About the Project

Srebrenica is a small mountain town in the east of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Before the war, the town was inhabited by approximately 24,000 people, 75% of whom were Bosnian Muslims. Srebrenica was one of the areas which the United Nations had declared as a safe area with six other regions including Sarajevo, Bihac, Gatorade, Zepa, and Tuzla. This resulted in a significant number of refugees relocating from neighboring areas to Srebrenica. Thus, the estimated population of Srebrenica rapidly increased up to 45,000 by July 1995.

      Although Srebrenica was announced to be a safe area by the UN, approximately 8,300 Bosnian Muslims were killed in Srebrenica in July 1995 by the Army of Republika Srpska under General Ratko Mladic. The massacre occurred despite the existence of UN troops in the region. Srebrenica Massacre became the greatest human slaughter in the history of Europe since the Second World War and is the first legally documented genocide in Europe.

        Although it has lost visibility in the international media, Bosnia and Herzegovina is still in need of help from the international community. Both the country and the locals have been suffering from severe difficulties induced by economic and political instability. Today, 46% of Bosnians live under the poverty line.

      The Office of International Programs and KuGlobalAid implemented an international community service project with the partnership of The International Forum of Solidarity-Emmaus in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This week-long project consisted of professional staff and students. Participants were accommodated in local guesthouses, and delivered food, clothing and similar basic needs to local families in need. In addition, participants visited a rehabilitation center in Doboj and engaged with elderly people and children in their activities.

Documentary

Koç University’s Office of International Programs and KuGlobalAid implemented an international community service project with the partnership of The International Forum of Solidarity-Emmaus in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This week-long project consisted of professional staff and students. Participants were accommodated in local guesthouses and delivered food, clothing and similar basic needs to local families in need. In addition, participants visited a rehabilitation center in Doboj and engaged with elderly people and children in their activities.

Bosnia & Herzegovina

The country is a homeland to three ethnic “constituent peoples”: Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats. Regardless of ethnicity, a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina is usually identified in English as a Bosnian.

        Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the south, Bosnia and Herzegovina are almost entirely landlocked, except for 20 km of the Adriatic Sea coastline, centered around the town of Neum. The interior of the country is heavily mountainous and divided by various rivers, most of which are nonnavigable. The nation’s capital and largest city are Sarajevo.

        Formerly one of the six federal units constituting the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Bosnia, and Herzegovina gained its independence during the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s. The country is decentralized and is administratively divided into two “entities”, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska. More recently the country has acquired many central institutions (such as the ministry of defense, state court, etc.) as it takes the jurisdiction back from its entities. Currently, the unemployment rate in Bosnia is 28%.

International Forum of Solidarity - Emmaüs

International Forum of Solidarity started working in Bosnia-Herzegovina and currently helps the people who suffered from the 1992 Srebrenitsa Genocide, directly or indirectly. This non-governmental organization (NGO) has rehabilitation centers in Doboj and Srebrenica, which offer help to those suffering from AIDS, the homeless, war victims and more. The NGO connected to Emmaüs International in 2004 and is now in the network of Emmaüs. Since 1971, national and regional initiatives are grouping under this parent organization, Emmaüs International. The network constitutes of 310 groups in 36 countries.

www.emmaus-europe.org