Brcko
Brcko is located in the northeastern corner of
Bosnia-Herzegovina. Because of its location near the Croatian and Serbian borders
and the three rivers which flow through it (the Sava, Brcka, and Velika Tinja), Brcko has
historically been a crossroads trade route between continental Europe and oriental Europe
It is no surprise that Brcko was a hotly contested area in the recent war in the Balkans. It served as the only link between the eastern and western portions of Republika Srpska, but also had significant populations of Bosniaks and Croats. Its status was so controversial that it was left unresolved in the the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords which effectively ended the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
In 2000, Brcko was established as a jointly governed entity (by Republika Srpska and the Bosnian-Croat Federation), but was to be supervised by the international community. This city went on to become a crossroads in the path to peace in the region, since it has been used as a blueprint for many of the goals of the Dayton Accords, particularly the return of refugees -- with mixed results (as documented in Crucible of War).
Personal Stories from Brcko
Abdulah, a returned refugee.
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