BOSNIA It has been 10 years since the Srebrenica massacre in which 8,000 Bosnian Muslims were killed. The worst atrocity in Europe since the end of World War II, the war crimes tribunal at The Hague described the massacre as genocide. Ten years later, their bodies are still being exhumed from mass graves. In today’s memorial ceremony, 600 are being laid to rest.

Families of the missing have given blood samples to authorities to help with DNA identification of their loved ones. In Tuzla, about 40 miles from Srebrenica, 3,500 body bags containing the remains of massacre victims still await DNA identification.

But thousands of Srebrenica widows still have no news of what happened to their husbands. Many are unable to return home to the scene of the tragedy and are forced to live as refugees. Today, ten years later, they still struggle to bring a sense of closure and peace to their lives.

Islamic Relief Worldwide has been working in Bosnia since 1992, before the start of

the war that left around 200,000 dead and at least 2 million homeless. Unemployment in Bosnia and Herzegovina is around 40%. The factories which provided the majority of jobs before the war now lie abandoned.

Islamic Relief has helped thousands of widows across the country to return to their pre-war homes and rebuild their lives. By reconstructing their homes they are doing more than giving shelter to their orphaned children. They are building up the courage to move on from the horrors of the past and live in hope of a better future.