Remembering Srebrenica: 25 Years

In 1995, one of the most harrowing tragedies took place in Srebrenica, Bosnia.

Over 8,000 Bosnian men and boys were massacred, in just 5 days. Thousands of women went missing and were the victims of mass rape and torture.

The children of those rape victims still have no legal recognition to this day.

The Srebrenica genocide is one of the most brutal and horrifying events of our lifetime, but it is widely erased from our collective memory.

Till this day, bodies continue to be excavated and buried, giving families an opportunity to finally pray Janaza on their loved ones and bury them honourably.

The impact of this war has destroyed the economy, causing widespread poverty, which has disproportionately impacted widows and orphans.

It is our duty to honour the memory of the fellow Muslims we lost to this tragedy and provide relief to those still experiencing the effects of the conflict.

“And do not say about those who are killed in the way of Allah , “They are dead.”
Rather, they are alive, but you perceive it not.” (Quran 2:154)

Islamic Relief in Bosnia

Islamic Relief was one of the first international aid organisations to operate in Bosnia since the outbreak of the Bosnian War. We delivered aid and emergency relief, and assisted in rebuilding homes, schools, mosques, and other infrastructure damaged by the conflict.

For the past 25 years, we continued to provide emergency responses like food, medical care, orthopaedic items, sanitary facilities, and clean water.

In the more recent years, Islamic Relief Bosnia adopted multi-year, multi-sectoral projects to ensure long term sustainability and to maximize the benefit for communities.

Recent projects include supporting the greenhouse of a family in Hadzici which they used to grow and sell vegetables as well as supporting a raspberry farm.

In addition to the agricultural projects implemented, Islamic Relief set up an interest-free loan system to help tackle unemployment in the country and give people a way out of poverty.