Through personal stories, exhibits and excerpts from video testimonies, as well as works created during the body mapping workshop, the exhibition “Speaking Out” shows the experiences of women survivors of sexual violence in war and children born of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. “At the exhibition, you can see 12 maps of life, bodies of brave, courageous and beautiful women who decided to speak out and share their experiences with us. You can also hear video testimonies of some of them, as well as video testimonies and personal stories of children born because of the war. I hope that together we will learn something from their experiences and not allow war sexual violence to continue to be used as a weapon of war, “said Amina Krvavac, executive director of the War Childhood Museum.
The opening of the exhibition was also attended by women whose works were exhibited. “As Amina said, you will see here our works, our stories, our life before the war, our life in the war. Life in the war is woven into two sentences because there was not much to show but the suffering and pain we experienced, but thank God, we also survived. Today we stand bravely, proudly, in the heart of Serbia. In the heart, where, unfortunately, the great evil came from, “said Midheta Kaloper Oruli, one of the survivors.
Ajna Jusić, the president of the Forgotten Children of War Association, the daughter of one of the women whose work was exhibited, who was born of the war, said: “I had the right to choose different paths, maybe some negative ones, maybe hatred paths. But I chose the path my mother taught me. It is the path of humanity. The path of what we as human beings must understand – that there is no person who wants to survive this and that we will not be good people if we don’t care and let someone else survive this.”
You can see the introductory speeches at the opening of the exhibition at this link.
“Good evening, everyone, today I am both proud and very emotional. I am proud not only of myself, but of all these wonderful ladies who participated in this workshop. We are proud because life really has strange paths. From ’92 to ’95, some of us, whether selected or targeted people, we, the women in Bosnia and Herzegovina, experienced the greatest torture. I am proud because Serbia has such wonderful young people and brave women who are with us here tonight, who are with us in Bosnia when we mark our dates, and that is a bright spot for us at the end of the tunnel.
As Amina said, you will see here our works, our stories, our life before the war, our life in the war. Life in the war is woven into two sentences because there was not much to show but the suffering and pain we experienced, but thank God, we also survived. Today we stand bravely, proudly, in the heart of Serbia. In the heart where, unfortunately, great evil came from.
From our works, our lives, and bodies, you will also see our messages. I will be overjoyed that this exhibition is visited by many people, especially young people, to see what our messages and wishes
