ITV News: Bosnian Muslim who fled to Newcastle as a boy to speak to Parliament

In the June of 1994, nine-year-old Smajo Bešo and his family fled a conflict that would claim the lives of an estimated 100,000 people - including the genocide of perhaps 8,000 Bosnian Muslims like the Bešos.

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BBC News: 'Nobody believed their accounts of the Holocaust'

But genocide in the 20th Century did not end with the defeat of Nazi Germany. Holocaust Memorial Day also remembers the victims of more recent atrocities; in particular, this year marks 30 years since 1995's Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia. Una Srabovic-Ryan never got to meet her biological father, Salčin, who was just 17 when he was murdered during the genocide.

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Chronicle: 'My aunty was killed by Croatian extremists before we came to Newcastle'

Refugees who escaped to Newcastle during the Bosnian War have been commended for their “unwavering strength” in the face of unimaginable horrors. Dozens of people from the city’s small Bosnian community watched on proudly as councillors backed an “empowering” motion remembering the Srebrenica genocide, 23 years on from the massacre.

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Sarajevo Times: King Charles III personally awarded Bosnian Smajo Beso for His work on Education about Genocide

I visited Buckingham Palace last week to receive an O.B.E from King Charles III. I was named in the New Year honours list for my work on genocide and Holocaust education. I spent the morning thinking about what 9-year-old Smajo, who started school in year 5 without knowing a word of English, would think if he could see me now.

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BBC News: Making Tyneside Home: Photos reflect Tynside immigration

"But the people of Newcastle welcomed us into their community. Today I am 100% Bosnian and 100% Geordie. That's what makes Newcastle a great city: it is a place where we are all the same because we are all free to be different."

Read the full article here.

Belfast Telegraph: Bosnian Genocide survivor recalls joy of birdsong after fleeing conflict for UK

An architect has recalled spending his first “beautiful” days in Newcastle after fleeing his war-torn Bosnian town as a schoolboy to escape the genocide.

Read the full article here.

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