the hostilities,

ili pri kraju sukoba,

when U.N. safe zones like Srebrenica

kada su sigurne zone UN-a, poput Srebrenice,

fell into the hands of the Serb army.

pale u ruke srpske vojske.

The international criminal tribunal

Međunarodni tribunal

delivered a number of sentences

je izrekao nekoliko presuda

for crimes against humanity and genocide.

za zločine protiv čovječnosti i genocida.

Genocide is a systematic and deliberate

Genocid je sistematsko i namjerno

destruction of a racial, political, religious

uništavanje rasnih, političkih, vjerskih

or ethnic group.

ili etničkih grupa.

As much as genocide is about killing.

Koliko god je genocid vezan za ubijanje,

It is also about destroying their property,

toliko ima veze i sa uništavanjem njihove imovine,

their cultural heritage,

njihovog kulturološkog nasljeđa,

and ultimately the very notion that they ever existed.

i u konačnici bilo kakvog traga o tome da su oni ikada i postojali.

Genocide is not only about the killing;

Genocid nije samo ubijanje;

it is about the denied identity.

to je i osporavanje identiteta.

There are always traces —

Uvijek postoje tragovi -

no such thing as a perfect crime.

ne postoji savršen zločin.

There are always remnants of the perished ones

Uvijek postoje ostaci poginulih

that are more durable than their fragile bodies

koji su dugotrajnijih od njihovih krhkih tijela

and our selective and fading memory of them.

i našeg selektivnog i slabog sjećanja na njih.

These items are recovered

Ovi predmeti su pronađeni

u brojnim masovnim grobnicama,

from numerous mass graves,

and the main goal of this collection of the items

i glavni cilj ove zbirke predmeta

is a unique process

je jedinstven proces

of identifying those who disappeared in the killings,

identifikacije onih koji su nestali tokom zločina,

the first act of genocide on European soil

prvog genodica na tlu Evrope

since the Holocaust.

nakon Holokausta.

Not a single body should remain undiscovered

Niti jedno tijelo ne bi trebalo ostati neotkriveno

or unidentified.

ili neidentificirano.

Once recovered,

Kada budu pronađeni,

these items that the victims carried with them

ovi predmeti koje su žrtve nosile sa sobom

on their way to execution

na njihovom putu ka egzekuciji

are carefully cleaned, analyzed,

su pažljivo očišćeni, analizirani,

catalogued and stored.

katalogizirani i uskladišteni.

Thousands of artifacts are packed in white plastic bags

Na hiljade predmeta je upakovano u bijele plastične kesice

just like the ones you see on CSI.

baš poput onih koje gledate na CSI-u.

These objects are used as a forensic tool

Ovi predmeti se koriste kao forenzički dokazi

in visual identification of the victims,

prilikom vizuelne idektifikacije žrtava

but they are also used as very valuable forensic evidence

ali također služe i kao veoma vrijedni forenzički dokazi

in the ongoing war crimes trials.

u sadašnjim suđenjima za ratne zločine.

Survivors are occasionally called

Preživjeli bivaju povremeno pozvani

to try to identify these items physically,

da pokušaju identifikovati ove predmete fizički,

but physical browsing is extremely difficult,

ali fizičko prepoznavanje je veoma zahtjevno,

an ineffective and painful process.

neefikasno i veoma je bolan proces.

Once the forensics and doctors and lawyers

Kada forenzičari, doktori i advokati

završe sa korištenjem ovih predmeta,

are done with these objects,

they become orphans of the narrative.

oni postaju siročad ove priče.

Many of them get destroyed, believe it or not,

Mnogi od njih bivaju uništeni, vjerovali ili ne,

or they get simply shelved,

ili jednostavno uskladišteni,

out of sight and out of mind.

daleko od očiju i od uma.

I decided a few years ago

Prije nekoliko godina sam odlučio

to photograph every single exhumed item

da fotografišem svaki ekshumirani predmet

in order to create a visual archive

kako bih napravio vizuelnu arhivu

that survivors could easily browse.

koju preživjeli mogu sa lahkoćom pretraživati.

As a storyteller, I like to give back to the community.

Budući da sam pripovjedač, volim raditi za zajednicu,

I like to move beyond raising awareness.

volim ići iza podizanja svijesti.

And in this case, someone may

I u ovom slučaju, neko bi mogao

recognize these items

prepoznati ove predmete

or at least their photographs will remain

ili će barem njihove fotografije ostati

as a permanent, unbiased and accurate reminder

kao trajni, nepristrasni i precizni podsjetnik

of what happened.

o tome šta se desilo.

Photography is about empathy,

Fotografija je vezana za empatiju,

and the familiarity of these items guarantee empathy.

i to koliko su ovi predmeti poznati garantuje empatiju.

In this case, I am merely a tool,

U ovom slučaju, ja sam samo sredstvo,

a forensic, if you like,

forenzičar, ako želite,

and the result is a photography that is as close

i rezultat je fotografija koja je najbliža

as possible of being a document.

tome da bude dokument.

Once all the missing persons are identified,

Jednom kada sve nestale osobe budu identifikovane,

jedino će nijhova tijela u njihovim grobovima

only decaying bodies in their graves

and these everyday items will remain.

i ovi uobičajeni predmeti ostati.

In all their simplicity,

Uz svu njihovu jednostavnost,

these items are the last testament

ovi predmeti su posljednji svjedok

to the identity of the victims,

identiteta žrtava,

the last permanent reminder

posljednji vječni podsjetnik

that these people ever existed.

da su ovi ljudi ikada postojali.

Thank you very much.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)