Monument:
Kamičani-Kozarac Shahid Cemetery and Memorial Area

Mjesto/lokacija: Kamičani (suburb of Kozarac), Prijedor municipality

Entitet: Republika Srpska

Godina izgradnje: Construction began in Spring 2008, officially inaugurated on 19 July 2011

Tekst na spomeniku:

Shahids of
Kozarac
1992-1995
Al-Fatiha

"And do not say about those who are killed in the way of Allah, "They are dead." Rather, they are alive, but you perceive it not!" (Qur‘an, Al-Baqarah, 154)

The innocent victims of Kozarac and its surroundings, humble Bosniaks, good Muslims, victims of the bloodthirsty Fascism of 1992, have found their peace here. All these Shahids, all 1232... are a testament to the truth that will forever haunt the murderers and their ideologues for he who sows death will not and cannot reap happiness or love. Let this place stand as an eternal reminder to those of us who have inherited this painful truth and to all future generations that evil must not repeat itself to us or to anyone else. (translation into English, German, Turkish and Arabic)

As I stand here, defiant and mute, the names of the shahids of Kozarac bloom in the marble and arrange themselves into fragrant bouquets. Musk. Their innocent souls float over the cursed beauty of Kozarac, asking: Why? As I stand here, I grow wings and fly like a phoenix. And the houses soar to meet me with facades white as flour. And they offer me flowering courtyards full of sunshine. And a cornucopia of ripe fruit. And rainbows bloom in the sky, colourful bridges of friendship that try to bridge the gaping abyss between men. As I stand here, arms outstretched, plams facing up. bread comes to me, bread and salt, and the bubbling of fountainheads and babbling of brooks and the echo of giggling children set to the music of the Kozarac breeze. When I speak their honourable names, it is as if rivers of love flow. As I stand, defiant and mute, I pray to God that if we weren‘t able to save their lives He gives us the strength to at least save them from being forgotten.
M.Š.

The earth is sown with mortal seed
but the earth is not the end. Because there is no death.
And there is no end. Death just lights the path
of ascent from the nest to the stars.
M.D.

Every home is the same
as soon as you leave it looks for you
and no matter where you are
it knows how to call you back.
M.Š.

When a good man dies
we mourn,
but in dying he has said
you live and I will live with you.
I.B.

(names of those killed with the following information: last name, father‘s name and year of birth)

U sjećanje na:

Most of those killed are civilians, aged 2 to 100, and a smaller number are soldiers of the Army of BiH

Etnička grupa: Bosniaks

Žrtve su sa područja:

Former Kozarac municipality, current territory of the Kozarac Majilis of Islamic Community

O izboru lokacije:

The location was chosen because of the cemetery, which since 1998 has been a burial place for victims from the Kozarac region. The location for the cemetery was chosen because the authorities from the Prijedor municipality challenged the burial of identified victims at any of the possible locations within the municipality. A compromise was reached to bury all the victims at the existing cemetery which was adequately located and had the most free space to provide for the burial of over a thousand victims.

Dimenzije spomenika: Diameter 9.2 m

Spomenik podigli:

Majlis of the Kozarac Islamic Community, funding provided mostly by the local jamaat with some funding provided by the Islamic Community Riyasat.

Autor/ka spomenika: Head Imam of the Majlis of the Islamic Community of Kozarac, Amir ef. Mahić

Interpretacija ideje:

"The exterior of the memorial is dominated by the domed roof–it‘s gradual rise symbolises the sould of those killed ascending to the heavens. The roof is covered in copper with a green patina and the same copper is used for features on the facade acting as a symbol for the Muslim faith of those who were killed and the youth that was destroyed by war. At the top of the roof there is a globe end with a crescent moon. The globe is made out of pipes that are squeezed together and bound with a hoop symbolising how the prisoners were squeezed into small spaces before their death. The exterior is simple without any ornaments or decorations–a symbol of Islamic architecture–while the interior is richly decorated with ornaments and calligraphy. This symbolises the simple external appearance of the Bosniak victims and people and the internal wealth of their souls and their noble traits. A shahid gravestone (in the shape of an obelisk) bearing the inscription "Shahids of Kozarac 1992-1995" is located in the central part of the main area. Water flows over it and it is surrounded by barbed wire and iron rods. The gravestone and the water flowing over it symbolises the shahid and the tears that flow endlessly for him. The inscription refers to any shahid from the area of Kozarac who died anywhere in our homeland from 1992 to the end of the war. The barbed wire and iron rods are symbols of the infamous camps of this region (Trnopolje, Keraterm, Omarska, Manjača, etc.) where the majority of those killed spent the final moments of their lives. The four open sides of the memorial symbolise the four sides of the world where the survivors of the mass killings and the slaughter have been displaced, while the walls are covered in the names of those who did not live to see this and whose names stay to bear witness to the time and space where their names will forever be engraved." Direct quotation from questionnaire. Source: Representatives of the Majlis of the Kozarac Islamic Community

Poznate komemoracije:

Commemorations and visits to the cemetery.

Izvor podataka: Representatives of the Majlis of the Kozarac Islamic Community , Local partners, Fieldwork

Fotografisano: 5 April 2013 and 1 April 2014

Mapa: