LocationsMemories of the missing: images that do not fade
July 1, 2026
As part of the broader exhibition “Memory” at the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, “Memories in Pictures” brings the personal stories of families of the missing into the public space
Images that preserve the deepest memories of the life that came before it. They portray people as they once were - smiling in their yards, gathered around family tables, in everyday moments that now live only in the memories of those who love them.
The exhibition “Memories in Pictures,” prepared by the Association of Families of Missing and Killed Persons “Suza” with the support of the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), brings together these quiet, deeply personal stories. The missing are not depicted through the moment of loss, but through the lives they lived - as parents, siblings, friends. Each image preserves a fragment of who they were and how their families remember them.
"Some loved fishing, others loved beekeeping. These images tell the stories of ordinary people - with families, routines, and everyday lives."
As Dragana Đukić, President of the “Suza” Association, explains, these works emerged as a distinct form of memorialization.
“Families want to remember their loved ones not through the act of suffering, but through who they were - their hobbies, what they loved. Some loved fishing, others loved beekeeping. These images show that they were ordinary, family-oriented people living everyday lives. There were so many beautiful moments in their lives that they should not be remembered only for the way they lost them.”
Dragana Đukić with the artwork “Memories Preserved in Remembrance,” dedicated to her brother Dragan – Baja Vujančević, who was killed on 1 May 1995.
This is where the strength of the exhibition lies - it restores dignity to individual stories and shifts the focus from loss back to life.
“Memories in Pictures” were recently presented at the Hall of National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia as part of the broader exhibition “Memory,” organized in cooperation between the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs, the “Suza” Association, and the Association of Kidnapped and Missing Persons in Kosovo[1] and Metohija. On that occasion, a message was also conveyed that further progress will be made toward addressing the issue of missing persons.
"Serbia is the only country in the region that still does not have a law on missing persons, making its adoption particularly important."
For families who have spent decades searching for the truth about the fate of their loved ones, such recognition is more than a legal matter - it creates space for memories like these to endure and be acknowledged. What these images show - people in warm, everyday moments of life - is exactly what families seek to preserve and pass on, Đukić emphasizes.
“What matters most to us is that the victims are recognized as victims. A law would solve many issues - from the status of associations to the rights of families and support for children of those who were killed. Serbia is the only country in the region without such a law, which makes its adoption all the more important.”
As Đukić notes, this is precisely why it is important for exhibitions like this one to remain visible in the public space.
“It is important for people to see the scale of the suffering and to draw attention to the need to accelerate the process of resolving cases of missing persons. It also matters to us that these exhibitions travel and reach beyond the local context.”
The exhibition was previously presented in Geneva, at the Palais de Nations of the United Nations, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Commission on Missing Persons of the Republic of Serbia, where these personal stories gained international visibility. Yet regardless of where it is shown, its core remains unchanged: it speaks about people whom families have never stopped searching for - and never stopped remembering them.
Opening of the exhibition “Memories in Pictures” in 2024, as part of the project “New Approaches to Memorialization,” with the support of the European Union and UNDP.
Some of the works presented at the National Assembly, particularly those depicting memories of missing Serbs from the territory of the Republic of Croatia, were created in 2024 and 2025 as part of the project “New Approaches to Memorialization”. The project was implemented by the Center for Democratic Development Europolis, the “Suza” Association, the Vojvodina Civic Center, and the Center for Peace, Nonviolence and Human Rights – Osijek, as part of the initiative “EU Support to Confidence Building in the Western Balkans”, funded by the European Union and implemented by UNDP.
Through narrative and art workshops, family members were given the opportunity to express their memories and emotions - often for the first time - through visual expression. For many participants, this process became a space where emotions transform into stories, and stories into something that can endure and be shared with others.
The resulting works are forms of memory shaped by families themselves and carried forward.
Today, as these images are once again presented to the public, their message remains simple yet powerful: memory is not only about looking back - it is a way to preserve the dignity of those who are no longer here, and the voice of those who have never stopped calling them.
The content of this text is the sole responsibility of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union (EU).
[1] For the European Union, this designation is without prejudice to the position on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence. For UNDP, all references to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of Security Council Resolution 1244/1999.