A Voice For the Voiceless

MISSION

The Advocacy Project seeks to help community-based advocates produce, disseminate and use information, and so become more effective advocates for human rights and social justice

Kozarac and the Struggle to Return to Northwest Bosnia

Issue 2: Emsuda's Escape
The story of the assault by extremist Serb forces on Kozarac in May 1992, and how return activist Emsuda Mujagic escaped with her life.

Issue 3: Exile in Croatia, Return to Bosnia
Emsuda Mujagic describes her war-time exile in Croatia, and how the advocacy group for displaced citizens of Kozarac, Srcem do Mira, was formed. In 1998 the effort for return to Kozarac was well underway, but still faced with strong opposition by Republika Srpska authorities.

Issue 4: 'To Us Kozarac Is Beautiful, Even if it is Ruined'
Pre-war and postwar Kozarac described; between 1998 and 1999 there is a turnaround in the return effort, reconstruction is starting, and the returnees are beginning to take back their town.

Issue 5: The Serbs Of Northwest Bosnia
Not all Serbs in the Bosnian Krajina participated in the assault on Bosniaks and their displacement. Many were victims of the war, themselves displaced. Some went on to become activists for justice and return.

Issue 6: Tiptoeing to Reconciliation
Srcem do Mira holds a conference in spring 1999 in Kozarac; return activists, returnees, and their supporters attend.

Issue 7: Conference in Kozarac: a Landmark in the Return Process
Emsuda and other conference participants tell the story of their struggle to return.

Issue 8: Taking Back Kozarac
By mid-1999, although still in an uphill struggle, it is clear that returnees are determined to reestablish a foothold in their home town. 

Issue 9: Some Local Serb Views on the Conference
Bosniak return activists gain support from the international community, but relations with local Serbs, including some activists, remain tense.

Issue 10: Kozarac Conference Winds Up
Return activists declare their persistence in the face of continuing obstruction.