Latest news with #Hasanovic
DW
11-07-2025
- DW
Srebrenica: Survivor speaks for Bosnians who no longer can – DW – 07/10/2025
Hasan Hasanovic lost his twin brother and father in the Srebrenica genocide. He himself managed to escape. He has made it his life's work to speak about the massacre and interview other survivors. It took him six days to make it through the forest under constant fire, with almost nothing to eat and hardly any water, barely sleeping. Running for his life amid the chaos caused by an artillery attack, he lost sight of his father and twin brother on the second day. Despite wounds on his feet, he kept on running. Hiding in the undergrowth, he saw soldiers shooting at fleeing people as if they were hunting animals. In clearings, fields and open crossings, he crawled through hails of bullets and dodged artillery shells. He saw wounded people, whom he could not help. Once, exhausted and on the cusp of sleep, he was nudged by a man who said "If you fall asleep now, it'll be forever." So, he mustered all his strength and carried on. On the afternoon of the sixth day, he and hundreds of others reached the area controlled by the Bosnian army. The people of the village brought them food and drink. They were later all brought to a schoolhouse, where he fell asleep on the floor and woke up the next day. Hasan Hasanovic (49) survived the Srebrenica genocide of July 1995. He was 19 years old at the time. To this day, he is filled with disbelief when he tells of the Death March of Srebrenica, the attempt made by thousands of men and boys to avoid being massacred. "The death march was real. But at the same time, it seemed completely surreal to me," recalls Hasanovic. "I couldn't believe what was happening. And when it was over, I couldn't believe that I had survived." It is July 11, 1995. The troops of the Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic have captured the enclave and UN Safe Area of Srebrenica. There are 36,000 people in the town — Muslim Bosniaks, almost all of them civilians — who have been encircled there for several years. No one doubts that, at the very least, the men who are of an age for military service will be killed if they are captured, which is why most of them decide to flee. They resolve to walk through the forests to reach the territory around the town of Tuzla, which is controlled by the Bosnian army and is about 70 kilometers northwest of Srebrenica. On the evening of July 11, about 12,000 men assembled and set off in a column several kilometers long. They had to cross enemy territory, some of which was mined, past positions of the Bosnian Serb army, under constant fire for six whole days. Mladic's troops conducted an unprecedented manhunt. Only about a third of those who set off on the march reached Bosnian-controlled territory alive, which is why the escape later became known as the Death March of Srebrenica. One of those who made it to Tuzla was Hasanovic. The 49-year-old now works at the Memorial Center Srebrenica in Potocari, several kilometers north of Srebrenica. The mortal remains of about 7,000 identified victims of the 8,372 people known to have been killed in Srebrenica are buried here. There is also a large museum in the halls of a former battery factory where UNPROFOR troops were once stationed. Hasan Hasanovic used to guide visitors around the museum and tell his story. Today, he works primarily as a curator of exhibitions and an archivist. His most important project is an archive with video footage of survivors of the Srebrenica genocide telling their stories. It is a unique and the most important record of what happened here 30 years ago. So far, the archive contains about 700 films and interviews. When Hasan Hasanovic speaks about his life and his survival, he says that for a long time he felt that someone else had written the script of his life and that he just had to follow it, without having any control over it. Hasanovic was 16 years of age when war broke out in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the spring of 1992. He says he was just a normal European boy who was more interested in music and soccer than in politics. The war smashed his world to pieces. His family fled the ethnic cleansing in eastern Bosnia: first to the forests around Srebrenica, where they lived in holes in the ground and other hiding places, and later to the town of Srebrenica itself, which became an enclave and shelter for Bosniak refugees. Hasanovic lived there for three years, experiencing the bombs, brushes with death during searches for food in the forest and improvised school lessons. When Mladic's troops took Srebrenica on July 11, Hasanovic, his father and his twin brother decided to join the others fleeing to Bosnian-controlled territory. The next day was the last time he set eyes on his father and brother. Their remains were found years later in mass graves. Hasanovic has written a book about his experience and survival in Srebrenica. He writes: "The worst thing is the pain. When I think about how my brother, Husein, and my father, Aziz, were killed. Were they tortured? How