Date: March 19, 1993
Author: Valentina Krčmar, Mothers for Peace – Bedem Ljubavi (Toronto Chapter)
Addressed to: President Bill Clinton, The White House, Washington, D.C.
View the Original Letter: krcmar book 2_Part84.pdf
About This Letter
This heart-wrenching letter, written by Valentina Krčmar on behalf of Mothers for Peace (Bedem Ljubavi), was sent to President Bill Clinton on March 19, 1993 — just as reports of atrocities in Bosnia were reaching new levels of horror. Krčmar writes with unrestrained anguish and moral urgency, describing the plight of tens of thousands of civilians trapped in Srebrenica under relentless Serbian bombardment.
The letter opens with a chilling account of chemical attacks and starvation among the besieged population:
“According to the news, the Serbs are still bombarding the towns and villages in Bosnia — even some poison gas was thrown on these unfortunate people in Srebrenica. Over 60,000 people are waiting for something to happen: either help from the outside world, or very cruel, painful death.”
Krčmar implores Clinton to remember his campaign promises to take swift and decisive action in the Balkans, contrasting his words with his government’s inaction:
“Mr. President, you promised in your campaign that you would deal with Serbs as soon as you become the President… You are feeding Muslims, but this is not enough. If they fall in Serbian hands, they will be killed in the most horrific way.”
She spares no detail in describing the violence inflicted upon civilians — a deliberate choice meant to pierce through political detachment and force empathy upon the reader.
“Throats slit, mutilated, raped until death, impaled on stakes, burned alive, breasts cut off… It is horrible to even think what will happen to these unfortunate people.”
As the letter continues, her despair transforms into a plea rooted in faith and humanity. Krčmar insists that only the United States can stop the genocide — that the moral burden now lies with the world’s most powerful nation.
“Please, Mr. President, we have only you. There is no one in the world that can help our nations, Bosnia and Croatia. Russia is helping Serbia, whether you will admit this or not. Please, Mr. President, I am begging you in the name of our children and women, young and old.”
Her closing lines echo through history as both prophecy and condemnation — a mother’s voice warning of what the world would later recognize as one of the gravest failures of international conscience:
“Mr. President, it is your moral and human duty to help these unfortunate people… Mr. Izetbegović said that they are sacrificial lambs. Are they? Mr. President, we beg you, please, please, help us.”
