Amina's Speech at the Middletown 9-11 Remembrance Ceremony

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I come from the country of Bosnia-Herzegovina in Eastern Europe.  My home city, Sarajevo, hosted the Olympics in 1984.  In period between 1992 to 1995 the city of Sarajevo survived the longest occupation in modern history of the world.  In Srebenica, a small town in eastern Bosnia, the largest and most shameful slaughter in the world occurred.  Ten thousand civilians were killed there just because they were Muslims.  My family, my friends and I know how it feels to be terrorized.  But, my country is in a recovery process now.  I am proud to tell you that the Bosnian movie “No Man’s Land” won the Academy Award for the Best Foreign Film last year and that our youth win world championships in math and physics.  Everyday there is less and less fear inside of us. 

But when 9-11 happened, and I saw the tragedy in New York City, Washington, DC and Pennsylvania, I was fearful and very terrified because I knew what the people in those places were going through.  I was terrified also a few days later when I saw that innocent people were dying in Afghanistan.  As I said before, I experienced living under the terror of war and because I know what violence and destruction have done to the people in my country, I know that the solution of every problem lies in dialog to understand people’s differences.  I deeply believe that my generation will succeed in making a difference in human relations and to not repeat the mistakes of the past. 

God Bless the World.

Amina Omicevic

September 11, 2002