THERE IS no joy left in life for Saliha Osmanovi?, whose world changed forever on July 11, 1995.

Along with thousands of other Bosniak women she lost her husband and son in the worst massacre on European soil since the Second World War.

During the Balkan War, Bosnian Serb paramilitary units overran the town of Srebrenica, which was supposedly under the protection of the United Nations.

In the days following the town’s fall, 8,372 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were systematically massacred and buried in mass graves – among them Saliha’s husband and son. She had lost her other son just five days earlier after he was killed by a grenade as Bosnian Serb forces advanced on Srebrenica.

“When I buried Edin on that hot summer’s day, I imagined things could not get any worse,” she remembers. “But less than a week later, I lost the rest of my family. My husband, Ramo, and son, Nermin, were captured and killed as they fled to the free territory of Tuzla. I, along with thousands of other women, waited at a refugee camp for my husband and son to arrive. They never did.”

Today a “solemn commemoration” of the massacre is being held at Westminster Abbey in London then, later in the week, events will be held in Scotland, including a National Service at St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, and the rest of the UK.

GENOCIDE

For Saliha and many women like her, July 11 is always a particularly difficult day.

“It reminds me that the world was watching then, but it failed us. It defies belief that only 50 years after the Holocaust, genocide was once again rife in Europe.”

Over 8,000 men were systematically executed. Between 20,000 and 50,000 women were raped as part of an organised ethnic cleansing regime. Six hundred children were slaughtered during the Siege of Sarajevo alone.

Saliha explains: “After my village was attacked and burnt down by Bosnian Serb forces in May of 1993, we fled to the UN safe haven, certain the world would protect us. The conditions were abysmal. We lived in a house with 60 people, without electricity or running water, and only one toilet.

“On the night of July 11, I heard the screams and cries of people who were being tortured and killed. All the refugees were paralysed with fear. The next morning, trucks arrived to take us to free territory. Later, I watched in horror at what had become of our men and boys. Video footage taken by Bosnian Serb forces emerged of my husband being captured with several others. He was calling up to Nermin, who was hiding in the mountains, to surrender. I cannot describe the excruciating pain I experienced watching that.

“Ramo and Nermin were eventually found in mass graves, and I buried them in 2008 at the Potocari Memorial Centre. I finally returned to my village in 2009, and now live on my own in the house that we all once lived in happily together. There is certainly life after such suffering, but there’s never any joy.”

TORTURED

During the war that erupted with the collapse of communism in Yugoslavia, Bosnian Serb forces advanced on Srebrenica in eastern Bosnia in an attempt to annex the territory for the self-declared Bosnian Serb Republic and get rid of all the territory’s Bosniak inhabitants.

In the advance on the town, Bosnian Serb forces burned down Bosniak villages as they advanced. Hearing of the destruction and chaos, Dutch peacekeepers in nearby Poto?ari either fled or surrendered, leaving the way clear for the Bosnian Serbs who took Srebrenica on July 11.

That night a column of more than 10,000 Bosniak men escaped the town to try to reach safety.

Nedžad Advi?, then aged 17, was one of them.

“Running away we were under constant bombardment by Serb artillery from the hills. On that Death Road, an endless column of men and boys, many were killed and the wounded were crying out for help, in vain. In the chaos, I lost my father and ran through the crowd crying and calling for him.”

Many, including Advi?, escaped to the woods but were tricked into giving themselves up by the Bosnian Serbs who told them they would be treated fairly.

“Bare-footed, starving, thirsty, exhausted, frightened and carrying our wounded, we got out on the road on July 13. The Serb soldiers behaved correctly until we all gave ourselves up. After driving in covered lorries in different directions, we were taken to a field where we would be shot.

“We were tortured and dying for a drop of water. Before execution, we were forced to take off our clothes. One of the soldiers tied our hands in the back. We were told to find a place and lined up, five by five.”

Miraculously, although badly wounded, he was one of the few to survive and returned to Srebrenica in 2007. remembering

This Saturday, survivors and representatives from the UN and the European Union will gather at the massive burial site near the old UN base in Poto?ari to mark the 20th anniversary.

In Scotland, the National Service in St Giles on Friday will be attended by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, then on Saturday there will be a memorial service in Glasgow at Glasgow Central Mosque as well as a “Srebrenica Witness” exhibition at the Iota Gallery.

The events are being supported by Remembering Srebrenica’s newly formed Scotland Board.

Remembering Srebrenica Chairman Dr Waqar Azmi OBE said: “This year is the 20th anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica – a brutal reminder of man’s inhumanity to man. It is more important than ever that we learn the lessons it offers us to strengthen our own society in these turbulent times.

“Our Scotland Board has only been in existence for a few months, but I am indebted to our volunteers for their hard work in achieving so much in such a short time. The participation of Bosnian people living in Scotland will help to enhance our efforts to keep alive the story of Srebrenica.”