The Sulejmanovic family shares one cramped room.
The Sulejmanovic family shares one cramped room. © Sanja Vrzić
The cultural centre where the family live is in an isolated village.
The cultural centre where the family live is in an isolated village. © Sanja Vrzić
Azemina’s parents talk about why they came to be where they are now.
Azemina’s parents talk about why they came to be where they are now. © Sanja Vrzić
Azemina with her father Mujo.
Azemina with her father Mujo. © Sanja Vrzić
Azemina’s mother, Hata.
Azemina’s mother, Hata. © Sanja Vrzić
Improvised bathroom in the living room.
Improvised bathroom in the living room. © Sanja Vrzić
The family earn money by collecting and selling wild herbs.
The family earn money by collecting and selling wild herbs. © Sanja Vrzić
Azemina doing her homework.
Azemina doing her homework. © Sanja Vrzić
Azemina looks at a photo of classmates at her new school in Vareš.
Azemina looks at a photo of classmates at her new school in Vareš. © Sanja Vrzić
Azemina heads off to her new high school in Vareš.
Azemina heads off to her new high school in Vareš. © Sanja Vrzić
The road to the nearest town, Vareš, where Azemina’s school is located, is inaccessible for most of the winter.
The road to the nearest town, Vareš, where Azemina’s school is located, is inaccessible for most of the winter. © Sanja Vrzić
Azemina Sulejmanovic in her old "classroom" where a teacher used to come and home-school her.
Azemina Sulejmanovic in her old "classroom" where a teacher used to come and home-school her. © Sanja Vrzić

Srebrenica Family Left Stranded by Poverty

Images of life in a remote village for a Bosniak family with nowhere else to go.

Wednesday, 19 March, 2014

These pictures show 11-year old Azemina and her parents Mujo and Hata Sulejmanovic, who live in the village of Brgule in central Bosnia. 

Mujo and Hata Sulejmanovic are Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) refugees from the eastern town of Srebrenica, which was captured by Bosnian Serb forces in July 1995. More than 7,000 Bosniak men and boys were massacred in the days that followed.

Like many displaced people, the Sulejmanovics moved around looking for a permanent home. In their case, they ended up living in Brgule's cultural centre, where they have a single, concrete-floored room with neither kitchen nor bathroom.

Azemina is the only child in Brgule and has no one to play with. The only other people still living in the village are six elderly families.

The nearest school is 15 kilometres away, and Azemina rarely goes there, because her parents do not own a car and cannot afford public transport.

For the full story, see Lonely Life for Bosnian Refugee Family.

These photographs were taken by Sanja Vrzić, an architect, photographer and graphic designer based in Sarajevo. She specialises in landscape, documentary and cultural photography.

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