Tara Murray
A Srebrenica flower made up of 8372 smaller knitted flowers will be on display at Watergardens shopping centre.
The flower was designed as a symbol of the Srebrenica genocide, with the 11 petals representing July 11– the date the genocide took place – and the smaller flowers representing the number of people killed.
The white of the design represents the innocence of the victims and the green, the hope for the future.
The flower was conceptualised and created by a group of dedicated women from the Bosnian Herzegovina community, many who are survivors of genocide, refugee women, and women looking to stand together for the protection of human rights for all.
The project started in Melbourne in 2018, with people from New South Wales and Queensland also getting involved.
More than 400 of the women got together for a meeting at one point during the making of the flower.
Senada Bosnic Ekic, who is part of the group who made the flower, said they wanted to commemorate the events that took place while also educating children.
“It is vital that we teach our children not just to tolerate diversity but to cherish it, in our schools, our community and the wider world,” she said.
“The campaign of ethnic cleansing that took place in Bosnia was a result of hatred and intolerance left unchallenged.
“Commemorating July 11 aims to inspire young and old to work together to build cohesive communities in Australia and the world, learning from the discrimination, stereotyping and prejudice that preceded the Srebrenica genocide.”
The flower will be on display at Watergardens from July 11 for two weeks.
The Bosnian community will also be hosting some flower making workshops at the shopping centre.
The workshops will be from July 8 to 10 between 11am and 2pm daily outside Woolworths.
