ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Ziyah Gafić - Photographer + storyteller
To help him come to terms with the tragedy of his own homeland, Bosnian photographer Ziyah Gafić turns his camera on the aftermath of conflict, showing his images in galleries, in books and on Instagram.

Why you should listen

Ziyah Gafić uses his camera to capture the aftermath of war. He has traveled to Pakistan, Iraq and Chechnya to capture beautiful portraits of people carrying on with their lives in the face of destruction; he has photographed the everyday lives of children in Rwanda, a generation born from the widespread use of rape as a weapon during the Rwandan genocide. A moving question runs through his work: After war, how do people manage to keep the fabric of society together?

Gafić's interest in this subject comes from his own biography. Born in Sarajevo, he was a teenager during the Bosnian War of the 1990s. Through photography, he parses what happened in his homeland. For his book Quest for Identity, Gafić photographed the watches, keys, shoes, combs and glasses exhumed from mass graves 20 years after the Bosnian War. These objects are cleaned, catalogued and used to help identify the bodies found with them, but afterwards, they become what Gafić calls “orphans of the narrative,” either destroyed or stored away out of sight and out of mind. His quest is to keep them in view as a last testament to the fact that these people existed, preserving them as an easily accessible visual archive that tells the story of what happened—integrating an objective forensic perspective with human compassion.

