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Home Primary Fulfilling the Pledge Fulfilling the Pledge: Saleem Kidwai OBE

Fulfilling the Pledge: Saleem Kidwai OBE

Secretary General—Muslim Council Of Wales

In October 2014 I took a delegation of 24 Muslim, Jewish, Anglican, Evangelical, Catholic, Hindu, youth leaders, men and women from Wales to Srebrenica. I was aware of the division of Yugoslavia and the ethnic tensions, but it was the Srebrenica genocide which really hit me. But it was like any other war: a moment of sadness which fades into another massacre.

In the early 90s I had met a man from Yugoslavia who said his parents were Muslim, and they used to celebrate Eid by sacrificing a pig or a turkey. To him, religion didn’t matter – they were all Yugoslavian brothers; they ate the same, drank the same, and no one could differentiate between them. During the war, I wondered what he was thinking now.

Since my emotional visit I have decided to educate the community, and reach those difficult to reach. Listening to the surviving mothers, sisters, and wives I realised forced assimilation, even through law, will never work; the only way we can ensure genocide never happens is to understand each other, accept each other and value each other, and build trust.

I have organised seminars, conferences, dinners; bringing people of all faiths and none to look for commonalities rather than dwell on differences. When I first invited Chief Rabbi Mirvis for dinner to Cardiff (it being his first invitation by a Muslim organisation), I said that we may not agree on the situation in the Middle East, but here in this country that becomes irrelevant and we should work together on many common issues.

There are many injustices that have happened across the world over the last couple of decades, but I feel this genocide is one people know the least about, especially the younger generation. It is our duty as humans to highlight the genocide in Srebrenica to as many people as possible so this never happens again. I think the way the media works is that it highlights a story for a moment, and moves onto another story.

So, for a lot of people, they may have remembered what happened at the time, but then been overtaken by a number of genocides, injustices and natural disasters. I believe what Remembering Srebrenica is doing is terrific and exactly what is needed to improve the knowledge of the people. Through the delegation of ministers, young people and religious leaders, they are enabled to spread the message of the catastrophe in Srebrenica.

From a first-hand perspective, they see the tears of the bereaved mothers and widows; the gallery which so poignantly highlights faces of those who passed away. Through their pledges, documentaries, videos, blogs, poems and community events, we can highlight Srebrenica to the general public. After the Nazis in Germany, the world said it would never happen again. It did, in Bosnia.

We as one human race, not just Muslims or Christians or Jews, need to come together and fight the injustices that are happening in the world today. I would like the genocide to be as much publicised and supported by the government as the Holocaust Trust.

Jun 29, 2015Amil Khan
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June 29, 2015 Fulfilling the PledgeBosnia-Herzegovina, genocide, Remembering Srebrenica, Srebrenica
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Remembering Srebrenica
SrebrenicaUKRemembering Srebrenica@SrebrenicaUK·
18h

On behalf of everyone at Remembering Srebrenica, may we wish all Muslims a happy and blessed Ramadan. #ramadanmubarak #Ramadan2021

35171Twitter
SrebrenicaUKRemembering Srebrenica@SrebrenicaUK·
12 Apr

'I hope the soldiers who loaded the ammunition are tormented by the screams of the women and the cries of the children they killed'. Reaction after the VRS shelled a school in Srebrenica on this day 28 years ago.

Today, we remember the victims.

https://t.co/lzx27jTgOL

723Twitter
SrebrenicaUKRemembering Srebrenica@SrebrenicaUK·
10 Apr

Today marks 14 years since Serb paramilitaries known as the 'Scorpios' who were filmed taunting their vicitms before shooting them in the back as they lay in a ditch were found guilty. Three of the Bosnian Muslim men they killed were just teenagers https://t.co/WVPXfIuoPh

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Remembering Srebrenica Retweeted
MarkBro67574739Mark Browne@MarkBro67574739·
10 Apr

@SrebrenicaUK Had the privilege of meeting the general in Sarajevo. A real character but above all a man of principle, who put morals above nationality. An inspiration. #goodrelations #TBUC

112Twitter
SrebrenicaUKRemembering Srebrenica@SrebrenicaUK·
9 Apr

We are saddened by the news that the Duke of Edinburgh has passed away. He led a life of extraordinary service to our country and served the nation with total and selfless devotion. Our thoughts are with The Queen and all of the Royal Family, with whom Britain mourns.

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 Latest news 
Remembering Srebrenica’s 2021 Theme: Rebuilding Lives
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Every year, Remembering Srebrenica selects a theme that reflects an aspect of the genocide that must be commemorated, but also speaks to communities here in the UK.  The theme for 2021 is ‘Rebuilding Lives’.  In albeit very different ways the Covid pandemic has brought loss and difficulties to millions, shattering individuals and communities, who are […]

Hatidža Mehmedović – A mother’s legacy
November 26, 2020

Hatidža Mehmedović was born in the area surrounding Srebrenica in 1952. Before the genocide, she lived her entire life in Srebrenica, where she had married her childhood friend, Abdullah, and had two sons, Azmir and Almir. Hatidža and Abdullah built their home in Srebrenica and lived a simple life as a family before the war […]

“Untold Killing”: first serialised podcast about the genocide in Bosnia launched
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London, United Kingdom — This past July marked 25 years since the genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina, often referred to as the worst atrocity on Europe’s soil since the Holocaust. The story of Srebrenica, a small town in Bosnia, remains a dark stain on Europe’s history and yet the full details remain unknown to many.  […]

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