Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




SHAKE AND BLOW
Catastrophic floods bring down Bosnia ethnic barriers
by Staff Writers
Zepce, Bosnie-Herzegovine (AFP) May 20, 2014


When Ibro Begic decided to tackle the hazardous mountain road to reach those stricken by record floods near his Bosnian town, he was also challenging deep ethnic divisions left over from the brutal conflict of the 1990s.

When news reached him last week that the Serb-populated town of Doboj had been inundated, Begic immediately called on 10 friends to put together a relief operation.

It was a generous move, made remarkable by the fact that Begic is a Bosnian Muslim and a former soldier who fought the Serbs during the country's horrific civil war between 1992 and 1995.

"During the war, we were in enemy armies," he told AFP. "But the war is history. Humanity is something else."

Having gathered supplies including milk, sheets and rubber boots, Begic set off along the mountain pass -- the only road still open to Doboj from his town of Tesanj in central Bosnia.

He says the response he received from the Serbs in Doboj, one of the worst-hit towns where at least 20 people have died or are missing from the floods, was immense gratitude mixed with "shock".

"God asks us all to help each other in need. I am certain that the Serbs would do the same," Begic said.

- 'A turning point' -

It is certainly not the only instance in Bosnia where the difficult legacy of the war -- which has left the country politically divided between Serbs, Croats and Muslims -- was put to one side during the devastating flooding of the past week.

The small town of Zepce, around 30 kilometres (18 miles) further south from Tesanj, is mostly populated by Croats.

When a stream of Muslims began to arrive here from villages dotted around the region, few expected a warm welcome. The experience was a painful reminder of the war when tens of thousands were expelled from their homes by both Croats and Serbs.

But this time around, they were met with nothing but friendship.

A local high school gym in Zepce was ready to shelter the first group of evacuees from the Muslim village of Zeljezno Polje.

One of the villagers, Elvir Cizmic, a soldier during the war, told AFP: "Honestly, I did not expect such a solidarity. In just a few hours, people brought food, clothes and offered their homes to the families."

Around 30 to 40 people, mainly elderly women, were sheltering in the school when AFP visited, while dozens of young volunteers moved between them offering assistance.

"No one asked us for our name or our religion. They helped us in a way that I would not expect even from Muslims," Hanifa Masic, a 68-year-old evacuee, told AFP.

She hugged one of the young volunteers, a Croat called Ivana Grlic, who looked happy to help.

For Cizmic, the disaster marks a "turning point in relations between the three communities".

"I believe it will greatly help to regain trust between the people who had been pushed into the war," he said.

- 'Solidarity' -

Like nothing else in the past two decades, the natural disaster has allowed people to ignore the divisive nationalism spouted by many of their political leaders.

Even Milorad Dodik, the fiercely nationalist president of the Bosnian Serb entity, had to express his gratitude to the Muslims who came to help their Serb neighbours in the northern town of Samac.

"I thank you on behalf of all residents of Samac to whom aid was brought by the (mainly Muslim) town of Gradacac, which provided inflatable boats and rescuers," Dodik said.

The compliment was returned by Edhem Camdzic, an Islamic mufti from the northern town of Banja Luka, who said he had come across an "honourable man, a Serb, who has been rescuing people with his inflatable boat regardless of their ethnicity" during a tour of Muslim villages.

"Amid this tragedy, I am so delighted to see this solidarity between people who generously helped each other," said Camdzic.

More than a quarter of Bosnia's 3.8 million population has been affected by the worst floods in a century.

The Bosnian war claimed some 100,000 lives and displaced two million people, almost half the country's pre-war population.

.


Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








SHAKE AND BLOW
Toll mounts as thousands in Serbia, Bosnia flee historic floods
Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia (AFP) May 18, 2014
Thousands crammed into boats and army trucks as they fled their homes in Serbia and Bosnia on Sunday after record rainfall turned the Sava river into a deadly torrent and caused the worst floods in more than a century. Officials say the disaster has killed at least 44 people so far. Some towns have been completely cut off and rescue teams feared the worst as they were finally able to move in ... read more


SHAKE AND BLOW
LRO View of Earth

Saturn in opposition tonight, will appear next to the moon

Russia to begin Moon colonization in 2030

Astrobotic Partners With NASA To Develop Robotic Lunar Landing Capability

SHAKE AND BLOW
When fantasy becomes reality: first seeds to be planted soon on Mars

NASA's Saucer-Shaped Craft Preps for Flight Test

NASA Mars Rover Curiosity Wrapping Up Waypoint Work

Cascading dunes in a martian crater

SHAKE AND BLOW
Britain's Longitude Prize back after 300-year absence

Sea level rise forces US space agency to retreat

A light-speed voyage to the distant future

US spacecraft enters giant asteroid's orbit

SHAKE AND BLOW
Moon rover Yutu comes closer to public

The Phantom Tiangong

New satellite launch center to conduct joint drill

China issues first assessment on space activities

SHAKE AND BLOW
New ISS Expedition Unaffected by Proton Crash

US-Russian Tensions Roiling Outer Space Cooperation

Rounding up the BCATs on the ISS

Botanical Studies, Dragon Departure Preps for ISS Crew

SHAKE AND BLOW
SpaceX-3 Mission To Return Dragon's Share of Space Station Science

SpaceX supply capsule heads back to Earth

SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft returns to Earth from space station

Replacing Russian-made rocket engines is not easy

SHAKE AND BLOW
Giant telescope tackles orbit and size of exoplanet

Odd planet, so far from its star

New Exomoon Hunting Technique Could Find Solar System-like Moons

Length of Exoplanet Day Measured for First Time

SHAKE AND BLOW
Is there really cash in your company's trash?

Computer simulations enable better calculation of interfacial tension

Professors' super waterproof surfaces cause water to bounce like a ball

New Technique Safely Penetrates Top Coat for Perfect Paint Job




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.