More profile about the speaker
Ziyah Gafić | Speaker | TED.com
TED2014

Ziyah Gafić: Everyday objects, tragic histories

Ziyah Gafic: Dagligdags genstande, tragiske historier

Filmed:
1,040,925 views

Ziyah Gafić fotograferer hverdagsting - ure, sko, briller. Men disse billeder er bedragerisk enkle; tingerne i dem blev gravet op fra massegrave i den bosniske krig. Gafić, en TED Fellow og indfødt Sarajevoboer, har fotograferet hver genstand fra disse grave for at skabe et levende arkiv af identiteten af ​​de tabte.
- Photographer + storyteller
To help him come to terms with the tragedy of his own homeland, Bosnian photographer Ziyah Gafić turns his camera on the aftermath of conflict, showing his images in galleries, in books and on Instagram. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
These are simpleenkel objectsobjekter:
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Disse er simple genstande:
00:14
clocksure, keysnøgler, combskamme, glassesbriller.
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Ure, nøgler, kamme, briller.
00:18
They are the things the victimsofre of genocidefolkedrab in BosniaBosnien
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De er ting som tilhørte ofrene fra folkedrabet i Bosnien
som de bar med sig på deres sidste rejse.
00:20
carriedgennemføres with them on theirderes finalendelige journeyrejse.
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Vi er bekendte med disse verdslige,
00:23
We are all familiarvelkendt with these mundanehverdagsagtige,
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dagligdags objekter.
00:26
everydayhver dag objectsobjekter.
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Det faktum at nogle af ofrene bar
00:27
The factfaktum that some of the victimsofre carriedgennemføres
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00:29
personalpersonlig itemselementer suchsådan as
toothpastetandpasta and a toothbrushtandbørste
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personlige ting så som tandpasta og en tandbørste
00:32
is a clearklar signskilt they had no ideaide
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er et klart tegn at de havde igen ide
hvad der skulle til at ske til dem.
00:35
what was about to happenske to them.
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Som regel blev de fortalt at de ville blive
00:37
UsuallyNormalt, they were told that they were going to be
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00:39
exchangedudveksles for prisonersfanger of warkrig.
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udvekslet for krigsfanger.
Disse ting er blevet fundet
00:42
These itemselementer have been recoveredgenvundet
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2013
i talrige massegrave på overalt i mit hjemland,
00:44
from numeroustalrige massmasse gravesgrave acrosset kors my homelandfædreland,
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og som vi taler, opgraver retsmedicinere lig
00:47
and as we speaktale, forensicsretsvidenskab are exhumingexhuming bodiesorganer
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fra nyopdagede massegrave,
00:49
from newlynyligt discoveredopdaget massmasse gravesgrave,
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20 år efter krigen.
00:51
20 yearsflere år after the warkrig.
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Og det er muligvis de største der
nogensinde er opdaget.
00:53
And it is quitetemmelig possiblyeventuelt the largeststørste ever discoveredopdaget.
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I de fire år af konflikten
00:57
DuringUnder the fourfire yearsflere år of conflictkonflikt
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som hærgede Bosnien i de tidlige 90'ere,
00:59
that devastatedknust the Bosnianbosnisk nationnation in the earlytidlig '90s,
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cirka 30,000 borgere, hovedsagligt civile,
01:02
approximatelyrundt regnet 30,000 citizensborgere, mainlyhovedsagelig civilianscivile,
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forsvandt, formodet dræbt,
01:05
wentgik missingmangler, presumedformodes killeddræbt,
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og yderligere 100,000 blev dræbt
01:07
and anotheren anden 100,000 were killeddræbt
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under kampene.
01:09
duringi løbet af combatbekæmpe operationsoperationer.
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De fleste af dem blev dræbt
01:11
MostDe fleste of them were killeddræbt
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01:13
eitherenten in the earlytidlig daysdage of the warkrig
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enten i de tidlige dage af krigen
eller mod slutningen af krigshandlingerne,
01:14
or towardshen imod the endende of the hostilitiesfjendtlighederne,
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01:16
when U.N. safesikker zoneszoner like SrebrenicaSrebrenica
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da FNs sikre zoner som Srebrenica
faldt i hænderne på den serbiske hær.
01:19
fellfaldt into the handshænder of the SerbSerbiske armyhær.
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Den Internationale Krigsforbryderdomstol
01:22
The internationalinternational criminalkriminel tribunalTribunal
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afsagde en række domme
01:24
deliveredleveret a numbernummer of sentencessætninger
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for forbrydelser mod menneskeheden og folkedrab.
01:26
for crimesforbrydelser againstmod humanitymenneskelighed and genocidefolkedrab.
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Folkedrab er et systematisk og bevidst
01:29
GenocideFolkedrab is a systematicsystematisk and deliberateforsætlig
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ødelæggelse af en race, politisk, religiøs
01:32
destructionødelæggelse of a racialrace, politicalpolitisk, religiousreligiøs
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eller etnisk gruppe.
01:36
or ethnicetnisk groupgruppe.
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Selv om folkedrab handler om drab.
01:37
As much as genocidefolkedrab is about killingdrab.
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Handler det også om ødelæggelse af deres ejendom,
01:40
It is alsoogså about destroyingødelægge theirderes propertyejendom,
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deres kulturalle arv,
01:43
theirderes culturalkulturel heritagearv,
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og i sidste ende selve forestillingen om,
at de nogensinde har eksisteret.
01:45
and ultimatelyultimativt the very notionbegreb that they ever existedeksisterede.
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Folkedrab handler ikke kun om drab;
01:48
GenocideFolkedrab is not only about the killingdrab;
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Det handler også om nægtet identitet.
01:51
it is about the deniednægtet identityidentitet.
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Der er altid spor -
01:54
There are always tracesspor
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der eksisterer ikke en perfekt forbrydelse.
01:55
no suchsådan thing as a perfectperfektionere crimeforbrydelse.
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01:57
There are always remnantsrester of the perishedomkom onesdem
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Der er altid levn af de omkomne
der er mere holdbare end deres skrøbelige legeme
02:00
that are more durableholdbare than theirderes fragileskrøbelig bodiesorganer
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og vores selektive og falmende minde om dem.
02:02
and our selectiveselektiv and fadingfading memoryhukommelse of them.
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02:06
These itemselementer are recoveredgenvundet
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Disse ting bliver genfundet
02:09
from numeroustalrige massmasse gravesgrave,
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i talrige massegrave,
02:10
and the mainvigtigste goalmål of this collectionkollektion of the itemselementer
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og hovedmålet af denne samling af ting
02:13
