Djamila
Bosnjakinja
When Jovana Ivanic passed away on Jan. 4, 2007, one of the great chapters in Christian compassion closed behind her.
Jovana was the last living one of six elderly Croatian women who, during the war in Bosnia, established an underground railroad that saved the lives of hundreds of Bosnian Muslims. The six Roman Catholic women could not bear the death and destruction they were witnessed in Bosnia, just across the Sava river, and organized safe passage for refugees to Croatia.
Relatively safe there, the Muslims remained in hiding in dozens of Roman Catholic-owned homes until the area was fully liberated from Serbian forces in 1995.
Six Roman Catholic, Croatian women oversee a smuggling operation that, over two years, saved hundreds of Bosnian Muslims from territory conquered by Orthodox Christian Serbs. (Jovana Ivanic, second from right).
Muslim refugees cross the Sava from Bosnia to Croatia.
Muslim refugees break down once safely arriving in Croatia.
Jovana was the last living one of six elderly Croatian women who, during the war in Bosnia, established an underground railroad that saved the lives of hundreds of Bosnian Muslims. The six Roman Catholic women could not bear the death and destruction they were witnessed in Bosnia, just across the Sava river, and organized safe passage for refugees to Croatia.
Relatively safe there, the Muslims remained in hiding in dozens of Roman Catholic-owned homes until the area was fully liberated from Serbian forces in 1995.
Six Roman Catholic, Croatian women oversee a smuggling operation that, over two years, saved hundreds of Bosnian Muslims from territory conquered by Orthodox Christian Serbs. (Jovana Ivanic, second from right).
Muslim refugees cross the Sava from Bosnia to Croatia.
Muslim refugees break down once safely arriving in Croatia.
Jovana Ivanic's granddaughter, Jovana Martinovic, said she is proud of her grandmother and is certain her memory will live on in the hearts of the Muslims she saved.
Jovana Martinovic
"I never understood, growing up after the war, I really didn't," Martinovic told OBN. "I didn't know why there were always Muslims around. Our fridge was always full, we never wanted for anything, I never knew why. Every guest that entered our house did so in tears, and left in tears."
"A few days before Nena [Grandma] passed away, it was Kurban Bajram and she was so happy. She was sitting in that chair, over there, and she said with a proud grin: There'll be a lot of empty tables in Samac [Muslim town across the river, in Bosnia] tonight because, I tell you, every lamb they chopped is in my freezer. I laughed and she said: A wise woman raises three children. One to work, one to marry, and one to care for her when she's old. Not me. I went and got myself three hundred."
"They asked if we'd be willing to have an Imam offer Muslim prayers at the funeral and we said yes. Even Father Duric said it's not really proper, but there's an exception for everything. There's even talk they'll name a mosque after her in... Tuzla, I believe. A lot of the Samac people moved there after the war. What can you say to that, really? What can you say?"
Jovana Martinovic
"I never understood, growing up after the war, I really didn't," Martinovic told OBN. "I didn't know why there were always Muslims around. Our fridge was always full, we never wanted for anything, I never knew why. Every guest that entered our house did so in tears, and left in tears."
"A few days before Nena [Grandma] passed away, it was Kurban Bajram and she was so happy. She was sitting in that chair, over there, and she said with a proud grin: There'll be a lot of empty tables in Samac [Muslim town across the river, in Bosnia] tonight because, I tell you, every lamb they chopped is in my freezer. I laughed and she said: A wise woman raises three children. One to work, one to marry, and one to care for her when she's old. Not me. I went and got myself three hundred."
"They asked if we'd be willing to have an Imam offer Muslim prayers at the funeral and we said yes. Even Father Duric said it's not really proper, but there's an exception for everything. There's even talk they'll name a mosque after her in... Tuzla, I believe. A lot of the Samac people moved there after the war. What can you say to that, really? What can you say?"
Rest in peace, Jovana Ivanic. Xox!
