Our view – 12 women from Srebrenica 3.0

Hello wwworld. Here speaks Srebrenica: #everydaysrebrenica

„If we can not go around the world - at least our photos shall do so and tell our story“ said Dževada in the year 2000. Since then the world has changed.

20 years after Srebrenica Massacre it became possible to reach attention and interest through new Media. There are new possibilities to create an open dialogue. Books, exhibitions provide only limited access to social relevant topics whereas Social Media, Blogs, websites can create awareness beyond mainstream reports. From every place in the world and at any time you can access websites. Through Social Media a dialogue can be initiated.

Quo vadis? – Why #everydaysrebrenica ?

11th of July 2015 the world public will stare at Srebrenica again. Maybe one last time before it will be forgotten. 20 years after the fall of the world's first UN-protected civilian safe area. Srebrenica, that place in Europe where the worst massacres after WW II took place. It has become the symbol for the ethnic cleansing which were practiced in the wars of former Yugoslavia and a symbol for the failure of Europe and the United Nations. The pictures of the mourning, grieving women in the memorial site of Poto?ari will go around the world again, as every year. But what will stay afterwards?

We, the so called „Contact Group Srebrenica“ and the photographer Barbara Hartmann from Munich, Germany, assembled again this spring time 2015 (May to July 2015) to photograph together again. We've been working together in this project “Our view – 12 women from Srebrenica” in 2000 and 2005.

What does this group photograph beyond these symbolic press photos? How are they doing today? How do they cope with their traumatic life time experience? Beforehand the 2oth memorial day these new pictures will be shown along with the pictures from the years 2000 and 2005 in an online exhibition on our website and on Instagram and Facebook. We will invite especially the younger generation to participate in this project.

www.instagram.com/everydaysrebrenica

www.facebook.com/everydaysrebrenica

Sharing, commenting and answers through own pictures of other people using the Hashtag #everydaysrebrenica is made possible worldwide. Especially the people in former Yugoslavia shall get an easy useable way to get in dialogue again. The nowadays technology makes it easy to get in touch - pushing countries boundaries. The younger Bosnian generation that knows war only from the stories can take part in the discussion. Our partner organization Prijateljice in Tuzla who is organizing leisure get-togethers for Serbian and Bosnian teenagers, is always surprised how less the kids know about the the other (ethnic) side. 20 years after Dayton there is still almost no dialogue, especially no dialogue between the teenagers. An important issue of Srebrenica 3.0“ is to encourage a dialogue between different groups.

#Everydaysrebrenica has a 2nd meaning: Srebrenica is happening now, e.g in Syria, Congo, Yemen.

The 12 women are able to show their photographs taken with a smart phone via Instagram and the in the website integrated Photo-stream. Some of them are already using Facebook. During the last weeks the women already connected to each other after having lost contact during the last 10 years. Thanks to the multi lingual website with its integrated Social Media Feed – e.g. an editor from the NY Times finds the Srebrenica site short time before the memorial day. On his way to work in the underground train, he can start a dialogue as well as the kids in Belgrade and Sarajevo or the relatives from Srebrenica can do, who now live as former refugees in the Australia, US, Canada.

The book "Our View – 12 women from Srebrenica", published in 2005.

The exhibition "Our View – 12 Women From Srebrenica" (2000)

English: https://www.srebrenica-women.org

Bosnian: https://www.srebrenica-zena.org

German: https://www.srebrenica-frauen.org

What is „Our view - 12 women from Srebrenica“ ?

"Those private photographs from the 12 women, showing the war and the impact for their environment, bodies and imagination, are totally different to all photographs taken by professional war photographers. With these images the women, usually only pure objects, are creating their own images. 5 and 10 years after the war they photograph the traces of war from their point of view."

PETRA BOPP, art historian, co-curator Wehrmacht exhibition.

"This noticeable authenticity of the work makes this book project so special.“

HANS KOSCHNICK, EU politician.

The project started in spring 2000. With 200 single-use cameras in her luggage Barbara Hartmann, then still a photography student travelled to Tuzla / Srebrenica. She initiated this joint Art project. The exception of this women s group is: they are all former neighbours of Srebrenica. Moslem and Serbian women. Both groups suffered from displacement in Srebrenica. Both were refugees at some time of their life. The first dialogue between these women in the group was made possible by this common photography project. By looking at these pictures the women were able to speak about their experiences. These women of different age and family backgrounds all found a very specific and own language in their pictures – to tell their own story.

Development „Our view - 12 women from Srebrenica“

Detail of the book "Our View – 12 Women From Srebrenica" (2005)

The photographic work of the 12 women was shown in several exhibitions in Germany (e.g. Münchner Kunstarkaden „Remembering The Balkans“; Freiburg Kunsthaus L6; Städtische Galerie Siegen, Fototage Herten). Reviews were published in important national newspapers, e.g. Frankfurter Rundschau , Süddeutsche Zeitung, ART, taz.

Another detail of the book "Our View – 12 Women From Srebrenica" (2005)

The book, „Our view“ received an important austrian design prize. The book edition is almost sold.

For the partnering organization in Tuzla „Prijateljice“ it was too difficult to arrange an exhibition in 2005 – Srebrenica was still kind of a taboo.

Goals „Our view - 12 women from Srebrenica“ ?

Consistently, the largest task with this project ?is to convey information that is humanizing while not victimizing; that is empathetic and rigorous.

Sustainable and long-dated visibility and awareness of the Srebrenica issue– www worldwide – no boundaries – no time limits.

Multimedia mindfulness beyond the Memorial day.

The women create the image how they'd like to be seen.

They become „Activists“ -who speak for themselves.

Contemporary history shown with very personal stories of 12 women = compare to universal history (e.g displacement World War 2, refugees in Syria today...)

With Social Media: media for social change. A multi-lingual inter-cultural Dialogue about Srebrenica for a joint future.

Srebrenica is as close to e.g. Munich as Hamburg, Paris or Rome – less than 800km. To Hamburg, it is nearer than e.g. Rome would be.

In cooperation with Amica e.V. in Freiburg and Prijateljice in Tuzla.

Contact

Barbara Hartmann Tumba
Palmstr. 6, 80469 Munich, Germany
Mobile +49 160 720 50 66
www.barbara-hartmann.de mail@barbara-hartmann.de