long did it take them to die? This pain is almost unbearable." Hasanovic later graduated from high school, studied criminology and worked as a translator for the US Army because he spoke good English. He was finally able to bury the remains of his brother and father at the cemetery and memorial in Potocari in 2003 and 2005, respectively. In 2009, he began to work at the memorial. He says that the process of returning to Srebrenica and coping with being there and working there was long and painful. "The memories haunt you," he tells DW. "Everything there reminds you of the genocide, of survival. Initially, we had to have police protection when traveling to funerals. Serbian nationalists would be standing at the side of the road making nationalist victory signs with their fingers." "Perpetrators still live in Srebrenica," he says. "When it comes to people of a certain age, you ask yourself what they were doing at the time, whether they were involved. For many years I thought I would at most be able to return for funerals. But then I had the feeling that my father and my brother were watching me; that they expected me to tell the story because they themselves have no voice any longer. I felt encouraged and empowered to speak." When Hasan Hasanovic speaks, his voice is neither reproachful nor choked with pain. He does not shed tears; he does not seem overcome with grief; he radiates neither rage, not hate. But he doesn't like the word "reconciliation," which he often hears when he speaks abroad, especially in Germany. He says that such words as this imply a dispute. "We didn't have a dispute with anyone, and the war in Bosnia was not a civil war. It was a war in which we were displaced and destroyed. It was a genocide," he says. "Serbia and the Serbs have to work through this chapter of history, and they have to acknowledge the genocide instead of denying it." Hasanovic radiates dignity when he speaks about the nuanced meaning of words and when he tells the story of his survival. This dignity is his victory over those who carried out the genocide, his victory over evil. It is very important to him that people do not refer to him as a "victim of the genocide." He says that the victims of the genocide were those who were killed. He refers to himself as a survivor. Hasanovic says that this word is like a title for him, one which carries in it both his task and his calling, namely to tell the story of what happened in Srebrenica in July 1995. "And I will keep on telling that story as long as I have the strength to do so," he says.
DW
10-07-2025
- DW
Srebrenica: Survivor speaks for those who no longer can – DW – 07/10/2025
Hasan Hasanovic lost his twin brother and father in the Srebrenica genocide. He himself managed to escape. He has made it his life's work to speak about the massacre and interview other survivors. It took him six days to make it through the forest: under constant fire, with almost nothing to eat, hardly any water, barely sleeping. Running for his life amid the chaos caused by an artillery attack, he lost sight of his father and twin brother on the second day. Despite wounds on his feet, he kept on running. Hiding in the undergrowth, he saw soldiers shooting at fleeing people as if they were hunting animals. In clearings, fields and open crossings, he crawled through hails of bullets and dodged hand grenades. He saw wounded people, whom he could not help. Once, exhausted and on the cusp of sleep, he was nudged by a man who said "If you fall asleep now, it'll be forever." So, he mustered all his strength and carried on. On the afternoon of the sixth day, he and hundreds of others reached the area controlled by the Bosnian army. The people of the village brought them food and drink. They were later all brought to a schoolhouse, where he fell asleep on the floor and woke up the next day. Hasan Hasanovic (49) survived the Srebrenica genocide of July 1995. He was 19 years old at the time. To this day, he is filled with disbelief when he tells of the Death March of Srebrenica, the attempt made by thousands of men and boys to avoid being massacred. "The death march was real. But at the same time, it seemed completely surreal to me," recalls Hasanovic. "I couldn't believe what was happening. And when it was over, I couldn't believe that I had survived." It is July 11, 1995. The troops of the Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic have captured the enclave and UN Safe Area of Srebrenica. There are 36,000 people in the town — Muslim Bosniaks, almost all of them civilians — who have been encircled there for several years. No one doubts that at the very least the men who are of an age for military service will be killed if they are captured, which is why most of them decide to flee. They resolve to walk through the forests to reach the territory around the town of Tuzla, which is controlled by the Bosnian army and is about 70 kilometers northwest of Srebrenica. On the evening of July 11, about 12,000 men assembled and set off in a column several kilometers long. They had to cross enemy territory, some of which