Ziyah Gafić: Everyday objects, tragic histories

Translator: Nelson Simfukwe Reviewer: Joachim Mangilima

These are simple objects:

Hivi ni vitu rahisi au vya kawaida

clocks, keys, combs, glasses.

saa,funguo,vitana,miwani.

They are the things the victims of genocide in Bosnia

Ni vitu ambavyo wahanga wa mauaji ya kimbari huko Bosnia

carried with them on their final journey.

walivibeba katika safari yao ya mwisho.

We are all familiar with these mundane,

Wote tunayafahamu haya mambo,

everyday objects.

vitu vya kila siku.

The fact that some of the victims carried

Ukweli wa kwamba baadhi ya wahanga walibeba

personal items such as toothpaste and a toothbrush

vitu binafsi kama miswaki na dawa za meno

is a clear sign they had no idea

ni dalili ya wazi ioneshayo kwamba hawakuwa na wazo

what was about to happen to them.

ni kipi hasa kingeenda kuwatokea.

Usually, they were told that they were going to be

Katika hali ya kawaida, waliambiwa wataenda kubadilishwa

exchanged for prisoners of war.

na wafungwa wa vita.

These items have been recovered

Hivi vitu vilikuja patikana

from numerous mass graves across my homeland,

katika baadhi ya makaburi nchini mwangu,

and as we speak, forensics are exhuming bodies

mpaka sasa tunapoongea,wataalamu wa vinasaba wanafukua miili

from newly discovered mass graves,

katika makaburi yaliyogunduliwa,

20 years after the war.

miaka 20 baada ya vita.

And it is quite possibly the largest ever discovered.

Na inawezekana ni kiasi kikubwa sana kilichowahi kugunduliwa.

During the four years of conflict

Katika miaka minne ya mtafaruku

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

uliowachanganya akili watu wa taifa la Bosnia mwanzoni mwa miaka ya 90,

approximately 30,000 citizens, mainly civilians,

takribani wananchi 30,000,wengi wao wakiwa raia wa kawaida,

went missing, presumed killed,

walipotea,kudhaniwa kuuawa,

and another 100,000 were killed

na wengine 100,000 waliuawa

during combat operations.

wakati wa operesheni ya kivita

Most of them were killed

Wengi wao waliuawa

either in the early days of the war

aitha siku za mwanzo za vita

or towards the end of the hostilities,

au nyakati za mwishoni za wasiwasi,

when U.N. safe zones like Srebrenica

upande wa umoja wa mataifa ulio salama mfano Srebrenica

fell into the hands of the Serb army.

uliposhikiliwa na jeshi la Serbia.

The international criminal tribunal

Taasisi ya uhalifu wa kimataifa

delivered a number of sentences

ilitoa namba ya hukumu

for crimes against humanity and genocide.

kwa uhalifu wa kukiuka haki za binadamu na mauaji ya kimbari.

Genocide is a systematic and deliberate

Mauaji ya kimbari ni hali ya

destruction of a racial, political, religious

kuleta ubaguzi wa rangi,kuvuruga siasa, hali ya kidini

or ethnic group.

au makabila

As much as genocide is about killing.

Kwa vile mauaji ya kimbari lengo lake ni kupoteza maisha ya watu.

It is also about destroying their property,

Pia inaharibu mali zao,

their cultural heritage,

urithi wao wa kitamaduni,

and ultimately the very notion that they ever existed.

viashirio muhimu sana vitavyoonesha waliwahi kuwepo.

Genocide is not only about the killing;

Mauaji ya kimbari sio kwa ajili ya kukatisha maisha ya watu tu;

it is about the denied identity.

ni hali ya kukana utambulisho.

There are always traces —

Kuna ufahamu kwamba-

no such thing as a perfect crime.

hakuna kitu kama uhalifu maridadi

There are always remnants of the perished ones

Siku zote kutakuwa na mabaki ya wale waliofariki

that are more durable than their fragile bodies

ambayo ni imara kuliko miili yao iliyo rahisi kuharibika

and our selective and fading memory of them.

na kumbukumbu zao ambazo zinafifia.

