Only by remembering, will we build a better future

he went from being an ordinary European teenager to a soldier, having to defend Sarajevo against the longest siege in modern history.

He would donate blood to get some food to eat and had to collect old tyres to burn for heat.

One winter, during a lull in the shelling, he witnessed a group of children who were desperate to go sledging.

But as they were about to play in the snow, a shell exploded killing all six of them, leaving their sledges intact.

Today, Bosnia is at peace but the wartime divisions remain, especially in politics.

Resad, who works tirelessly to help others learn from the Srebrenica genocide, said: “Bosnia is always the same. You have three different interests that are clashing all the time.”

The recently released Bosnian census shows that the population has fallen by a fifth since before the war.

Last year alone 80,000 young people left.

Resad added: “Without a new political force in the country I don’t think see anything changing. We need new blood.”

Nevertheless he is hopeful for the future.

He said: “Only by listening to the life stories and remembering what happened can we reach out to people and, hopefully, contribute to a better, safer future.”