Bosnian leader Izetbegovic visits Syrian refugees in Turkey; compares grief & agony of Syrians to that of Bosnians

Bakir Izetbegovic, the son of independent Bosnia’s first president during his visit to a refugee camp in Turkey, said that no one can understand Syrians as much as Bosnians do. During his visit to a refugee camp in Harran, the southeastern Şanlıurfa province, he compared the wars that tore apart Bosnians’ and Syrians’ lives.

Bakir Izetbegovic who is also the Bosniak member of the country’s tripartite presidency, during his visit said, “Nobody can understand you as much as the Bosnians do. When we first saw the pictures of grief and pain from Syria, it took us back to our pain and our sorrow.

He distributed gift among children and in turn was presented a painting of his late father, the eminent statesman Alija Izetbegovic.

Bosnian war was part of the breakup of Yugoslavia, which claimed nearly 100000 lives between April 1992 and December 1995, while 2.2 million were displaced. Up to 50,000 women, mostly Bosniak, were raped.

Izetbegovic consoled Syrian refugees by saying, “Thank goodness our war ended. Your war will also end and you will live in freedom again.”

The civil war began in Syria since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests. The war claimed lives of over 250,000 people while displacing over 10 million. 3.4 million Syrians refugees are living in Turkey, who have fled north since the beginning of the civil war.