is a uniqueenestående processbehandle
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er en unik process
02:15
of identifyingat identificere those who disappearedforsvundet in the killingsdrab,
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af identifikation af de som forsvandt i drabene,
den første folkedrab på Europæisk jord
02:18
the first acthandling of genocidefolkedrab on EuropeanEuropæiske soiljord
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siden Holocaust.
02:21
sincesiden the HolocaustHolocaust.
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Ikke en eneste legeme bør forblive uopdaget
02:22
Not a singleenkelt bodylegeme should remainforblive undiscovereduopdagede
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eller uidentificeret.
02:25
or unidentifieduidentificerede.
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02:27
OnceÉn gang recoveredgenvundet,
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Når først de er genfundet,
02:28
these itemselementer that the victimsofre carriedgennemføres with them
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disse ting som ofrene bar med sig
på deres vej til henrettelsen
02:31
on theirderes way to executionudførelse
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er forsigtigt gjort rene, analyseret,
02:33
are carefullyomhyggeligt cleanedgjort rent, analyzedanalyseret,
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katalogiseret og lagt på lager.
02:35
cataloguedkatalogiseret and storedgemt.
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Tusindvis af artefakter er pakket i hvide plastik poser
02:37
ThousandsTusinder of artifactsartefakter are
packedpakket in whitehvid plasticplast bagstasker
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ligesom dem du ser på CSI.
02:40
just like the onesdem you see on CSICSI.
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Disse ting er brugt som en retsmedicinsk værktøj
02:43
These objectsobjekter are used as a forensicretsmedicinsk toolværktøj
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som visuel identifikation af ofrene,
02:45
in visualvisuel identificationidentifikation of the victimsofre,
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men de anvendes også som meget
værdifuld retsmedicinsk bevismateriale
02:48
but they are alsoogså used as
very valuableværdifuld forensicretsmedicinsk evidencebeviser
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i de fortsatte retssager om krigsforbrydelser.
02:51
in the ongoingigangværende warkrig crimesforbrydelser trialsforsøg.
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De overlevende er sommetider bedt om at
02:54
SurvivorsOverlevende are occasionallyen gang imellem calledhedder
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prøve at fysisk identificere disse ting,
02:56
to try to identifyidentificere these itemselementer physicallyfysisk,
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men at fysisk kigge igennem
tingene er yderst vanskeligt,
02:59
but physicalfysisk browsingbrowsing is extremelyekstremt difficultsvært,
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og en ineffektiv og smertefyldt process.
03:02
an ineffectiveineffektiv and painfulsmertefuld processbehandle.
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Når retsvidenskab og læger og advokater
03:05
OnceÉn gang the forensicsretsvidenskab and doctorslæger and lawyersadvokater
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er færdige med disse ting,
03:09
are doneFærdig with these objectsobjekter,
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03:10
they becomeblive orphansforældreløse of the narrativefortælling.
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bliver de de forældreløse af denne fortælling.
Mange af dem bliver tilintetgjort tro det eller ej,
03:13
ManyMange of them get destroyedødelagt, believe it or not,
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eller de bliver bare sat på hylden,
03:16
or they get simplyganske enkelt shelvedlagt på hylden,
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ude af syne og ude af vores tanker.
03:17
out of sightsyn and out of mindsind.
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03:20
I decidedbesluttede a few yearsflere år agosiden
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Jeg bestemte for et par år siden
03:22
to photographfotografi everyhver singleenkelt exhumedgravet op itemvare
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at fotografere hvert eneste opgravet objekt
for at kunne skabe et visuelt arkiv
03:25
in orderbestille to createskab a visualvisuel archiveArkiv
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03:27
that survivorsoverlevende could easilylet browseGennemse.
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som de overlevende kunne nemt kigge igennem.
03:30
As a storytellerhistoriefortæller, I like to give back to the communityfællesskab.
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Som en historiefortæller kan jeg godt
lide at give tilbage til samfundet.
03:34
I like to movebevæge sig beyondud over raisinghævning awarenessopmærksomhed.
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Jeg kan godt lide at at gøre mere
end at skabe opmærksomhed.
Og i dette tilfælde at nogen
03:37
And in this casetilfælde, someonenogen maykan
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genkender disse ting
03:39
recognizegenkende these itemselementer
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03:41
or at leastmindst theirderes photographsfotografier will remainforblive
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eller i det mindste forbliver deres fotoer
som et permanent, saglig og præcis påmindelse
03:43
as a permanentpermanent, unbiaseduvildige and accuratenøjagtig reminderpåmindelse
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af hvad der skete.
03:47
of what happenedskete.
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Fotografi handler om empati,
03:49
PhotographyFotografering is about empathyempati,
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og det familiære ved disse ting garanterer empati.
03:51
and the familiarityfortrolighed of these
itemselementer guaranteegaranti empathyempati.
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03:54
In this casetilfælde, I am merelyblot a toolværktøj,
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I dette tilfælde er jeg bare et værktøj,
03:57
a forensicretsmedicinsk, if you like,
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en retsmediciner om du vil,
og resultatet er et fotografi som er så tæt som
03:59
and the resultresultat is a photographyfotografering that is as closetæt
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04:01
as possiblemuligt of beingvære a documentdokument.
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muligt på at være et dokument.
Når alle de forsvundne mennesker er identificeret,
04:04
OnceÉn gang all the missingmangler personspersoner are identifiedidentificeret,
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og kun opløste lig i deres grave
04:07
only decayingrådnende bodiesorganer in theirderes gravesgrave
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og disse dagligdags ting vil forblive.
04:09
and these everydayhver dag itemselementer will remainforblive.
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I al deres simplicitet,
04:11
In all theirderes simplicityenkelhed,
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disse genstande er et sidste testamente
04:13
these itemselementer are the last testamenttestamente
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af identiteten af ofrene,
04:15
to the identityidentitet of the victimsofre,
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04:17
the last permanentpermanent reminderpåmindelse
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den sidste permanente påmindelse
at disse mennesker nogensinde eksisterede.
04:19
that these people ever existedeksisterede.
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Mange tak.
04:21
Thank you very much.
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(Bifald)
04:23
(ApplauseBifald)
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Translated by Michelle Graabek
Reviewed by Anders Finn Jørgensen

