Last night, the Old Bridge was illuminated in memorial to Srebrenica where, 25 years ago, the genocide of Bosnian Muslims was perpetrated by units of the Bosnian Serb Army of the RS during the Wars of Yugoslav Succession. To this day, victims are still being found and identified so that their family and loved ones can finally lay them to rest at the Memorial Cemetery at Potočari at the annual commemoration.

8,372 is the number of victims, mostly men and boys, of the Srebrenica Genocide. The individual and collective loss felt because of this atrocity, is so much greater than this number and the events which occurred leading up to and during July 1995. Genocide cannot be confined to the events of a few days and entails far more than the physical loss of human life. Genocide must be understood as an intentional process of destruction and erasure that, once started, continues into perpetuity. While 25 years may have elapsed since the Srebrenica Genocide, realize that it is also very much present today and every day. It is our common responsibility to recognize the heinousness of this crime and educate ourselves on genocide so we can better recognize and prevent it from occurring again.