Sukrija Meholjic and his wife Jasminka (69) are glued to the TV screen in their home on Røyken in Asker municipality. For six weeks they have been following the war in Ukraine. It evokes fond memories of their own history during the Balkan War in the 1990s.
– We are looking at the war, and it is exactly the same scenario that is unfolding now as in Bosnia. The killings in Butsja are horrific. Only those who have experienced this themselves can understand how the Ukrainians there have had it, Sukrija says to TV 2.
– BAD MEMORIES: The pictures from Ukraine evoke bad memories in Sukrija and Jasminka Meholjic. Photo: Stein Akre / TV 2
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The genocide in Srebenica
Sukrija Meholjic was born and raised in Srebenica. He is Bosnian, which means Bosnian Muslim.
When the war in Bosnia flared up in 1992, Bosniaks became a target for Bosnian Serb nationalists. Sukrija and his family managed to escape from Srebenica before the Bosnian Serb soldiers occupied the city and the surrounding area, an area that was actually under UN protection.
The Bosnian Serb forces separated women and men. The women were then allowed to travel while the men were detained. From 11 to 22 July 1995, those who were left were executed, says Sukrija.
– DRAWER: Sukrija Meholjic draws so that the world will not forget the genocide in Srebenica Photo: Stein Akre / TV 2
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8373 people were killed, most of them men. The Srebrenica massacre is considered the largest massacre in European post-war history. Sukrija lost his brother and two nephews, as well as most of the friends he had in his hometown.
He goes home every year. He says it’s just as painful every time.
– When I come home to Srebenica, every single house reminds me of who was killed.
– The UN and the rest of the world let it happen. The UN Security Council declared Srebenica a safe zone, but when the Serbs started firing, the Dutch UN forces stood by and did nothing.
Recognized artist
Sukrija and her family ended their flight in Norway. Here he got a job as a civil architect. But the impressions of the war were in the body.
– I started drawing out of necessity. It was my way of processing what I carried inside me.
For over 25 years, Sukrija has become a renowned artist with exhibitions around the world. His drawings are published in newspapers and magazines. He has won several awards for his work in keeping the memory of Srebenica alive. Now he is strongly affected by the war in Ukraine.
– I have started to draw what is happening in Ukraine, and it is the same thing that is happening. Putin and Milosivic are very similar in their ideology, says Sukrija, referring to Serbia’s former leader Slobodan Milosivic.
Save the war is spreading
Sukrija is afraid that the West will once again allow a genocide to take place without intervening. And then he is worried that the war will spread to the Balkans.
– I’m very scared. There is a great danger that the war will flare up in the Balkans. If Putin succeeds in Ukraine, Serbian nationalists will be encouraged to create a Greater Serbia. We already see these groups supporting Putin’s warfare and increasing rhetoric.
Although Sukrija and his wife are strongly affected by the war in Ukraine, they are also grateful for the life they have had in Norway.
– HAPPY: Sukrija and Jasminka Meholjic are happy with the life they have had in Norway Photo: Stein Akre / TV 2
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– When we came to Norway, we always thought that we should return home to Bosnia. We always had a pre-packed suitcase ready to travel, says Jasminka.
– But then it did not happen that way. Now our boys are adults and we are fine here.
Sukrija is preparing another exhibition which is scheduled to be held in Trondheim this autumn. That exhibition will also be marked by war and genocide.
– The West must stop the genocide in Ukraine. Why did the world accept the annexation of Crimea in 2014? That was the start. Now the world must stop this, Sukrija concludes.
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