SREBRENICA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) – Their parents’ generation is steeped in the tragedy of genocide. But these Bosnian Serb and Bosnian Muslim children are singing a message of love.
Srebrenica’s Superar Choir is made up of Orthodox Christian Serb and Bosnian Muslim boys and girls; some have family members among the victims in Europe’s worst massacre since World War II. Next week, they will sing for Pope Francis during his visit to the Bosnian capital Sarajevo – itself a symbol of the horrors of the Balkans wars.
The choir is living testament to the power of reconciliation and forgiveness, a message that Francis is eager to spread during his visit.
During the 1992-95 Bosnian war, Serb troops executed some 8,000 Muslim men and boys after they overran the eastern town of Srebrenica. Some Bosnian Muslims returned to their homes and live among Christian Serbs. But the enmities have not healed, and the town remains deeply divided.
Except in the music school “House of Good Tunes” and its Superar choir.