Af – Terug naar Srebrenica

He tells how they had to keep the peace. How that turned out to be impossible. How the fall of Srebrenica became not just a historical tragedy, but a deeply personal turning point. How he had to make choices no one should ever have to make. And how those few months changed him forever.

Thirty years later, there he stands. Not as a hero, not as a victim, but as a human being. With stories that keep on rubbing raw, with hope that needs to be nurtured over and over again, and with a quiet act of resistance: to give something back. Because doing nothing is no longer an option.

This piece strikes a chord. Not just because it looks back, but because it feels so painfully relevant today. As we celebrate 80 years of freedom, we also look at places where freedom is hard to find—like Gaza, like Ukraine. AF – Terug naar Srebrenica asks the difficult questions: “What did I do? What did I fail to do? And what can I still do?” It leaves you with a lump in your throat, but also a glimmer of hope. It’s a story that lingers in your mind, a performance that’s impossible to ignore.