This week has been an incredibly busy week, I’ve visited Breightmet’s new Health Centre and Halliwell U Can Centre (pictured) amongst other places. My post bag from constituents has been constantly full and my team and myself have had 2 nights out canvassing.
Next week is going to be even busier! On sunday I leave for a week long trip to Bosnia with Baroness Sayeeda Warsi and a group of MP’s and candidates. William Hague is also to join us for a couple of days.
Many people will remember the massacre in Srebrenica in 1995 when 8,000 Bosnian Bosniak (Muslim) men and boys were executed in the UN proclaimed safe haven after it fell to Serbian militias. A further 25,000 women, children and elderly people were deported. Since then Srebrenica has made some progress, some refugees have returned and it is no longer a ghost town, but more remains to be done. Some surrounding villages have been completely erased and others have been badly damaged, some beyond repair. The survivors, particularly from the villages, are living in provisional accommodation in nearby towns.
War damage has had long-term consequences. Where there was once unity, there is division. The development of the education system is deeply connected with the overall situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Schools and colleges play an extremely important role in shaping the attitudes of younger generations. Without open-minded and tolerant children, the long-term chances for a democratic and stable Bosnia-Herzegovina are very low.
The Conservative Social Action Project
It is important to remind everyone of the plight of the people of Srebrenica and to support the new generation of Bosnian Muslim (Bosniak) and Bosnian Serb children who together can help heal the scars left by the years of fighting and ethnic cleansing.
A group of Conservative MPs and candidates led by Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, Shadow Minister for Social Action and Community Cohesion, will be traveling to Srebrenica to undertake a social action project to encourage community cohesion through the involvement of children, young people and families. Project Maja will create a playground area for Srebrenica’s kindergarten, refurbish and provide new computers for the high school’s IT room and build a new home for a Bosniak refugee family who are desperate to return to their roots. The kindergarten and high school are attended by both Bosniak and Serb children and are seen as a starting point for bringing the communities together.
Project Maja will run from Monday July 27th until Friday 31st July 2009 in Srebrenica. Volunteers will live and work alongside local people. The Fund for Refugees, which was founded in 1992 by Lady Nott and has Baroness Thatcher as its patron, will support the project with advice and on-the-ground volunteer involvement. The charity works to rebuild homes and educational infrastructure for Bosnian refugees, particularly the survivors of Srebrenica. Since 1997 the Fund has built 80 houses, 2 schools and a medical centre in villages destroyed during the conflict. See http://ffris.org/index.php.
During the weeks preceding the project the social action team will be collecting furniture, book and toy donations for the kindergarten and raising money to fund the building and refurbishment.
Project Maja will run from Monday July 27th until Friday 31st July 2009 in Srebrenica. Volunteers will live and work alongside local people. The Fund for Refugees, which was founded in 1992 by Lady Nott and has Baroness Thatcher as its patron, will support the project with advice and on-the-ground volunteer involvement. The charity works to rebuild homes and educational infrastructure for Bosnian refugees, particularly the survivors of Srebrenica. Since 1997 the Fund has built 80 houses, 2 schools and a medical centre in villages destroyed during the conflict. See http://ffris.org/index.php.
