We caught up with Csaba Szilágyi, the curator of the exhibition Srebenica – Exhumations…
It seems this is going to be an illuminating but disturbing exhibition. Why was this topic chosen?
At the massacre of Srebrenica, thousands of people were systematically slaughtered on grounds of ethnicity in roughly 72 hours. Many of the victims are still unaccounted for. The mastermind and chief executioner of the genocide, Ratko Mladic is still at large. We felt it was our obligation to set the record straight and answer the question, “who did what to whom?”
We have collected a lot of material over the years, especially on human rights violations and ethnic conflicts in former Yugoslavia. It was an organic development in our lives to focus on this topic.
Visitors are invited to do ‘their own archival research’. Can you tell us more about this?
The main installation of the exhibition is a forensic reconstruction of the genocide. Those interested in the larger context in which the events unfolded, will be able to continue their own ‘exhumation’ and sift through or watch relevant documentation in the research room set up in the aisle. Part of the experience of the exhibition is for visitors to gain an understanding of the problems of documenting human rights violations.
How did you collect all the materials? Was it a difficult process?
In addition to our own documents, we asked for material from investigators and forensic experts who worked on the exhumations, the ICTY in The Hague, agencies specialized in tracing missing persons, as well as filmmakers and photojournalists who covered the exhumations. Some of them were more than ready to help, so we got some valuable contributions. For reasons such as cases still open, issues of confidentiality and copyright, the ICTY was the most difficult to approach.
What do you think is the most interesting or important part of the exhibition?
It’s very impressive to see how pieces of evidence come together to create a giant puzzle. It’s also very intriguing to meet the homicide detectives, investigators, and forensic experts who brought together this trove of hard evidence. We have included bits of their personal reflections and emotions regarding their own work, which adds a special flavor to the exhibition.
What would you say is the most important message of the exhibition?
It is difficult to understand how a human failure of such magnitude could happen again just one year after Rwanda. So if each visitor takes a moment to deliberate on what went wrong and how it could have been avoided, the exhibition was not in vain.