In the village Osredak near Cazin in BiH before the war lived Bosniaks and Serbs. Over time, all residents of Serbian nationality displaced. They left the church and cemetery, which was getting in worse shape.
In recent years, church and cemetery is renovated and maintained by a Muslim family.
Mesud, his wife and sons, used every free moment in recent years to renovate the church.
“This church was in the stage of demolition four years ago, and if we have not started with the renovation, it would be demolished by now. Then we started with cleaning, reconstruction of the walls, etc,” said Mesud Keranovic.
“I live here for more than 40 years and my friends, before all the evil, the war and everything bad that happened to us, are no longer there, so they come here, we stand and talk … And behind us is the ruin, but it is still their sacred place,” continued Mesud Keranovic.
“At the beginning it was all physical work, so it was hard, and then we started with the concreting. There were a lot of small works, precision works,” said Samir Keranovic, Mesud’s son.
“We wanted to do it the best we can, although we are doing this for the first time. And as we are getting to the final works we are increasingly accelerating, because we cannot wait to see how it will turn out at the end,” said Mensud Keranovic, another Mesud’s son who is helping his father with reconstruction.
Besides making lunch, Mesud’s wife Fatima is helping as well.
“Mesud’s idea to renovate the Orthodox Church was supported by his neighbors, Serbs, who fled from the village Osredak. They live all over the world and help as much as I can, mainly financially,” as reported by Al Jazeera.
One of them is Radmila, who has been living in Belgrade. She is helping this project together with her family. She collects funds from relatives and neighbors who, like her, left their homes. She is in contact with Mesud, who sends her photos and notifies about the progress of works. And Radmila tries to visit her hometown several times a year.
“I wish that everyone returns to their homes and that life continues, because what happened is evil, no one needs it,” said Mesud.
(Source: Radiosarajevo.ba)
