GLOBAL CAMPAIGN ON THE SUFFERING OF THE SERB PEOPLE LAUNCHED IN NEW YORK

NEW YORK, JULY 11 /SRNA/ - The Memorial Centre of Republika Srpska has launched the international campaign "Learn About the Suffering of the Serb People" in the centre of New York, which for the first time in history presents in the United States the story of the suffering of the Serb people.

As part of the campaign, a mobile multimedia exhibition is being held, featuring documented facts about the centuries-long suffering of the Serb people, the Memorial Centre said in a statement. The mobile exhibition has been travelling through the streets of Manhattan today and yesterday, one of the world's most recognisable and busiest urban centres, whose daily population, including residents, employees, tourists and visitors, reaches nearly four million. The campaign's content is being displayed at some of New York's most famous locations, including the area in front of the United Nations headquarters, as well as numerous other sites that represent symbols of global diplomacy, media and contemporary urban life. Documentary materials, archival photographs and historical facts are displayed on digital screens, accompanied by a QR code that directs visitors to the official website of the Memorial Centre of Republika Srpska, specially prepared for an international audience. Visitors have the opportunity to learn about facts related to the genocide against Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia /NDH/, the killing of more than one million Serbs during the Second World War, the system of concentration camps, including the fact that the NDH was the only state in occupied Europe to establish specialised concentration camps for children. The exhibition also presents documented facts about the suffering of more than 30,000 Serbs during the war in BiH, the suffering of Serbs in the Middle Podrinje and Birač regions, the expulsion of more than 250,000 Serbs from Croatia, the suffering of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, camps, mass graves, missing persons, the involvement of foreign mujahideen in the war in BiH, as well as the NATO bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1999. A special segment of the campaign is dedicated to the suffering of Serbian children, to show, through the fates of the youngest victims, the human dimension of the tragedies that have marked the Serb people. Director of the Memorial Centre of Republika Srpska Denis Bojić stated that this campaign represents the centre's most significant international outreach since its establishment. "The world knows the great figures of the Serbian people and their contributions to science, culture and sport. Our goal is to present to the international public a part of our history that remains insufficiently known, the suffering of the Serbian people. We have come to give a voice to Serb victims through documented facts, historical sources and testimonies," Bojić said. He said that every victim, regardless of nationality, deserves truth, dignity and remembrance. "The mission of the Memorial Centre of Republika Srpska is dedicated to taking the culture of remembrance beyond local frameworks and making it part of the global dialogue on the suffering of civilians, human rights and the preservation of historical memory," Bojić pointed out. He stressed that the global campaign "Learn About the Suffering of the Serb People" aims to make documented facts about the suffering of the Serb people accessible to the international public. "With the support of the institutions of Republika Srpska and the Serbian diaspora around the world, we will continue to develop this initiative and present it in other global centres," Bojić said. Bojić thanked the Government of Republika Srpska, the Ministry for European Integration and International Cooperation of Republika Srpska, the Representative Office of Republika Srpska in the United States, representatives of the Serbian diaspora, as well as Aleksandar Jovičić, who provided significant support for the implementation of this international campaign. The campaign "Learn About the Suffering of the Serb People" also marks the first presentation of the digital database of testimonies and archival materials of the Memorial Centre of Republika Srpska to the international public. Following its presentation in May, the database is being presented to the world for the first time as a unique source of documented facts and authentic testimonies about the suffering of the Serb people. The campaign was symbolically launched in July, a month of remembrance for the suffering of Serbs in the Middle Podrinje and Birač regions, as a sign of respect for thousands of Serb victims of the war in Republika Srpska and BiH, the Memorial Centre said in a statement.