Desperation and Despair in Srebrenica: Rasim Ganic's Harrowing Trek

As the Siege of Srebrenica enters its second year, conditions inside the besieged town continue to deteriorate, with residents facing extreme hardship and desperation. Rasim Ganic, a 61-year-old Muslim, shares his harrowing story of escape, recounting the astronomical black-market prices for basic goods, the squalor and misery that pervades the town, and the sheer will to survive that drove him and his 17-year-old son to risk the perilous five-day trek out of Srebrenica.

Key Takeaways:

• Rasim Ganic and his son Sakib were among 60 men who escaped Srebrenica in August, the first Muslims in a year and a half to do so, while eight men who attempted the trip are rumored to have been killed by the Serbs.
• Conditions in Srebrenica have become increasingly dire, with 120,000 Muslims trapped in the town and nearby enclaves, facing systematic starvation by the Serbs, who refuse to let the United Nations enter to resupply its peacekeepers.
• Scavenging for food and water has become a daily struggle, with people resorting to taking goods from United Nations garbage containers, and salt, used to preserve food, selling for astronomical black-market prices of $25 a kilogram.
• Trade with United Nations troops is also a rare occurrence, as the Dutch peacekeepers in Srebrenica are reluctant to trade with the Muslims, and men must travel to Zepa to buy essentials from the Ukrainian peacekeepers stationed there.
• Ganic's group made the 60-mile journey through Serbian-held territory, facing danger and hardship at every turn, and relying on their own skills and ingenuity to survive, including fashions makeshift slippers from rubber work boots and sucking on sugar and salt while drinking from streams.
• The reunion of Ganic and his wife and daughter-in-law, who managed to escape in April 1993, was a joyful but quiet one, as the family had no money to celebrate.

Statistics:

• 60 men like Ganic and his son escaped Srebrenica in August, the first Muslims in a year and a half to do so.
• 150 people may be waiting in line at any given moment to use the main well, highlighting the dire shortage of drinking water in Srebrenica.
• The black-market price of salt is approximately $25 a kilogram, equivalent to about two pounds.
• The group had to navigate a 60-mile route through Serbian-held territory, avoiding danger and hardship at every turn.
• Only the local people have work, and they have taken over the land that belongs to the Serbs who left.

Sources:

• The New York Times
• Mr. Ganic's personal account
• United Nations officials
• Photo credit: Rachel Cobb for The New York Times