Reunite the Nezirovics

When I first sat down to write this, I had no idea where to begin. This family has been through so much, it's hard to even believe that they've endured everything that they have. In the early 2000s, Almaz, Snezana, Alen, and Nusreta came to America as refugees from the terrible genocide that was going on in their homeland, Bosnia. Almaz had fought in the war, and he had seen it all. Bosnia was in ruins, but the Nezirovics found safety in Roanoke, Virginia. They settled down, bought a beautiful house, and although Almaz suffers from PTSD- all was well.

All of this changed in June of 2011. While sleeping, the SWAT team stormed into their house, woke everyone up, and forced the family to sit on the couch with guns pointed at them for hours while they searched through every inch of their house. Everything that had anything to do with Bosnia, or anything with the name Nezirovic on it was confiscated and Almaz was arrested for alleged war crimes.
Almaz was being accused of torturing Serbian prisoners during the war. It was said that he made them eat urine soaked grass and beat their fingers with batons. All of this while the Serbians were ethnically cleansing the Bosnians out of their homelands; murdering, raping, and torturing hundreds of thousands of people.

Since this, the Nezirovics have been through hell and back. To start, neither Snezana nor Nusreta have been back to Bosnia to see any of their family since coming here. And now with Almaz being in jail, they were even farther away from being able to do so. They went months without electricity or water before eventually losing their house. They moved into an apartment, Nusreta, Snezana, and Alen all working to make ends meet. They went to go see Almaz every chance they could, even though they could only see him in 15 minute increments through a computer screen.

They’ve gone through so many court cases, appealing every time, before finally having to take it all the way to the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, before having the chance to do that- Almaz was extradited. At this point, they thought that would never see him ever again.

Until today (9/30). He was released from prison is Bosnia and is now roaming the streets freely.

This is the most selfless family I have ever met. Nusreta was one of the first friends I met when I moved to Roanoke in 2008, and she has been in my life ever since. This family has been through so much, but I’ve never met anybody stronger than they are. Through it all, they have stayed together and held everything together the best that they can.

So, because I know Nusreta would never make this for herself- I am. I would like to raise enough money to send Snezana, Alen, Nusreta, and her boyfriend, Alex to Bosnia to see Almaz as well as the rest of their family that they haven’t seen in almost 15 years. So I am asking anyone reading this to please, please considering donating to this amazing family. Every dollar helps and all expenses will go towards this trip. Please consider giving this family the trip that they deserve. If nothing else, please share this on as many outlets as possible and send good vibes.

Thank you all so much for reading.