BREAKING FREE in Cesena, Italy

The BREAKING FREE exhibition opened on October 28th at the Pescheria Gallery in Cesena, Italy, and will be available until November 26th. The exhibition was opened by Merjem Muhadzic and Senedin Hrnjica, “Forgotten Children of the War” team members, in cooperation with friends and partners of the Association, Iscos Emilia Romagna, and with the support of the Municipality of Cesena and CISL Romagna.

Speeches were given by: Andrea Cortesi and Tamara Cvetkovic in front of Iscos Emilia Romagna, CISL Romagna General Secretary – Francesco Marinelli, representative of the Municipality of Cesena, Carlo Verona – advisor for culture and inclusion, and representatives of the “Forgotten Children of War” Association.

Strong messages of peace, inclusion, and equality have been sent. We spoke about the importance of prevention and the fight against conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), as well as the need to create measures for its prevention.

Merjem Muhadzic, the legal advisor of the Association, spoke of positive practice examples from Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Law on the Protection of Civilian Victims of War, in which children born of war were legally recognized for the first time as a special category of civilian victims of war.

The coordinator of the exhibition, Senedin Hrnjica, spoke about art as a tool in the fight for human rights, and the potential of the BREAKING FREE exhibition to become a platform for encouraging a greater degree of equality and respect for human rights, pointing out the consequences that war and sexual violence bring and leave.

“Unfortunately, while thirty years after the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina we are working on correcting injustice, prosecuting war crimes, and healing trauma, there are numerous wars in the world where we see the same atrocities repeated, innocent civilians suffer, and women survive CRSV from which new generations of children are born.

The BREAKING FREE exhibition must go around the world, everyone must see and be aware of the consequences of wartime sexual violence. Let’s say NO to war, NO to political, racial, national or any intolerance, which results in the suffering of innocent civilians.” – The representatives of the “Forgotten Children of the War” Association.

Author of the exhibition: Sakher Almonem Stage Photographer.