The Last Refuge: A True Story of War, Survival and Life Under Siege in Srebrenica

Description

'We went to the mountains of eastern Bosnia to hide from the war. As if a forest could shield you from a war. The war flies, reaches you in a second. It runs through the walls, over the mountains and rivers. It enters your mind, your heart and your soul and refuses to leave . . .' In 1992, amid growing violence in eastern Bosnia, Hasan Nuhanovic and his family were forced to flee their home for the safety of Bosnia's mountainous countryside. High up in the woods along the Drina River, Hasan and thousands of Bosniak refugees faced freezing nights, deprivation and death, while Serb soldiers covered their retreat with sniper fire and artillery shelling. After many months on the move the Bosniaks battled their way to the town of Srebrenica, their last refuge, under the protection of a small UN force. When the Bosnian-Serb army laid siege to the town, Hasan's life once more became a daily struggle for survival. The Last Refuge is a powerful first-hand account of the barbarism of those years leading up to the massacre in Srebrenica; it is also a compelling and pertinent story of life, survival and heroism on the frontlines of a bitter conflict.

HASAN NUHANOVIC (b. 1968, Zvornik) is a writer and campaigner for the victims of the Srebrenica genocide in the Bosnian Wars of 1992-95. During the war Nuhanovic offered his services to UN troops as an interpreter. His employment with the Dutch Battalion meant he was saved from the massacre at Srebrenica, while his family were taken away by Serbian soldiers and killed along with 8,000 other Bosniaks. A tireless campaigner for justice, in 2008 he brought a civil case against The Netherlands for its role in the massacre. In 2013 the Supreme Court of the Netherlands ruled in favour of Nuhanovic, setting a precedent in international law.