"The program of the second commemoration on May 3 was designed through two units - one dedicated to memory, the other to social responsibility"
Following the European Day of Victims (February 22) - which calls for the improvement of the protection and rights of victims and the provision of systemic support - the Victimology Society of Serbia (VDS) launched an initiative to establish a Day of Remembrance for Victims of Mass Murder in Serbia. After talking with the families of those killed in Elementary School "Vladislav Ribnikar", as well as in villages Dubona and Malo Orasje, it was decided that the days of remembrance will be May 3 and 4. The VDS initiative was supported by experts and citizens - the petition was signed by more than 11.000 people.
"The goal was to remember all those who perished in mass murders in Serbia during those days. From 2002 to April 2023, seven more such crimes were recorded, in which 47 people lost their lives, while a large number of them were injured," Sanja Ćopić, professor at the Faculty of Special Education and Rehabilitation, president of the Board of Directors of the Victimology Society of Serbia and the Multidisciplinary Team for the Establishment of the Memorial told "Vreme" center in memory of the victims of the mass murder in the Experimental Elementary School "Vladislav Ribnikar".
"Time": Why is it important to remember the victims?
Sanja Copic: The commemoration of Remembrance Day aims to send a clear message to the public, institutions and society: such tragedies must not be repeated. Through these dates, support is also expressed for the families of those killed, who are also victims - often invisible, forgotten and without sufficient support. Many do not know what their rights are, nor is their needs and recovery process taken into account.
Memory is also a trigger for questions - why something happened, what is the failure of the system, and how to prevent repetition. In their comments, the signatories of the petition most often emphasized that Memorial Day is needed "as a reminder for the future." It can be an impetus for the development of violence prevention programs, gun control, and finding strategic responses to support survivors. Community recovery is not just about those directly affected, but about society as a whole.
Finally, these days are also an opportunity to ask ourselves - what we have done so far in prevention and what we need to work on.
What is the role of media in collective memory? Where do they help in the mentioned processes, and when their reporting leads to retraumatization?
It is important to emphasize the victims and survivors. The wounded are often forgotten. Then, in the case of the mass murder on May 3, other children who go to "Vladislav Ribnikar" elementary school, as well as employees, were indirect victims. In Mala Dubona and Orašje, it is a local community. Then, the people who helped them.
The media should talk more about victims, support measures and prevention. And unfortunately, after the tragedies, media attention was mostly directed towards the perpetrators - which is completely wrong.
A good example of the contribution is, for example, the video materials within the commemorations, which revive the memories of the murdered. A proposal was also adopted to mark May 3 as the Week of Remembrance and Unity within the school calendar. During that week last year, numerous schools showed solidarity and commitment to values important for the prevention of violence through humanitarian activities, performances, assemblies and competitions.
What does this year's May 3 commemoration program bring?
The program of the second commemoration on May 3 was designed through two complementary units - one dedicated to memory, the other to social responsibility.
The workshop "A Very Flock in the Garden of Virtues" is dedicated to the memory of the children and Dragan, where participants paint white birds inspired by the virtues Bojana Asović, Ana Božović, Katarina Martinović, Mara Anđelković, Ema Kobiljski, Sofija Negić, Andrija Čikić, Adriana Dukić, Angelina Aćimović and Dragan Vlahović carried in themselves. Those birds become part of the spatial-sound installation at Mali Tašmajdan - "Garden of Virtues". The animated video work "Infinite Threads", which I mentioned, which memorializes their lives, will be shown on televisions and portals.
The afternoon part of the program raises questions and asks for answers. The theme of this year's Conversation Forum on May 3rd is – silence. Visitors will anonymously answer questions about what we keep quiet and why. Some of the answers will be read publicly, as a symbolic act of facing responsibility. The forum ends with the forum "Opening the black box on May 3", in which Vanja Bajović, Jovana Gligorijević, Aleksandar Baucal and Veran Matić participate, which thematizes open, concrete questions of responsibility and the need for changes to existing or defining new procedures in education, the legal system and the media, which would be an adequate response of institutions and society to the multiple causes and consequences of the mass murder on May 3, 2023.
You are also a member of the Multidisciplinary Team for the establishment of the Memorial Center in memory of the victims of the mass murder in "Vladislav Ribnikar" Elementary School. What steps have been taken so far?
Experience from other countries shows that memorialization is a complex and long-term process. There is no universal model - each context is specific and requires a carefully built consensus. The memorial must not be a source of division, nor a space that we will look at with misunderstanding in 20 years.
The multidisciplinary team, in cooperation with the families of the victims and the Working Group, took the first steps: meetings were organized with foreign experts, a consultation methodology was developed and a questionnaire was prepared for interviews with the families of the victims, as well as for a survey with school employees, parents and students. Those conversations are done. The next step is to involve the general public in the dialogue: what should the memorial represent, what values should it foster and what messages should it send?
And last year, a forum was organized on Tašmajdan where citizens could leave their answers - on paper or via QR code - about how the events of May 3 and 4 changed them and what they expect from society. The analysis of those answers will represent a valuable contribution to the further shaping of the idea of the memorial center.
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