Comments on: Srebrenica 19 Years Later

By: Calli Duncan

Calli Duncan — Fri, 01 Aug 2014 16:49:00 +0000

Thanks Jon, sadly I think politics have a greater influence on decisions like this than they should. At the end of the day everyone wants to cover their own backside.

By: Jon @ jonistravelling.com

Jon @ jonistravelling.com — Sat, 19 Jul 2014 08:03:00 +0000

This is a really interesting post, I hadn’t heard of this particular massacre and know very little about the whole conflict. It’s a shame that decisions on whether to intervene or not seem to be made for political reasons rather than what’s good for the people who are suffering.

By: Calli Duncan

Calli Duncan — Thu, 17 Jul 2014 21:29:30 +0000

You’re so right Milosz, the area is still recovering and only now have any charges or responsibility been determined by the courts – mainly the Netherlands has been found responsible for the actions of their troops and I believe their president has issued a formal apology. Unfortunately it has taken a decade for charges to be filed against Serbian leaders responsible for the genocide and Serbia’s President publicly denied the events until only last year. With unmarked graves still being discovered the death toll continues to rise as well. This is definitely one event that has a very long lasting and far reaching aftermath.

By: Calli Duncan

Calli Duncan — Thu, 17 Jul 2014 21:22:23 +0000

Thanks Mike. I think there was a time a few years ago when I thought world peace was a realistic option but sadly the more I open my eyes to what is going on in the world the more I agree with you that these events will continue to happen over and over again while outside nations sit by and determine if they will get involved or not. While writing this piece we actually had a lot of spirited debate with my mom and step-dad around this issue and it’s amazing to see how divided so many of us are on the concept of intervention, even within the same family we had some very different ideas.

By: Calli Duncan

Calli Duncan — Thu, 17 Jul 2014 21:19:25 +0000

It’s very true Karen, so many of these Baltic countries are still dealing with the aftermath of these wars decades later.

By: Adelina // Pack Me To

Adelina // Pack Me To — Thu, 17 Jul 2014 19:58:49 +0000

When I was touring Ljubljana and Belgrade the guides were throwing out dates of events and I would always calculate how old I was. You think of history as being hundred of years or decades ago, not something that has happened in your lifetime. It’s definitely jarring to know that while I was out frolicking around being a kid, someone the same age as me who had the misfortune of being born in the wrong place at the wrong time, was suffering.

By: Emily

Emily — Thu, 17 Jul 2014 17:55:56 +0000

It always shocks me to learn about events like this which I’ve never heard of before. What a horrific tragedy. Thanks for enlightening me – I wish I wasn’t so ignorant about things like this.

By: Bob R

Bob R — Thu, 17 Jul 2014 17:19:49 +0000

If you want to learn more, read ‘Endgame’ by journalist David Rohde, a very detailed account of the various machinations that led to this massacre. Rohde won a Pulitzer for his coverage of Srebrenica for the Christian Science Monitor.

By: Karen Warren

Karen Warren — Thu, 17 Jul 2014 08:47:25 +0000

An interesting insight, thank you. When I visited Croatia a few years ago I was surprised (although maybe I shouldn’t have been) at how much impact the war still had upon the people living there, and how it continued to influence their attitudes.

By: Michael Huxley

Michael Huxley — Thu, 17 Jul 2014 08:24:01 +0000

Excellent and powerful post, one thing I have come to learn myself is that things are never as black and white as people tend to think. There is always a mass of murky water that covers everything. The only thing that is certain is that this will happen again, under a different name, with different actors and players, but the same story. Over and over. And no country in the civilised world can ever claim innocence, or impartiality. As long as acts like this continue we are all condemned no matter what choice we make, to intervene or not. To act or not.