Photo: Wesual Click | Unsplash
It was 1993; Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina was subject to some of the most vicious fighting of the Bosnian war, which started in 1992. The Elezović family were living about 200 meters from the frontline. For nine months Mostar was under siege, split in two by brutal fighting, with the eastern half under relentless bombardment. Out of that bitter conflict would come the War Child charity and a bakery project that would feed a starving city and transform the lives of the Elezović family. When the siege ended with a temporary ceasefire in March 1994, the family were desperate – exhausted, overcome by grief, and hungry. The father, Ermin, had served on the frontline and mother, Alma, worried constantly about him. She heard about some people from England who had come to help. She knew this effort could “save Ermin.” Alma encouraged Ermin to investigate. He found a few foreigners struggling with setting up an industrial bread oven in a war zone. Ermin quickly became essential to War Child; his experience as a machine technician, his grasp of English and the fact he knew exactly where and how people needed immediate help proved invaluable. “They didn’t see me as a victim or want me to tell them how bad things had been,” he says. “They just needed help and ideas, and I could do that. They were practical, passionate people who wanted to get things done.” The effort became the family’s life and the family became the face of War Child in Mostar. “We helped feed a starving city,” says Ermin. “We showed people that life could begin again.”
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