Some time ago I collected some articles about Srdjan Aleksic, around the time of his death anniversary, at the Serbian blog. You can read more about Srdjan in this article by Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, some excerpts:
Srdjan Aleksic had sacrificed his own life to protect another person’s life on 21 January of the wartime year of 1993.
In the centre of Trebinje, then a 27-year-old, Srdjan Aleksic stood in the way of intentions of uniformed and armed criminals, who had attacked his Bosniak neighbour Alen Glavovic. Having helped Alen to literary escape death, Srdjan became the victim of abusers. He died in hospital seven days later of wounds inflicted by beating.
RTS recently aired a TV documentary about Srdjan Aleksic, which is now available on Youtube in six parts in Serbian language.
Now the initiative to raise a monument in his honour in the center of Trebinje, his home town has emerged, as well as naming a street after him. I fully support this initiative, and I know you all support it too, and hopefully Serbian politicians will be smart enough to honour him in some Serbian town as well.
People like Srdjan are the real heros of the nineties Balkan war – it is not those who make wars we should honour, but those who try to confront them. Unfortunately they were always in great minority.
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True hero indeed. I’ve read somewhere that there is also a initiative in Novi Sad to name a street after him, I don’t remember where I read it though.
What interests me also is whether there were such cases from the Muslim or Croat side protecting a Serb. My intention is not to look at the other garden, but more to bring to the surface the true heroes of the ’90s and for many cases not to be forgotten, since surely there are such cases and they should be honoured.
Terrific post.I wasn’t aware of his story before. A brave man indeed.
A comparison springs to mind. Ever heard of Hugh Thompson?
He was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam. He saw the Mai Lai massacre taking place in 1968 and instead of passing by landed between the firing squad and the villagers and warned them he would kill anyone who continued slaughtering villagers. He risked his life and his career but his bravery wasn’t recognised until the Clinton administration. He got the Congressional Medal of Honour and for the last 10 years of his life did an annual lecture on the Geneva convention at West Point military academy.
2 differences are striking. Firstly, he wasn’t murdered because you probably couldn’t get away with that (a different matter for Vietnamese civilians obviously) but it took 25 odd years for his role to be recognised.
Yes these unsung heros are forgotten amidst conflict and chaos.
There is no comparison really between say a criminal who joins an armed force knowing that he can go on a robbing spree (or perhaps committ the odd rape and get away with it) in the supposed name of his country and somebody who does something good without a selfish motive.
Still this is only the tip of the iceberg as far as I’m concerned. Although many people might have suspicions what war is truly like I dont think this is accurately potrayed by the media. Nor do I think that soldiers that took part in war are given adequate space – not to mention the psychological difficulties that some experience today.
It is the classic scenario of sacrificing the self completely for the ‘greater’ good of the collective ie if one becomes a member of an army or of a militia it is ‘for better or for worse’. You must not object to conduct of troops on your side – you become complicit in any crimes that may be committed by your troops in the field. So, years later you may either to pretend to yourself (and everybody else) that your batallion never committed any dubious activities on the battlefield or (perhaps it is worse) confront the reality and feel guilt or remorse for not having done anything to prevent this from happening. Of course because of the command structure of the military its doubtful that one could do anything unless he is a very senior officer.
One of my cousins was in a Bosnian Serb artillery unit overlooking Sarajevo. His job was to load up the mortars – he told me that he focussed completely on the job and was completely detatched from the end result. Suffice to say the war changed him.
This is why I sometimes feel that accusations of war crimes and so on are a little dishonest. You have people talking about human rights and so on in the west and they talk as if their troops behave differently from ‘balkan’ warriors etc but this isnt the case. It is the command structure, it is the principles and conduct of war – if you like, that ensures the suffering of civilians and war crimes.
The war crimes that took place in the former Yugoslavia are not a specific home grown problem, they are a problem that must be confronted in the context of the way war is conducted – ie the bigger picture.
I must admit it was my hope that Slobodan Milosevic, Ratko Mladic or anybody else would use this argument partially in their defence. The problem with such a defence of course is that it implies an admission of war crimes which isnt something any man would be happy with.
So we will continue with this dishonest debate about war crimes, balkan butchers, heros on the one hand and villans on the other – quite often describing the same individual from opposing sides of the fence.
PS As I write this the net is supposed to be closing in on Ratko Mladic. An army hotel was searched this evening. Its not too late for the man to hand himself over and conduct the kind of defence I advocate. Of course he will never get out of jail but that isnt the point. The point from his perspective would be to say – ‘yes I conducted war in what you consider a dirty way but this manner was no different to any number of wars that western states conducted throughout history and still conduct’.
On the other hand as I have said before the man may decide that a bullet is preferable to the Hague. Either way the clock is ticking again. One way or another the issue will be resolved.
I would point out that to my knowledge only Serbia has publically acknowledged any war crimes committed in her name and apologized. The same cannot be said for any of the other states that were formerly part of Yugoslavia. Those states also committed war crimes and quite possibly a lot more of them, including such horrors as eye gouging and decapitation, none of which got any press in the West.
I think that he was really a hero and is true to build a monument not only in Trebinje but in all bosnian cities.
The names of a couple more decent people who seem to have tried to show respect for fellow human beings in desperate circumstances – Nesko and Slobodan Djokic. They gave food and water to four survivors from Branjevo Farm, including a fourteen-year-old. Drago Nikolic had criminal charges filed against them for helping the four (who were taken off to Zvornik and executed).
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You might want to delete the link to my blog guys
Why delete your blog when they’re still showing Desperate Serbwife? Not to mention Balkan Brat – oh, I mean Baby.
Svetlana Broz’s “Good People In Evil Times” also shines a spotlight on people of all different ethnicities and backgrounds who showed acts of kindness and bravery towards others during the war.
Yes, that book was a good idea in theory. But I spent an evening with Svetlana Broz at UC Berkeley and then at a private home afterwards (not just me, a small group of us), and it was very evident that she is not fond of Serbs and she considers herself to be unconnected to Serbs in any way (except, of course, that she happily allows her offspring to go to college and medical school in Belgrade) and that is why she buggered off to Bosnia. She is great friends with Paddy Ashdown, too. One wonders how she overcame her disgust at Serbs to put together such a book, but then it did promote her all over the world for a while. So sorry if I sound bitter, but it’s not without reason…
I smell a rat! Guess who! It is not that difficult?
Another story of 2 extraordinary people: (or perhaps ordinary people with extraordinary resolve). Mercycorps.org
Even though it is just a symbolic gesture, Mr. Aleksic certainly deserves to get a street named after him, in Bosnia, or Serbia or wherever, he’s certainly more deserving than some of the politicians whose names have been thrown around in the past for possibly being honoured with streets named after them.
BTW; is there any update about what happened to Alen Glavovic ?
Yes, people like Srdjan Aleksic are the real heroes. People who stand/stood up for human rights and equality, against racism and homophobia under difficult circumstances should be honored – all over the world!! Unfortunately most of the time we do not know about these brave people because most of them (unlike politicians) do not make a big issue out of their deeds.
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