These items are recovered

Vitu hivi vinawezwa kupatikana

from numerous mass graves,

katika baadhi ya makaburi,

and the main goal of this collection of the items

hatua ya ukusanyaji wa vitu hivi ipo

is a unique process

katika hali ya kipekee

of identifying those who disappeared in the killings,

katika kutambua wale waliopotea katika mauaji,

the first act of genocide on European soil

mauaji ya kwanza katika udongo wa Ulaya

since the Holocaust.

tangu wakati wa Holocaust.

Not a single body should remain undiscovered

Mwili hata mmoja hautakiwi ubaki haujapatikana

or unidentified.

au kutotambuliwa.

Once recovered,

Unapopatikana,

these items that the victims carried with them

vile vitu vilivyokuwa na mwili huo

on their way to execution

wakati wa mauaji

are carefully cleaned, analyzed,

vinasafishwa kwam makini,kufanyiwa uchunguzi,

catalogued and stored.

kuwekwa kati makundi na kisha kutunzwa.

Thousands of artifacts are packed in white plastic bags

Maelfu ya vitu hivi yamewekwa katika mifuko myeupe ya plastiki

just like the ones you see on CSI.

kama ile unayoona katika tume ya uchunguzi wa uhalifu unaohusisha mauaji.

These objects are used as a forensic tool

Vitu hivi vinatumika kawa ajili ya utambuzi wa vinasaba

in visual identification of the victims,

ili kutambua wahanga,

but they are also used as very valuable forensic evidence

lakini pia vinatumika kama uthibitisho muhimu sana katika vinasaba

in the ongoing war crimes trials.

kwenye majaribu ya mauaji yanayoendelea.

Survivors are occasionally called

Wale waliookoka huwa wanaitwa mara kwa mara

to try to identify these items physically,

kujaribu kutambua vitu hivi,

but physical browsing is extremely difficult,

lakini kuangalia kwa macho ya kawaida ni ngumu kidogo,

an ineffective and painful process.

ni hatua ambayo haina uhakika sana na inaumiza.

Once the forensics and doctors and lawyers

Mara baada ya wataalamu wa vinasaba, madaktari na wanasheria

are done with these objects,

wanapomalizana na hivi vitu

they become orphans of the narrative.

vinabaki yatima kwa kuachwa tu.

Many of them get destroyed, believe it or not,

Vingi huaribiwa,amini usiamini,

or they get simply shelved,

au vinawekwa,

out of sight and out of mind.

mbali ambapo haviwezi kufikiriwa tena.

I decided a few years ago

Miaka michache iliyopita niliamua

to photograph every single exhumed item

kupiga picha kila kitu kilichofukuliwa

in order to create a visual archive

ili niweze kutengeneza maktaba ya picha

that survivors could easily browse.

ili wale waliokoka waweze kuona kwa urahisi.

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

Kama msimulia hadithi, ningependa kurudisha kitu kwa jamii.

I like to move beyond raising awareness.

Ninapenda kwenda mbali zaidi katika kufikiri na kutenda ili kuongeza ufahamu.

And in this case, someone may

Katika hili, mtu anaweza

recognize these items

kutambua vitu hivi

or at least their photographs will remain

au picha zinaweza kubaki

as a permanent, unbiased and accurate reminder

muda mrefu sana, bila kusumbuliwa na kumbukumbu sahihi

of what happened.

ya yale yaliyotokea.

Photography is about empathy,

Kupiga picha kunahusisha kuelewa hisia za wengine,

and the familiarity of these items guarantee empathy.

na vitu hivi vinahusisha sana hisia za wengine.

In this case, I am merely a tool,

Mimi ni kama kifaa katika swala hili,

a forensic, if you like,

mtaalamu wa vinasaba, kama ukipenda,

and the result is a photography that is as close

na matokeo yake ni picha ambayo ipo karibu sana

as possible of being a document.

na kuwa nyaraka.

Once all the missing persons are identified,

Pale watu wote waliopotea waligundulika,

only decaying bodies in their graves

miili yao inayooza katika makaburi yao

and these everyday items will remain.

na hivi vitu vya kila siku vyote vitabaki.

In all their simplicity,

Katika urahisi,

these items are the last testament

vitu hivi ni agano la mwisho

to the identity of the victims,

katika utambulisho wa wahanga,

the last permanent reminder

ukumbusho wa mwisho ambao utadumu

that these people ever existed.

na kuonyesha kwamba watu hawa waliwahi kuwepo.

Thank you very much.

Asante sana

(Applause)

(Makofi)