Bosnian-Canadians commemorate 28th anniversary of Srebrenica genocide

Bosnian-Canadians commemorate genocide anniversary Bosnian-Canadians in Windsor commemorate the 28th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide. CTV's Sanjay Maru reports.

Three decades later, Sijana Dzinic still has a vivid memory of the day she was forced to flee Bosnia after losing her grandparents and uncle to the Srebrenica genocide.

"I was 16 when the Bosnian war started. I was just a teenager. My youth was stolen from me because of the aggression on my country," she said.

The Srebrenica genocide happened in July 1995 during the Bosnian War. The war lasted from 1992 to 1995.

More than 8,000 Bosnian Muslims, men and boys, were killed by Bosnian Serb forces in the town of Srebrenica — which was supposed to be a safe area protected by the United Nations.

A vehicle parade kicked off Saturday morning from Toronto, with some joining along the way in Hamilton and London, before reaching its final destination in Windsor.

At Jackson Park, about 300 people gathered in front of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Memorial in Windsor to commemorate the 28th anniversary of the tragedy.

The Jackson Park monument is believed to be the first and only one outside of Bosnia dedicated to victims of the Srebrenica genocide.

Dzinic, 47, was 20 years old when she moved to the U.S. as a refugee. She said the Srebrenica genocide is the single worst atrocity committed on European soil since World War II.

"There were probably more than 100,000 people who were killed during the Bosnian war," she said. "More than 50,000 women were raped and more than 2.2 million people were displaced."

Alma Piche, 18, was one of the hosts of Saturday's memorial. She said the annual ceremony is all about awareness and ensuring the mistakes of the past are not repeated.

"People my age should still be speaking up because, without this, it goes forgotten. That's what we're trying to avoid," said Piche. "It's really important for our generation to use our voices for good...when something's important to us."

In 2010, Canadian parliament unanimously adopted a resolution to declare July 11 as Srebrenica Genocide Remembrance Day.