was mined, past positions of the Bosnian Serb army, under constant fire for six whole days. Mladic's troops conducted an unprecedented manhunt. Only about a third of those who set off on the march reached Bosnian-controlled territory alive, which is why the escape later became known as the Death March of Srebrenica. One of those who made it to Tuzla was Hasan Hasanovic. The 49-year-old now works at the Memorial Center Srebrenica in Potocari, several kilometers north of Srebrenica. The mortal remains of about 7,000 identified victims of the 8,372 people known to have been killed in Srebrenica are buried here. There is also a large museum in the halls of a former battery factory where UNPROFOR troops were once stationed. Hasan Hasanovic used to guide visitors around the museum and tell his story. Today, he works primarily as a curator of exhibitions and an archivist. His most important project is an archive with video footage of survivors of the Srebrenica genocide telling their stories. It is a unique and the most important record of what happened here 30 years ago. So far, the archive contains about 700 films and interviews. When Hasan Hasanovic speaks about his life and his survival, he says that for a long time he felt that someone else had written the script of his life and that he just had to follow it, without having any control over it. Hasanovic was 16 years of age when war broke out in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the spring of 1992. He says he was just a normal European boy who was more interested in music and soccer than in politics. The war smashed his world to pieces. His family fled the ethnic cleansing in eastern Bosnia: first to the forests around Srebrenica, where they lived in holes in the ground and other hiding places, and later to the town of Srebrenica itself, which became an enclave and shelter for Bosniak refugees. Hasan lived there for three years, experiencing the bombs, brushes with death during searches for food in the forest and improvised school lessons. When Mladic's troops took Srebrenica on July 11, he, his father and his twin brother decided to join the others fleeing to Bosnian-controlled territory. The next day was the last time he set eyes on his father and brother. Their remains were found years later in mass graves. Hasan Hasanovic has written a book about his experience and survival in Srebrenica. He writes: "The worst thing is the pain. When I think about how my brother, Husein, and my father, Aziz, were killed. Were they tortured? How long did it take them to die? This pain is almost unbearable." Hasan Hasanovic later graduated from high school, studied criminology and worked as a translator for the US Army because he spoke good English. He was finally able to bury the remains of his brother and father at the cemetery and memorial in Potocari in 2003 and 2005 respectively. In 2009, he began to work at the memorial. He says that the process of returning to Srebrenica and coping with being there and working there was long and painful. "The memories haunt you," he tells DW. "Everything there reminds you of the genocide, of survival. Initially, we had to have police protection when traveling to funerals. Serbian nationalists would be standing at the side of the road making nationalist victory signs with their fingers." "Perpetrators still live in Srebrenica," he says. "When it comes to people of a certain age, you ask yourself what they were doing at the time, whether they were involved. For many years I thought I would at most be able to return for funerals. But then I had the feeling that my father and my brother were watching me; that they expected me to tell the story because they themselves have no voice any longer. I felt encouraged and empowered to speak." When Hasan Hasanovic speaks, his voice is neither reproachful nor choked with pain. He does not shed tears; he does not seem overcome with grief; he radiates neither rage, not hate. But he doesn't like the word "reconciliation," which he often hears when he speaks abroad, especially in Germany. He says that such words as this imply a dispute. "We didn't have a dispute with anyone, and the war in Bosnia was not a civil war. It was a war in which we were displaced and destroyed. It was a genocide," he says. "Serbia and the Serbs have to work through this chapter of history, and they have to acknowledge the genocide instead of denying it." Hasan Hasanovic radiates dignity when he speaks about the nuanced meaning of words and when he tells the story of his survival. This dignity is his victory over those who carried out the genocide, his victory over evil. It is very important to him that people do not refer to him as a "victim of the genocide." He says that the victims of the genocide were those who were killed. He refers to himself as a survivor. Hasanovic says that this word is like a title for him, one which carries in it both his task and his calling, namely to tell the story of what happened in Srebrenica in July 1995. "And I will keep on telling that story as long as I have the strength to do so," he says.
