Ziyah Gafić: Everyday objects, tragic histories

Prevodilac: Ivana Krivokuća Lektor: Dejan Vicai

These are simple objects:

Ovo su jednostavni predmeti:

clocks, keys, combs, glasses.

satovi, ključevi, češljevi, naočari.

They are the things the victims of genocide in Bosnia

To su stvari žrtava genocida u Bosni

carried with them on their final journey.

koje su poneli na svoje poslednje putovanje.

We are all familiar with these mundane,

Svima nama su poznati ovi obični,

everyday objects.

svakodnevni predmeti.

The fact that some of the victims carried

Činjenica da su neke žrtve nosile

personal items such as toothpaste and a toothbrush

lične predmete kao što su pasta i četkica za zube

is a clear sign they had no idea

je jasan znak da nisu imali pojma

what was about to happen to them.

šta će se dogoditi sa njima.

Usually, they were told that they were going to be

Uobičajeno, bilo im je rečeno

exchanged for prisoners of war.

da će biti razmenjeni za ratne zarobljenike.

These items have been recovered

Ovi predmeti su dobijeni natrag

from numerous mass graves across my homeland,

iz brojnih masovnih grobnica širom moje domovine,

and as we speak, forensics are exhuming bodies

i dok pričamo, forenzičari ekshumiraju tela

from newly discovered mass graves,

iz novootkrivenih masovnih grobnica,

20 years after the war.

20 godina nakon rata.

And it is quite possibly the largest ever discovered.

I to verovatno najvećih ikada otkrivenih.

During the four years of conflict

Tokom četiri godine konflikta

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

koji je opustošio bosanski narod ranih '90-ih,

approximately 30,000 citizens, mainly civilians,

oko 30.000 građana, uglavnom civila,

went missing, presumed killed,

je nestalo, smatrano ubijenim,

and another 100,000 were killed

i još 100.000 je ubijeno

during combat operations.

za vreme borbenih operacija.

Most of them were killed

Većina njih je ubijena

either in the early days of the war

ili ranih dana rata

or towards the end of the hostilities,

ili pred kraj sukoba,

when U.N. safe zones like Srebrenica

kada su bezbedne zone UN-a poput Srebrenice

fell into the hands of the Serb army.

pale u ruke srpske vojske.

The international criminal tribunal

Međunarodni krivični tribunal

delivered a number of sentences

je izrekao niz presuda

for crimes against humanity and genocide.

za zločine protiv čovečanstva i genocid.

Genocide is a systematic and deliberate

Genocid je sistematsko i namerno

destruction of a racial, political, religious

uništavanje rasne, političke, verske

or ethnic group.

ili etničke grupe.

As much as genocide is about killing.

Koliko je genocid ubijanje,

It is also about destroying their property,

toliko je i uništavanje njihove imovine,

their cultural heritage,

njihovog kulturnog nasleđa,

and ultimately the very notion that they ever existed.

i na kraju samog pojma da su ikada postojali.

Genocide is not only about the killing;

Genocid se ne odnosi samo na ubijanje;

it is about the denied identity.

radi se o uskraćenom identitetu.

There are always traces —

Uvek ima tragova -

no such thing as a perfect crime.

ne postoji savršen zločin.

There are always remnants of the perished ones

Uvek postoje ostaci stradalih

that are more durable than their fragile bodies

koji su trajniji od njihovih krhkih tela

and our selective and fading memory of them.

i naših selektivnih i izbledelih sećanja 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

a glavni cilj ove kolekcije predmeta

is a unique process

je jedinstveni proces

of identifying those who disappeared in the killings,

identifikovanja onih koji su nestali u ubistvima,

the first act of genocide on European soil

prvom činu genocida na evropskom tlu

since the Holocaust.

od Holokausta.

Not a single body should remain undiscovered

Nijedno telo ne treba da ostane neotkriveno

or unidentified.

ili neidentifikovano.

Once recovered,

Kada su jednom pronađeni,

these items that the victims carried with them

ovi predmeti koje su žrtve nosile sa sobom

on their way to execution

na putu ka pogubljenju

are carefully cleaned, analyzed,

se pažljivo čiste, analiziraju,

catalogued and stored.

popisuju i skladište.

Thousands of artifacts are packed in white plastic bags

Hiljade eksponata je spakovano u belim plastičnim kesama

just like the ones you see on CSI.

baš kao što su one koje gledate u "Mestu zločina".

These objects are used as a forensic tool

Ovi predmeti se koriste kao forenzički instrument

in visual identification of the victims,

za vizuelnu identifikaciju žrtava,

but they are also used as very valuable forensic evidence

ali se takođe koriste i kao veoma dragoceni forenzički dokazi

in the ongoing war crimes trials.

na tekućim suđenjima za ratne zločine.

Survivors are occasionally called

Preživeli povremeno bivaju pozvani

to try to identify these items physically,

da pokušaju da identifikuju ove predmete fizički,

but physical browsing is extremely difficult,

ali fizičko pregledanje je izuzetno težak,

an ineffective and painful process.

neefikasan i bolan proces.

Once the forensics and doctors and lawyers

Kada forenzičari i doktori i advokati

are done with these objects,

završe sa ovim objektima,

they become orphans of the narrative.

oni postaju siročad narativa.

Many of them get destroyed, believe it or not,

Mnogi od njih budu uništeni, verovali ili ne,

or they get simply shelved,

ili budu prosto odloženi,

out of sight and out of mind.

daleko od očiju i daleko od srca.

I decided a few years ago

Rešio sam pre nekoliko godina

to photograph every single exhumed item

da fotografišem svaki ekshumirani predmet

in order to create a visual archive

kako bih stvorio vizuelni arhiv

that survivors could easily browse.

koji preživeli mogu lako da pregledaju.

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

Kao pripovedač, volim da nečim uzvratim zajednici.

I like to move beyond raising awareness.

Volim da idem dalje od podizanja svesnosti.

And in this case, someone may

A u ovom slučaju, neko možda

recognize these items

prepozna ove predmete

or at least their photographs will remain

ili će makar njihove fotografije ostati

as a permanent, unbiased and accurate reminder

kao trajni, nepristrasni i istiniti podsetnik

of what happened.

na ono što se dogodilo.

Photography is about empathy,

Kod fotografije se radi o empatiji,

and the familiarity of these items guarantee empathy.

i poznatost ovih predmeta garantuje empatiju.

In this case, I am merely a tool,

U ovom slučaju, ja sam samo instrument,

a forensic, if you like,

forenzičar, ako hoćete,

and the result is a photography that is as close

a rezultat je fotografija koja je

as possible of being a document.

što je moguće bliža dokumentu.

Once all the missing persons are identified,

Kada sve nestale osobe budu identifikovane,

only decaying bodies in their graves

samo raspadajuća tela u njihovim grobovima

and these everyday items will remain.

i ovi svakodnevni predmeti će ostati.

In all their simplicity,

U celokupnoj svojoj jednostavnosti,

these items are the last testament

ovi predmeti su poslednje svedočanstvo

to the identity of the victims,

identifikovanju žrtava,

the last permanent reminder

poslednji trajni podsetnik

that these people ever existed.

da su ti ljudi ikada postojali.

Thank you very much.

Hvala vam mnogo.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)