This week, Grade 11 History students were treated to a fascinating presentation from ISB teacher, Ms. Tadzic. Ms. Tadzic hails from Bosnia and Herzegovina, but fled to England in the 1990’s due to the Balkan Wars – the most brutal conflict Europe had seen since WW2. Here, Ms Tadzic reflects upon her childhood growing up in the former Yugoslavia before everything fell apart and the lasting impression the war has left on her.
For Bosnian teacher Mrs. Tadzic, the horrors of war are something that must be remembered. Today we had the privilege of hearing her experiences from the particularly brutal Yugoslavian war, which ultimately forced her to leave her home in the city of Zagreb.
“[Yugoslavia] really was a united, strong, peaceful country,” Tadzic remembers. “There were rumblings of war but no one believed it could be true.”
However, when the death of president Josep Tito leaves Yugoslavia in a frantic scramble for power, tensions within the nation escalate to an all time high. Tadzic recalls the moment in which her childhood changed forever, a typical evening, when she was only 8 years old.
“We were sitting at the dinner table when the air raid sirens went off. My family and I huddled together under the table and I remember feeling so scared. After, my parents told me to take cover if I ever heard this sound”.
Air raids become a regular occurrence in Zagreb as the war continues, but things are much worse for Tadzic’s family, who all reside in the little town of Kozarac, where Tadzic was born. Tadzic describes receiving phone calls from her family, detailing the arrival of Serbian troops and a major change in the attitude of the village.
“People who you thought were your friends were not.”
Soon, Bosniaks in Kozarac are forced to identify themselves with a white armband, including Tadzic’s family. A white flag in the front yard also marks a home as belonging to Bosniak people.
“The last thing we heard was that the men had been taken: my uncles, my cousins, my grandad. After that, the phone lines go down.”
The Air raids in Zagreb continue almost every day. One day Tadzic does not make it to the communal bunkers in time to seek refuge from the oncoming conflict.
“My parents yelled at me to get down. I’ll never forget I looked up and saw the gunfire above my head. The bullets were really light in the night.”
It is after this moment that the family decides it is too dangerous to stay in Yugoslavia. Tadzic’s mother contacts her sister, who was able to flee to England in order to seek pregnancy care. She warns the family that now is the only chance they will have to leave, before the war becomes too dangerous. In 1995, Tadzic, who is devastated to leave the home she has always known, grabs only a teddy bear and a stone from her beloved garden before leaving it forever.
It is after this moment that the family decides it is too dangerous to stay in Yugoslavia. Tadzic’s mother contacts her sister, who was able to flee to England in order to seek pregnancy care. She warns the family that now is the only chance they will have to leave, before the war becomes too dangerous. In 1995, Tadzic, who is devastated to leave the home she has always known, grabs only a teddy bear and a stone from her beloved garden before leaving it forever.
The rock from Mrs. Tadzic’s garden was the one possession she took with her from Bosnia to England. Inscribed on the rock are the words, ‘Zagreb, 1995’.
The journey to England is long and, upon arrival, there is little respite from fear and anxiety. Tadzic’s family have left everything back in Yugoslavia, including the family still trapped in Kozarac.
“I now know that Omarska camp is where my friends and family were taken”.
Omarska camp, set up in 1992 to hold Bosniak and Croat prisoners, is infamously responsible for the brutal torture, rape and murder of thousands of civilians. During its five months in operation, over 500 of the 6,000 people die, most from starvation or daily beatings from the officers.
It is clear that Tadzic, like many survivors of the Yugoslav war, is angered by the UN’s lack of urgency in eliminating the acts of ethnic cleansing committed In 1992 alone, over 5200 residents of Kozarac were killed, most from incarceration in concentration camps. At this time an image of a man – Fikrit Alic- at Omarska camp features on the cover of the New York Times, as pictured above.
“You never forget a war,” Tadzic reiterated as she speaks of her current life here in Switzerland. “It is your whole life, your whole identity, your whole world.”
And when asked why Tadzic emphasises the necessity of sharing her story, her answer is simple:
“We just don’t seem to learn from history. If we forget, then all the people that died don’t matter.”
In the end, is it not evident in the tragedy of the Yugoslavian war, that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it?
Mrs Tadzic, now a successful teacher, lives in Switzerland and works at ISB Aesch campus.
Article by Tilly, Grade 11
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