Welsh choir marks 25 years since genocide in Bosnia with beautiful song

Video report by Charanpreet Khaira

It is the 25th anniversary week of the genocide in Srebrenica, where 8372 Muslims were killed during the Bosnian war.

To mark the anniversary and pay tribute to those who died, a Cardiff choir has teamed up with the Sarajevo National Theatre to take part in a virtual performance.

The Cardiff Ardwyn Singers wanted to remember those killed in the greatest atrocity on European soil since the Holocaust.

Abi Carter is a member of the Cardiff Ardwyn Singers and a forensic archeologist living in Cardiff. She worked on evidence from the mass graves in Srebrenica. She came up with the idea to organise a virtual commemoration as she was unable to visit Bosnia to mark the anniversary because of Covid-19.

The song that the choir performed is called 'White Flower'. It was composed by Elvir Solak, to remember those who died in the war.

Elvir was a teenager during the war and lived through the Siege of Sarajevo.

The support of people in Wales has been important to him.

Abi Carter said the lessons from Srebrenica and the Bosnian war should be used to educate people in Wales and across the world.

She said: "We need to look at how a very civilised community broke down and know that it can happen anywhere.

"Wales has a very diverse cultural background and we have so many different communities and I fundamentally believe that humans can be taught certain ways - they are taught to hate people and as a result we can teach people to love people as well."