Srđan Aleksić

Obituary.

Srđan Aleksić (Serbian Cyrillic: Срђан Алексић, 1966 - 27 January 1993) was a Herzegovinian Serb amateur actor, prospective swimmer, and soldier in the Army of Republika Srpska (VRS) during the War in Bosnia. He lost his life while defending an ethnic Bosniak, his friend, from being attacked by a group of VRS soldiers, by which he has received several posthumous awards, and a documentary of his life, Srđo, was made by RTS in 2007.

Early life

Aleksić was born in the municipality of Trebinje, then part of SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia. His father Rade was a basketball coach, and his mother Mira, from Prijedor, died at an early age. His brother died in a hang glider accident, above the Petrovo field, near Trebinje.

Aleksić received several awards as an amateur actor, and continued to act during the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in a play San ratne noći ("War night's dream"). He was also a prospective swimmer of Yugoslavia. During the Bosnian War, he was recruited into the Army of the Republika Srpska.

Heroic act and Death

On 21 January 1993, a group of Army of the Republika Srpska soldiers inspected several people at the Trebinje market. After establishing that one of them, Alen Glavović, was a Bosniak, they started harassing and beating him; Glavović was the neighbour of Aleksić. He immediately intervened and tried to aid Glavović, so the four soldiers turned against him and beat him to death with their rifle butts, in front of police officers. Due to the incurred injuries, Srđan fell into a coma, and died on 27 January 1993. Srđan's father wrote in his obituary that "Srđan died carrying out his human duty".

One of the attackers on Srđan was killed during the war, whilst the rest were convicted to twenty-eight months in prison.

Alen Glavović today lives in Sweden, and is married with two kids. Every year he visits Trebinje, Srđan's grave and his father.

Legacy

Srđan Aleksić has been post mortem granted a Charter of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Street of Great Trees (ulica velikih drveta) in Sarajevo has been, 15 years after Srđan's departure, been named after him. The explanation for renaming stated: "Without people like Srđan Aleksić and his heroic deeds, one would lose hope in humanity, and without it our life would have no meaning".

A pass in Zmaj-Jovina's street in Novi Sad is scheduled to be named after Srđan, and a memorial board will be placed in his honour.

A boulevard in Podgorica, the capitol of Montenegro, was named after Srđan (Serbian: Булевар Срђана Алексића) on 11 July 2013.

In 2007 Radio Television of Serbia recorded and broadcast a documentary on Srđan Aleksić, named "SRĐO" (hypocoristic form of Srđan).

Trebinjan theatre Slovo has on December 28, 2008 performed a memorial play Epilog which talks about the life of Srđan Aleksić. During his life, Srđan was a member of the theatre Slovo. The play was directed by Predrag Ćurić, and the role of Srđan was played by young Serbian actor Al Drubi Kristian.

In 2011, filming began of the movie Circles (Krugovi), which was inspired by the heroic act of Srđan Aleksić, directed by Srdan Golubović.^[1]

The Republic of Serbia awarded him the Golden Medal of Miloš Obilić in 2012. There is an initiative for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska to award him according to their official honours.^[2]

In 2013, the Post-Conflict Research Center a Sarajevo based NGO launched its own Srđan Aleksić Youth Competition. The contest, which will be run in several cities in Bosnia-Herzegovina, aims to galvanize youths in the country, of all ethnic backgrounds, to share their own stories of inspiration and heroism. The goal is to keep the spirit of Srđan Aleksić alive in young Bosnians today.^[3]

References

• (Serbo-Croatian) Epilog o Srđanu Aleksiću (An epilogue on Srđan Aleksić)
• (Serbo-Croatian) Sećanje na Srđana (A memory on Srđan)
• (Serbo-Croatian) Srđo - a documentary on Srđan Aleksić