Never-ending funerals. Annual burials and reburials of victims of mass violence in present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina*

Abstract

The international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995 caused the death of around 100,000 people, the majority of whom were civilians. More than 25 years later, the process of search, identification, and burial of these victims is still not over, as a significant number of them were initially buried clandestinely or had their body moved and hidden in secondary, and sometimes tertiary, mass graves. These cover-ups bear a long-lasting legacy, as they have directly impacted funerary practices. The concealment and fragmentation of dead bodies have indeed delayed funerals and led them to be repeated numerous times. Focusing on the example of the annual collective burials, exhumations, and reburials occurring over the last two decades in Potočari cemetery, this article aims to show how the delay and repetition of burials may prevent families and society from finding closure but also contribute to the consolidation of a collective identity based on the shared experience of lasting mourning and resilience building.