Islamic Relief pays tribute to the thousands of people who were killed in the massacre of Srebrenica 25 years ago.
The Bosnian War took place between 1992 and 1995 and was the cause of 258,000 deaths and disappearances. The town of Srebrenica was under siege for more than two years and in early July 1995, women and children were turned out of the town and men and boys were killed. During the massacre, some 8,300 people lost their lives, making it the darkest episode of the war.
Islamic Relief were on the ground providing lifesaving aid to affected families, including food, clothing and medicines. We were one of the first international aid agencies to respond when war broke out in 1992 and we delivered over 7,000 tonnes of aid.
We have been working in the region since then to help combat the devastating aftermath of the war and helped communities to rebuild their lives. Our projects in the country include orphan sponsorship, women’s empowerment and sustainable development programmes.
When the conflict ended we began restoring homes, schools and health centres and helped families to earn a living once more.
In 2001 we set up an interest-free loans system based upon Islamic finance which continues to support unemployed people and provide real routes out of poverty. We also seek ways to create new jobs and develop agriculture.
We’ve also been working with communities to start the reconciliation process between different ethnic groups, among whom are citizens who survived the massacre in Srebrenica and have fled to other cities such as Tuzla, Sarajevo and Zivinice.