The exhibition “Sarajevo Juvenile Fighters” by Azem Heljić, which deals with the phenomenon of juvenile volunteers, men and women fighters who, in times of difficult trials, decided to exchange school desks for the lines of defense of their city and the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, reports Anadolia.
The exhibition is part of the activities of the Sarajevo Canton Memorial Fund, and its installation was organized as part of the Sarajevo Canton Day.
The exhibition is methodologically placed in the wider context of the aggression against the internationally recognized state of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the siege and defense of Sarajevo, and through 27 panels, it provides visitors with an insight into the circumstances of this harsh period of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s history.
This display of courage and determination of Sarajevo’s underage fighters represents a contribution to the culture of memory and meaningful historical memory.
The author said that the exhibition is the first on this topic, and the goal is to depict and illuminate the phenomenon of underage fighters, volunteers and veterans in a unique way.
“The title of the exhibition is part of the initiative of the Association of Juvenile Fighters, after which it was delegated to me under that title,” said Heljić.
As he said, there were public invitations through the official website of the Memorial Fund and through the association for the submission of materials, photos, documents, ID cards, acknowledgments and the like.
“After that, the context was expanded to include the story, i.e. the documented history concerning the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina, the siege and defense of Sarajevo. The strongest support of Bosnia and Herzegovina was its defenders. The patriots of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Sarajevo maximally identified with the views about the necessity of armed struggle against aggressors, without which there would be no minimum, let alone maximum, voluntary entry into the ranks of units of the RBiH Army,” Heljić said.
According to him, the photographs in the exhibition have a name and a surname, but at the same time they are an illustration of the youth that replaced the school desks with trenches and lines of defense and in some way interrupted the youth.
“What we want to achieve is to shed light on the phenomenon of underage fighters,” added Heljić.
Through a unique presentation, the exhibition is a contribution to a better understanding of this part of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s history and in a unique way talks about all those who showed exceptional courage and determination in the defense of their city and the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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