Djamila
Bosnjakinja
Vares is an important town for Roman Catholics in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It's small, wooden Church is the oldest Roman Catholic wooden Church in Europe. It's grand cathedral among the most beautiful in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Not bad for a town with a population too small to fill an average, highschool gymnasium.
Not bad for a town with a population too small to fill an average, highschool gymnasium.
During the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, all of Vares' Orthodox Christian inhabitants were expelled during a siege carried out by Orthodox Christian forces. It was a stupid decision because, as one would expect, it removed any guilt Orthodox Christian soldiers might have had for shelling and sniping the town and the siege grew more violent.
In the chaos, the town's majority Roman Catholics and small Muslim population turned on each other and, not surprisingly, the Muslims lost. Many were killed, but most survived to flee to Muslim-held territories in the West.
For a long time, Vares was a symbol of everything that had gone wrong in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bitter from the carnage, and weary of a Muslim-dominated government in Sarajevo, Vares remained a town where unless you were Roman Catholic, you were not welcome.
As is often the case in Bosnia, even sworn enemies know each other personally, and at one time were great friends. When the daughter of respected Muslim family from Vares was killed in a car accident in 2004, in their new home, Zenica, Roman Catholic religious leaders invited the family to Vares so she could be burried in the local, Muslim cemetery.
Aida Varesanovic - 1972-2004
In the chaos, the town's majority Roman Catholics and small Muslim population turned on each other and, not surprisingly, the Muslims lost. Many were killed, but most survived to flee to Muslim-held territories in the West.
For a long time, Vares was a symbol of everything that had gone wrong in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bitter from the carnage, and weary of a Muslim-dominated government in Sarajevo, Vares remained a town where unless you were Roman Catholic, you were not welcome.
As is often the case in Bosnia, even sworn enemies know each other personally, and at one time were great friends. When the daughter of respected Muslim family from Vares was killed in a car accident in 2004, in their new home, Zenica, Roman Catholic religious leaders invited the family to Vares so she could be burried in the local, Muslim cemetery.
Aida Varesanovic - 1972-2004
At the funeral, a formal request was submitted the local Roman Catholic Archdiocese for the Varesanovic family to return, which they did. Since that time, several dozen Muslim families from Vares have returned to their pre-war homes. In all but one case (in which the family returned from unexpectedly from Germany), Roman Catholics in Vares had fully repaired and refurnished the family homes before the families arrived.
Last year, a group of several young, devout Roman Catholic girls adopted the reconstruction of the Vares Mosque as their "Christian in Deed" project, a part of Roman Catholic curriculum in the High Bosnia Archdiocese.
Now, the Vares Mosque has been almost completed and the five young women have been presented with a "Righteous Among the Nations" medal from the Jewish Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and an "Abraham's Vision" medal from the Islamic Congress of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Congraulations, ladies!
Last year, a group of several young, devout Roman Catholic girls adopted the reconstruction of the Vares Mosque as their "Christian in Deed" project, a part of Roman Catholic curriculum in the High Bosnia Archdiocese.
Now, the Vares Mosque has been almost completed and the five young women have been presented with a "Righteous Among the Nations" medal from the Jewish Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and an "Abraham's Vision" medal from the Islamic Congress of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Congraulations, ladies!
