Date: September 18, 1994
Author: Valentina Krčmar, Director, Mothers for Peace – Bedem Ljubavi (Toronto Chapter)
Addressed to: The Honourable André Ouellet, Minister of External Affairs, Government of Canada
View the Original Letter: krcmar book 2_Part150_Part52.pdf
About This Letter
On September 18, 1994, Valentina Krčmar, writing on behalf of Mothers for Peace (Bedem Ljubavi), sent an urgent letter to Canada’s Minister of External Affairs, André Ouellet, pleading for immediate action to protect civilians in Sarajevo, Zadar, and Biograd-on-the-Sea, where Serbian forces had cut off water, electricity, and gas supplies for days
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The tone of the letter is desperate yet dignified — a cry from a mother witnessing preventable suffering, imploring Canada to use its diplomatic influence to stop the ongoing atrocities:
“It is over four days that Sarajevo in Bosnia, and two Croatian towns, Zadar and Biograd-on-the-sea have no water. Sarajevo has no electricity, no gas, and people are again being killed mercilessly.”
Krčmar describes the unimaginable conditions facing the residents — doctors unable to operate, civilians dying without aid — and the unbearable pain of diaspora families watching from afar:
“Those wounded in Sarajevo will soon have no chance at all to survive, since the doctors will not be able to operate — again, no electricity and no water.”
She demands that Canada speak out against Serbian aggression and pressure the United Nations to act decisively to lift the sieges:
“We are asking you, Mr. Ouellet, that you raise your voice in protection of the victims of the Serbian aggression in Bosnia and Croatia; that you ask the United Nations to force the Serbs to lift the blockade from Sarajevo, and other towns… We are demanding from our government to send the immediate protest to the Serbian government in Belgrade.”
Her appeal is not only political but profoundly human. The letter reveals both collective anguish and moral urgency:
“Many of our members have families that are slowly perishing in front of the eyes of the world today… Our lives are shattered, our pain is immense.”
Krčmar closes with an impassioned plea that transcends politics — a direct call to conscience:
“Please, Mr. Ouellet, do whatever is humanly possible to protest this shameful treatment of the innocent victims in Bosnia and Croatia… There is not much time left.”
This letter captures the raw emotion and moral clarity that defined Mothers for Peace. It stands as both a document of witness and a demand for moral responsibility — a testament to Krčmar’s belief that silence, in the face of suffering, is complicity.
