Pope in Sarajevo: Srebrenica choir overcomes past hatreds

(Vatican Radio)  A music school and choir made up of ethnic Serb and Muslim children from the Bosnian town of Srebrenica has shown that it is possible to overcome the ethnic hatreds of the past. Srebrenica is best known for being the site of a massacre of some 8,000 Muslims during the Balkan wars of the 1990’s but the children from the town’s Superar choir will sing a song for Pope Francis during his visit to Sarajevo on June 6th that celebrates peace and togetherness. The choir master is Ismar Poric who describes the music school and choir as a multi-ethnic project of reconciliation and an inspirational role-model not just for Bosnia but for the wider international community. He spoke to Susy Hodges.

Listen to the interview with the Srebenica Superar choir master Ismar Poric: (including clips of children from the choir singing their song 'Love People') 

Poric said  it's his earnest hope that one day the town of Screbenica will not automatically be associated with "a genocide" but instead be famous because of its music school and choir which he described as "a multi-ethnic project of reconciliation" that promotes "peace and togetherness" between the Bosnian Serb and Bosnian Muslim children and their parents.

The choir master conceded the parents were initially rather "sceptical" at the beginning of the project but says they quickly overcame their reservations and now mingle together. As for the children, he said many children at the music school from different ethnic groups have crossed the divide and become "best friends" with kids from the "other side" and this was precisely what they hoped would happen.  

Asked about the song the children in the choir will sing in front of Pope Francis, Poric explained that it's called 'Love People' and has a "strong and motivating message" of peaceful co-existence. He said that Bosnia Herzegovina is currently facing a "moral, social and economic crisis" and said he hoped that the papal visit to Sarajevo would give the nation renewed hope and faith in a better future.