Daily Mirror
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Michael Schumacher's son's ex-girlfriend romantically linked to Wimbledon ace
Mick Schumacher's ex-girlfriend Laila Hasanovic has been romantically linked with Wimbledon star Jannik Sinner for some time - but is the French Open finalist actually dating anyone? Laila Hasanovic may have swapped the racetrack for the tennis court after the ex-girlfriend of Mick Schumacher was romantically linked to Wimbledon star Jannik Sinner. That's after she was spotted during the French Open final last month. Sinner, who experienced heartbreak at Roland-Garros after losing in the final, split with former partner Anna Kalinskaya earlier in 2025 and had been linked with Hasanovic during the tournament. Hasanovic had spent a significant amount of time with former F1 star Mick, son of the legendary Michael. According to Bild, she is one of the only people to be let into Schumacher's family's inner circle. It was reported that the F1 star's relatives were "smitten" with the model, and she was the only one of Mick's partners to be allowed to visit his father, Michael, following his skiing accident in 2013. However, Hasanovic appears to have moved on from Mick – and potentially to another sport altogether. The Danish model was spotted in the French Open crowd last month as Sinner battled against Carlos Alcaraz in one of the biggest major finals for some time. A week later, Sinner appeared to put to bed any rumours of a relationship with Schumacher's ex after the Daily Mail reported that the pair were spotted by a fan on a date in Copenhagen. After being asked about the situation during a media conference, Sinner said: "No, no, there was no girl. I had just some business with a couple of photo shootings there. That's it. Nothing else." As the Italian tennis star breezed through to the second round of Wimbledon, fans have been interested in whether Sinner will have a new face cheering him on in his box at SW19. The 23-year-old has also been linked with Russian model Lara Leito, after La Gazzetta dello Sport reported that the pair were dating. Leito, 31, who was previously in a relationship with two-time Oscar winner Adrien Brody, is thought to have met Sinner in Monte Carlo during the tennis star's recent three-month suspension from the sport. Chi Magazine published photos of the pair reportedly on a date in Monte Carlo, prompting questions about their relationship status. But it seems like Sinner will continue to hold his cards close to his chest, as he told the media during the French Open that he and Leito were not romantically engaged in a relationship. He said: "I was very surprised to see some pictures, which, you know, nothing serious … I'm not in a relationship. So, whoever is asking, that's it. It's all good." For now, Sinner's biggest concern will be defeating world no. 93 Aleksandar Vukic on Wednesday in order to progress to the next round of Wimbledon.
Wales Online
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
Michael Schumacher's son wipes photos of model girlfriend who family took 'vote on'
Michael Schumacher's son wipes photos of model girlfriend who family took 'vote on' Mick Schumacher has reportedly split from long-time girlfriend Laila Hasanovic, who he was said to be engaged to last year, after a 'family vote' on her meeting his father, Michael Mick Schumacher has seemingly split up with girlfriend Laila Hasanovic (Image: Getty Images ) Mick Schumacher, son of Formula One legend Michael Schumacher, has sparked rumours of a split with his model girlfriend Laila Hasanovic by deleting recent pictures of her from his Instagram. This comes after Hasanovic was one of the few people permitted to visit his father, following a 'family vote'. Schumacher, 26, is no stranger to public attention, being the son of the seven-time F1 world champion and having raced for Haas F1 in 2021 and 2022. The German driver, who currently races for Alpine in the FIA World Endurance Championship, caused a media stir this week when he removed all photos of Hasanovic uploaded after February 2024 from his Instagram. Reports also suggest that Mick has been spotted on celebrity dating app Raya, seemingly confirming the break-up. Images of the former Mercedes reserve driver on the dating app were shared on social media this week, showing him posing trackside, beachside and mid-skydive, possibly to attract potential matches. This comes as a surprise given last year's rumours that he and Hasanovic were engaged, which were later dismissed. The pair were first seen together at the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix, reports the Express. The couple frequently posted romantic photos for their millions of followers on social media. Article continues below Former Miss Universe finalist Laila, who hails from Copenhagen and has Bosnian roots, was even one of the select few allowed to visit her boyfriend's father, who hasn't been seen in public since his tragic skiing accident in December 2013. Corinna and Gina Schumacher are among the handful of people allowed to see the Formula One icon Only a select few, including Mick, his mother Corinna, sister Gina-Maria, and close friends are permitted to visit Michael, who is said to "need constant care" and being "completely dependent on caregivers" by RTL reporter Felix Gorner. However, following a family vote, it was reportedly agreed that Hasanovic could meet the racing legend last year. This occurred prior to the tenth anniversary of Schumacher's tragic skiing accident, where he suffered a severe head injury after colliding with a rock, splitting his helmet in two. Reports suggest that Hasanovic is the first girlfriend Mick has ever introduced to his father, indicating the family's faith in their relationship at the time. The couple have been married since 1995 (Image: (Image: AFP/Getty Images) ) Article continues below Reflecting on the bond between Mick and his father, ex-F1 driver Johnny Herbert recently commented on how challenging the years following the accident have been for the younger Schumacher. "Mick has said he could always talk to Michael about racing before the accident," he said. "That is one of the saddest things for any sportsman. It would have been a very important part of his development at that time. But Mick never had that unfortunately. He just had that relationship up until the skiing accident."
