My Srebrenica Genocide Biking Marathon
Me and my “Zivinice Biking Club” teammates were headed to Srebrenica on Sunday on our bikes to give tribute to innocently killed Muslims in that area.
It was emotional.
The Srebrenica genocide happened on the 11th of July, 1995. when more than 8000 Muslim Bosniaks, mainly men and boys were killed in and around the town of Srebrenica during the war in Bosnia.
So far around 6000 people have been found in mass graves and their bones were transferred to Potocari, a small place near Srebrenica where they all remain in peace now. Every year new bones are found and new victims are identified, so every 11th of July we go to Potocari for a commemoration and a funeral.
This year was different. Instead of going by a car, we went on our bikes. The road was 120 kilometers long and it took us around 6 hours of active driving up and down the hills, burning more than 5000 calories each. But that’s not the emotional part.
On the way to Srebrenica, many biking groups joined together to form a magnificent 2 kilometers long line of bike riders, taking up a full lane on the road.
Since Bosnia is still divided among Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks, we had to ride through Serb territory to get to where we were heading.
Despite the fact that there were more than 500 bike riders, we were still provoked by local Serb population, slightly less than previous years though.
The Emotional Part
There are many refugee families who decided to return to the place they were forced to leave back in 1992. They carry a huge burden and some of them are provoked much often on a daily basis than we were that day. Those people went out and stood along the road to show their appreciation for our efforts, which was strange, because when we decided to step on a bike, we decided to show them the support and send them a message that we care about them. Yet, those good grandmothers, mothers, and sisters, where waving us on the side of the road, bursting out in tears and you could see how thankful and supporting they were, showing their big harts.
There were many moments when I shed a tear as well. Most of the time I only had to take one look at their faces and that would be enough.
Another strange thing was that I never actually prepared for this ride, since the longest rides I have taken were about 45 kilometers. I didn’t get tired though.
Now when the ride is over, I can say that I am planning to ride the next year as well. The energy that was coming from all the riders as we were entering Potocari was absolutely amazing, and everybody felt it.
At the end of the day, we were thankful that we had the opportunity to show our support for all people that lost someone in this war.
WE MUST NEVER FORGET SREBRENICA!
May mother’s tears become prayers, that #Srebrenica never happens again, to anyone. Never forgive, never forget. #DontForgetSrebrenica
