Merzudin "Zoom" Ibric, Bosnia

I was 5 years old when the war broke out in Bosnia. Because we were Muslims, my family was targeted by Slobodan Milosevic's campaign of ethnic cleansing. Almost immediately the war hit home when my two-year old sister was struck by a bomb which exploded in our backyard while she, my brother, and I were playing hide and seek. Her leg was severely injured. Later, my uncle was killed by snipers, and we had to bury his body by candlelight behind blankets, so the Serbs would not see us and begin shooting.

We fled our home and lived in various places: an old school, a former slaughterhouse, a room above a bakery. In Srebrenica, I saw Mladic. He gave us bread and told us we would be safe. My mother refused to eat the bread, fearing it poisoned. My father fled through the woods, and my mom and my brothers and sisters and I boarded buses to get out of Srebrenica. Later we found out that over 7,800 people were massacred.

In Bosnia, I wondered why no one was helping us - Why it took so long for someone to hear our voices. In Darfur, they wonder the same thing. I hope the world will hear the voices of those in Darfur. We need to let them know that we are listening. We will hear you and help you. Thank you.