The World Life Trust is running its second international youth exchange project with youngsters coming from different parts of Europe to Istria, Croatia this year. This programme runs annually .

(2) The youth coming from London (UK), Bosnia and Istria (Croatia) will also participate in leadership and team building workshops to be part of the volunteer host group that will take care of approx. 10 orphans (age 9-10) next year.

Bosnian Youth Exchange Project

in cooperation with the British Council

World Life Trust (WLT) is an International humanitarian charity working to relieve the distress and hardship of those affected by natural disasters, wars and other conflicts with special regard for orphans. We are funded by donations and run by volunteers.

WLT arranged for 15 youths from Bosnia (whose fathers were murdered in the Srebrenica Massacre during the Bosnian war) to come to London for 10 days during which time they :

v Participated in training and workshops on the theme of cultural diversity and religious tolerance alongside 10 youth from London. We felt that the youth understood that intolerance is not restricted to any one people but is a worldwide challenge.

v Experienced the cultural, spiritual and economic diversity of London through interacting with the diverse communities of London.

v Built on their leadership and teamwork qualities with the aim that the youth will be able to run similar workshops across Europe in helping to reduce tension between people of different racial, cultural and religious backgrounds.

Some of the youth have participated in other educational programmes so this is an on-going process of development for them.

We secured funding from the British Council, which covered the cost of the flights and accommodation for the youth. We would greatly appreciate the support of many people who helped us to raise funding for this first project.

For the youth project 2007 you can either contribute with donations or by sponsoring specific part of the programme, for example a trip to one of the major attractions in London, a workshop, or items from our food-shopping list.

Background Info

Ten years after the Srebrenica massacre, Bosnia remains a country divided, plagued by mistrust and lingering, still raw animosities:

Balkans Tragedy

Ten years after the Srebrenica massacre, Bosnia remains a country divided, plagued by mistrust and lingering, still raw animosities.

By Rod Nordland | Jul 11, 2005 | 1866 words, 0 images

Nura Alispahic is a Srebrenica commuter. Twice a month she and her grown daughter Magbula take a bus from their home in Tuzla, three hours away, to the mining town in the Bosnian mountains, scene of Europe's worst massacre since the Nazi death camps. On July 11, 1995, Serb troops led by Gen. Ratko Mladic took prisoner and slaughtered at least 7,800 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica. There are so many women like them--widows, fatherless daughters, brotherless sisters--that the town of only 3,500 residents is served by four daily buses from Tuzla and Sarajevo, two hours away. Nura and her daughter stop at the cemetery in the village of Potocari, where the 1,400 victims recovered so far--including Nura's son Azmir--are buried. Then they visit their empty and half-ruined house, and by evening they're on the bus back. "I couldn't spend a night there," says Magbula. "When I enter the town, I feel the creeps, like watching someone entering a town in a horror movie."

Back in Tuzla, where they live in modest refugee housing, Nura and Magbula have recently been watching another real-life horror movie, a homemade videotape released by the war-crimes tribunal at The Hague ... /continued/