RISHTINA, Kosovo – July 8, 2025 – Mevludin Hrnić, author of “Witness to the Genocide in Srebrenica,” and a survivor of the massacre, shared his harrowing 80-day journey toward salvation in an interview for Ekonomia Online.
The Ordeal Begins
Hrnić vividly recalled the beginning of his nightmare: “On July 12, in the area ‘Stranicama četvrtih kvadrosvara,’ a sudden and unexpected movement occurred, a state of panic and disorientation. That’s where our Golgotha began, that of adult men, who were forced to seek salvation on the road to freedom, a path that was long and difficult, towards Tuzla.”
He described a difficult, sleepless night on July 12, when they were subjected to a fierce artillery attack in a forest where several thousand people were located. “I survived that night and that event,” he said. By July 13, in a state of despair, he considered surrendering, having lost hope of surviving it all. “But at the last moment, I abandoned that idea, and that day was a difficult and decisive day for me. From that day on, my path became a long journey for survival, a path filled with despair, fear, nightmares, and everything else. I lived and survived in those deep forest areas of Podrinje, with small, completely isolated groups, surviving on what nature provided.”
Past Horrors and Unforgettable Battles
Hrnić also recalled the massacre of April 12, 1993, where over 70 people lost their lives, and the fierce battles of April, which forewarned the ensuing catastrophe.
“There were many difficult moments, it’s hard to single out any. But I would highlight the end of the journey: the last three days when we fell into enemy lines, where we were subjected to a savage pursuit. But we survived. Eighty days is not a small number,” he reflected.
“Regarding some moments in Srebrenica, I have described them in my book: on April 12, 1993, the massacre occurred on the sports field. It was horror what I saw, when grenades ripped apart the bodies of many people, leaving more than 70 killed and over 100 wounded. I also mentioned April 17 and April 23, the battles for Srebrenica. At that time, no one knew that those would end with the entry of forces into the Srebrenica enclave,” Hrnić concluded.
