On Thursday the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide was marked with a solemn commemoration at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.
The ceremony honoured the memory of more than 8,300 Bosniak men and boys murdered in July 1995. It was also an occasion to reflect on the wider Bosnian war, which claimed over 100,000 lives and displaced more than two million people. Thousands of them sought refuge in the UK.
Minister for Victims and Community Safety, Kirsten Oswald, joined members of Edinburgh’s Bosnian community at the remembrance event.
Scotland offered sanctuary to an estimated 3,000 Bosnians during the conflict in the early 1990s, with a further 10,000 refugees settling elsewhere across the UK. Thursday’s gathering brought together those communities and their hosts to reflect on one of the darkest chapters in modern European history and reaffirm a shared commitment to remembrance and reconciliation.
At the heart of the commemoration the focus is on young specimens of the rare Bosnian Spruce — Picea omorika — planted in the Botanics. Once pushed to the brink of extinction during the war, the ancient conifer is native to the Drina River Valley, the region where the genocide took place.
Its seeds were collected through a collaboration between horticulturists at the RBGE and experts in Bosnia, saving the globally endangered tree from disappearing forever — a quietly powerful symbol of survival, resilience and renewal.
Sabina Kadić-Mackenzie, Chair of Beyond Srebrenica
Picture Phil Wilkinson for Beyond Srebrenica
Sabina Kadić-Mackenzie, chair of Beyond Srebrenica, a leading Scottish genocide education charity, said: “This tree, like so many Bosnians, found a way to survive despite everything that was done to erase it.
“On the anniversary of the genocide, we remember not just the loss and horror – but the endurance. This tree now thrives in Scotland, just as so many of us Bosnians have. Its roots now touch Scottish soil, linking our two nations in remembrance and in hope.”
During the ceremony, guests will tie white ribbons to the tree – a quiet act of solidarity and remembrance.
Sabina, who is a survivor of the war, continued: “This spruce is more than a tree. It is a living memorial to all that we lost, and all that we refused to let be destroyed. It stands as a symbol of our survival, and the connection between Bosnia and Scotland forged in the most painful of times.
“The tree stands now not only as a symbol of ecological resilience but also as a quiet testament to the resilience of the Bosnian people who, like it, faced horrific acts and genocide, yet refused to disappear.”
Professor Julia Knights, Regius Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, said: “Through the work of our world-leading International Conifer Conservation programme and its close collaboration with horticulturists in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the globally endangered Picea omorika has been protected and continues to thrive here in our Edinburgh Garden. This not only demonstrates the importance of our work to save species threatened with extinction but also stands as a testament to the importance of global partnerships and human solidarity across borders.”
The commemorative event was hosted by Beyond Srebrenica, a Scotland-based organisation funded by the Scottish Government. The charity works to ensure that the memory of the genocide endures and its lessons are never forgotten.
Sabina Kadić-Mackenzie, Chair of Beyond Srebrenica with Kirsten Oswald MSP Minister for Victims and Community Safety.
Picture Phil Wilkinson for Beyond Srebrenica
