Bosnia Herzegovina
CRS helped Zoran Radovi, a Bosnian Serb, and his family return to their home in Mostar where they now sell fruit and other wares from their roadside stand. Photo by Sam Tarling for CRS
Eighteen years after the war, Bosnia and Herzegovina has yet to achieve a peaceful and just society. The country continues to have 118,000 displaced people, 700,000 people living below the poverty line and an unemployment rater of 45 percent. Poor economic conditions coupled with divisive nationalistic political rhetoric, mono-ethnic communities and segregated schools continue to threaten the stabilization of the region. War victims, women victims of rape, their families and general citizens struggle to recover from the violent conflict that left 400,000 people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and 10,000 people still missing.
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Stats
| Population: | 3,879,296 (July 2012 est.) |
| Size: | 19,767 sq. mi.; slightly smaller than West Virginia |
| People Served: | 29,241 (2012 est.) |
History
Catholic Relief Services came to Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1993 to provide emergency relief to people living under siege in Sarajevo. At the end of the war, half the population of the country of 4 million was displaced. CRS responded by assisting families to return to homes they fled during the war. CRS continues these efforts through rebuilding and constructing housing and infrastructure, promoting livelihoods and education, and providing psychological support. CRS supports peacebuilding by working with war victims' associations to recover from trauma and move towards tolerance, forgiveness and reconciliation.