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Ziyah Gafić - Photographer + storyteller
To help him come to terms with the tragedy of his own homeland, Bosnian photographer Ziyah Gafić turns his camera on the aftermath of conflict, showing his images in galleries, in books and on Instagram.

Why you should listen

Ziyah Gafić uses his camera to capture the aftermath of war. He has traveled to Pakistan, Iraq and Chechnya to capture beautiful portraits of people carrying on with their lives in the face of destruction; he has photographed the everyday lives of children in Rwanda, a generation born from the widespread use of rape as a weapon during the Rwandan genocide. A moving question runs through his work: After war, how do people manage to keep the fabric of society together?

Gafić's interest in this subject comes from his own biography. Born in Sarajevo, he was a teenager during the Bosnian War of the 1990s. Through photography, he parses what happened in his homeland. For his book Quest for Identity, Gafić photographed the watches, keys, shoes, combs and glasses exhumed from mass graves 20 years after the Bosnian War. These objects are cleaned, catalogued and used to help identify the bodies found with them, but afterwards, they become what Gafić calls “orphans of the narrative,” either destroyed or stored away out of sight and out of mind. His quest is to keep them in view as a last testament to the fact that these people existed, preserving them as an easily accessible visual archive that tells the story of what happened—integrating an objective forensic perspective with human compassion.

More profile about the speaker
Ziyah Gafić | Speaker | TED.com

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