Chris : "I wrote this in response to a story and photo on the front page of 'The Guardian' (a British newspaper) on 15 July 1995. The story did not mention the woman's name or anything about her - everything was 'Unknown' at that stage. I began this poem on that day and finished it the next day.

I had been following the violent break-up of the former Yugoslavia for several years. It was now clear that something very bad was happening in the town of Srebrenica (Bosnia) and its surrounding area. Multiple reports stated that tens of thousands of Muslim men, women and children were being driven out of the area and thousands of Muslim men and boys were missing."

You can read the full poem here and see the 'Picture' to which it refers. You can also read more about this woman, about the worst Genocide in Europe since the end of the second world war, its aftermath and its consequences.

Chris : "I wrote this in response to a story and photo on the front page of 'The Guardian' (a British newspaper) on 15 July 1995. The story did not mention the woman's name or anything about her - everything was 'Unknown' at that stage. I began this poem on that day and finished it the next day.

I had been following the violent break-up of the former Yugoslavia for several years. It was now clear that something very bad was happening in the town of Srebrenica (Bosnia) and its surrounding area. Multiple reports stated that tens of thousands of Muslim men, women and children were being driven out of the area and thousands of Muslim men and boys were missing."

You can read the full poem here and see the 'Picture' to which it refers. You can also read more about this woman, about the worst Genocide in Europe since the end of the second world war, its aftermath and its consequences.