Bosnia's genocide museum lets visitors send messages of solidarity to people of Gaza

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - The Museum of Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina's capital Sarajevo is offering visitors the opportunity to send messages of solidarity to the people of Gaza.

Founded in 2016, it contains the personal belongings of civilians who were subjected to various forms of torture and genocide at concentration camps established in various cities of the country during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War.

Officials at the museum, one of the key tourist attractions in the country, believe that the people of Gaza are being subjected to crimes similar to those committed against Bosnian Muslims.

The museum’s management opened a "message room" that allows visitors to write messages of support to Gazans.

"Free Palestine," "End the genocide" and "Cease-fire now" are the most common messages being sent.

Belma Zulic, the museum’s curator, told Anadolu that humanity has learned very little from the past.

"In the historical facts about the genocide and attacks that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina around 30 years ago in the content of our museum, we can see serious similarities between what is happening today in Gaza and what happened in Bosnia and Herzegovina. People from Bosnia and Herzegovina also experienced difficulties such as food shortages and the impossibility of receiving humanitarian aid and support. We see that this situation is similar,'' said Zulic.

She said the museum inspires people to work towards ending the genocide.

"We are truly proud that our museum inspires people to end the genocide, call for peace and understand the need for peace. The world must realize the real need to protect civilians and victims. In that room, we have many messages dedicated to Gaza.”

She added that according to developments, very little is being done to prevent the genocide in Gaza.

"There is still very little being done to prevent the genocide, ethnic cleansing and human rights violations in Gaza. What our museum is trying to show with its work is that we must take action before it is too late to ensure peace. We must protect all civilians, especially women and children,'' said Zulic.

Israel has launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7. The ensuing Israeli bombardment has killed nearly 29,092 and injured about 69,028 with mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.