Almost 27 years after the fall of Srebrenica and the subsequent murder of more than eight thousand Muslim men, the cabinet will recognize on Saturday that the Dutch soldiers of Dutchbat III were sent on a mission without a chance. Antoon van de Wiel (67) from Oisterwijk was one of them and can’t wait for the apologies. “I am going to Schaarsbergen full of hope.”
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The images are still full of misery etched on Antoon’s retina. “I happened to watch Schindler’s List about World War II a week before my broadcast. I never expected to see the same misery with my own eyes four months later.”
The consequences of that disaster are still felt every day. “I like to read books. Now I give up after five pages. Same with movies. I don’t have the concentration for it anymore.”
And then it is still relatively easy for Antoon. “I know men who still absolutely do not want and dare to go back to Bosnia. They cannot handle that mentally and physically. And at least ten boys committed suicide later. What happened there in Bosnia has affected literally everyone.”
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“You can’t knock down an elephant with a capping pistol.”
The reactions after returning home also played a major role. “We were accused of standing there watching, but doing nothing. And I still hear it sometimes. ‘Oh, you were one of those from Srebrenica?’ Full of contempt. I don’t respond to it, because then my voice goes up. It’s not worth it.”
Because Antoon himself knows very well what happened around the fall of the enclave. “When you send a unit out to protect something or someone, you have to give them the right equipment.” That didn’t happen. “You can’t knock down an elephant with a cap gun.”
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In Bosnia itself, too, the military was powerless. “We were thwarted and barely got in or out of the enclave. We would also get backup from the air, but it didn’t come. And it’s not that we didn’t do anything at all. The enemy was fired, but you didn’t hear about that later.”
It is clear that it still hurts a lot, so many years later. And so Antoon is very happy that the cabinet is now finally making reparation. Prime Minister Rutte and Defense Minister Ollongren will address hundreds of veterans in the Oranjekazerne in Schaarsbergen.
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“I’m going that way full of hope.”
Antoon will also be there. He does have an idea of what he hopes for. “That the politicians finally say: ‘Sorry, we did this wrong and we will never let this happen again.’ And that must also be serious. I am going that way full of hope.”
Will it be ready for the Oisterwijker after Saturday? “As far as I am concerned, I have already returned to Srebrenica myself. Together with my wife. I wanted to show her where I stood, sat, walked at the time. I would recommend it to every Dutchbat soldier who dares. The people there share the same pain and questions. And at the same time, life went on there too.”
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