Great Picture of Bosfam Billboard in Tuzla

Thanks to Jazzy at Tuzla Daily Phot (see general link for blog at right) for this great sign that Bosfam are quite visible and active in Tuzla.

Srebrenica Memorial Quilt Visits US, Puts a Human Face on the Massacre

BOSFAM director Beba Hadzic brought the Srebrenica Memorial Quilt to the United States for a multi-city tour to reconnect with the Bosnian diaspora here.

Please see this story from AdvocacyNet for a detailed synopsis, as well as several links for further reading and donations.

Bosnian Women's Day--March 10, 2009

Courtesy of Advocacy Net, a story about a Capitol Hill ceremony for Bosnian Women's Day, featuring Beba Hadzic of BOSFAM.

I most likely will not be able to attend, but I encourage anyone in the DC area who is able to, to visit the webpage and RSVP Elmina Kulasic. If I am able to adjust my schedule, I will be there myself.

BOSFAM Founder Joins Call to Prevent Genocide

The founder and head of the Bosnian weaving cooperative adds her name--and her formidable moral authority--to a public letter from the Genocide Prevention Project:

Beba Hadzic Joins Call to Prevent Genocide

Srebrenica Memorial Quilt Update

Advocacy Project Brings Srebrenica Memorial Quilt to Bosnian Diaspora

Brief update on the Memorial quilt project between AP and Bosfam.

Update on Srebrenica Memorial Quilt

[I received this update on the progress of the Srebrenica Memorial Quilt collaboration between The Advocacy Project and BOSFAM. I am pleased to note that the quilt has continued to gain sponsors, and has grown in size, since I saw it at the Bosnian embassy in Washington, DC recently.]

The Srebrenica Memorial Quilt – an Update

September 2008: The Bosnian Family (Bosfam) and the Advocacy Project (AP) wish to thank you for your support of the Srebrenica Memorial Quilt project. Interest in the Quilt has grown steadily in Bosnia and North America since the quilt was first launched in St Louis on July 11, 2007. It is with great pleasure that we send you this brief report on what has been achieved, with your help.

The Bosnian weavers. Fourteen weavers are now working on the Srebrenica Memorial Quilt at the Bosfam headquarters in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina. All of them endured incredible hardships during the war in Bosnia, and over half were forced to leave Srebrenica on July 11, 1995. Several lost close relatives in the massacre. You can read about them on newly-updated web pages.

The quilt panels. Eighty-five panels have been produced, and each commemorates a single victim of the massacre. Together, the panels make up four separate quilts. Three quilts are currently used for outreach in the United States and Canada. The fourth quilt remains at the Bosfam office in Tuzla. A fifth quilt will soon be completed. Each panel has its own unique design, decided by a Bosfam weaver. The quilts may be viewed online.

Sponsors and funds. Over seventy individuals, clubs, and diaspora groups have sponsored panels and donated to the project. Sponsors have given $950 for panels commemorating a relative or friend. Donors have given another $1,800 in un-earmarked contributions. This has covered the cost of raw materials, and allowed the Bosfam weavers to continue making panels.

Outreach: The Quilt project seeks to keep the memory of the Srebrenica massacre alive and give diaspora communities a tangible way to support civil society and reconstruction in Bosnia. This is succeeding beyond our expectations. The Quilt has been displayed twelve times since July 2007. Hundreds of people have viewed the Quilt and engaged in a lively discussion about Srebrenica, in St. Louis, Boston, Detroit, Washington DC, New York, Toronto, and Utica. These events have also been covered in the local press. Several more events are planned for the fall and Bosfam and the Advocacy Project hope you will be able to join us. For more information on past and upcoming events visit the Outreach page.

Training: The Advocacy Project and Bosfam have exciting plans for this project. Bosfam is developing a training program for weavers which will benefit minority (Bosniak) returnees to Srebrenica and the surrounding villages. This program will provide women with skills and an income and promote refugee returns to one of the most economically-depressed areas in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A team from AP visited Srebrenica this summer to develop the program with Bosfam. Read the blogs of Iain Guest, Executive Director of the Advocacy Project visit to Bosnia.

Social change and impunity: The Srebrenica Memorial Quilt is proving to be an effective tool for advocacy in the United States and Canada, and Bosfam and AP hope to expand outreach efforts to Europe, including the Balkans itself, in 2009. The quilt serves as a reminder of the massacre and keeps the memory of the victims alive. Over 40,000 individuals attended the memorial services at Potocari this summer. In addition, one of the two architects of the massacre, Radovan Karadzic, was arrested on July 21, 2008. Of course, much remains to be done. But the quilt is playing an important role in seeking justice for the thousands of innocent victims who died in July 1995.

The Advocacy Project and Bosfam are extremely grateful for your support of this important project. Thank you!

From

Beba Hadzic (Bosfam) and Iain Guest (AP)

Tuzla and Washington DC. September 16, 2008

Srebrenica Memorial Quilt--Update

The Srebrenica Memorial Quilt has grown since I first posted about it in October, and will soon be moving from St. Louis to Boston:

AdvocacyNet Update on Srebrenica Memorial Quilt

The exact dates have not been announced yet; I will pass those along once I know.

I you have not done so already, please check out Bosnian Family's website:

BOSFAM

If you are considering making a donation to the Srebrenica Memorial Quilt, please remember that not only does the money go to a worthy cause, the quilt is also a work of advocacy. The ultimate destination will be Washington, DC--the larger the quilt is by that point, the more of an impression it will make on legislators.

Srebrenica Memorial Quilt--how to support

In previous post on the quilt below, I included links both to the AdvocacyNet page on the project and the BOSFAM main page. In the interests of convenience, here's a direct link to the page at AdvocacyNet with directions on how to contribute:

Support the Srebrenica Memorial Quilt

Forty dollars is a very reasonable amount. Owen and Daniel are buying a panel, I need to find my wallet and do the same!

Srebrenica Memorial Quilt

I have written previously about BOSFAM, the weaving cooperative operated by and for Bosnian women who lost family members during the war. Many of the weavers lost husbands and sons at Srebrenica. BOSFAM provides them both with the sense of community and family to carry on as well as the opportunity to utilize their weaving skills as a source of income.

The Washington DC-based non-profit group AdvocacyNet is a worthy organization which works to facilitate grassroots organizations developed by locals rather than imposing well-meaning programs onto troubled communities. AdvocacyNet has a long-standing connection with BOSFAM, continuing to send interns to work with the center. I personally own a beautiful kilim from BOSFAM, which I purchased through AdvocacyNet.

Now AdvocacyNet is helping BOSFAM to spread the news about the Srebrenica Memorial Quilt, a commemoration of some of the victims of Srebrenica. The quilt is made of individual panels, each one carrying the name of one victim of the massacre. Relatives of victims can have a BOSFAM member add a panel in memory of their loved one for a $40 donation; there is an option for those of us with no personal ties to Srebrenica to do so as well. I will be making a donation, and encouraging friends and family to do the same.

Although the websites linked above do not specify this, I have been informed that the plan is to eventually bring the completed quilt to Washington DC, to be presented to lawmakers at an event designed to bring pressure to push for the arrest of Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic. Not only will buying more panels benefit a very worthy cause--the larger the quilt, the bigger the impact this planned presentation will have.

Please take time to check out these links, and seriously consider making a contribution. And, most of all, please forward this information and these links to anyone and everyone you know.

Thank you.