CEREMONY OPENING OF THE BOSNIAN HOUSE IN GREAT BRITAIN

And finally the day arrived. On Sunday, November 25, a large number of guests, Bosnians and Herzegovinians, representatives of various British organizations, as well as guests of honor and representatives of Great Britain; the country in which BiH citizens found refuge during the war; gathered with the intention of attending a historic moment, the ceremonial opening of the Bosnian House in Birmingham.

After many years, BH UK Network has received new, larger and more beautiful premises for its cultural work to preserve Bosnian culture and tradition. We have experienced that a house in Birmingham is called the Bosnian House, a house where everyone is welcome and greeted with the Bosnian spirit.

The premises of the Bosnian House were filled with warmth, tradition, dance, song and the well-known pride of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the midday hours. The opening ceremony of the Bosnian House was enhanced by an appropriate program. On this occasion, we also had a red carpet, so that everyone present could immortalize the memory of this interesting day in that way. The program was preceded by a warm welcome with an organized lunch.
After the singing of the national anthems of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the national anthem of Great Britain, the opening words of welcome were given by Zaim Pašić, President of the BH UK Network, who, along with congratulations, expressed his pleasure at attending such an event of importance to all Bosnians and Herzegovinians on the Island. President Pašić thanked the numerous organizations that have been helping and supporting the work of the Bosnian community on the Island for more than two decades. He especially thanked Dr. Anes Cerić and friends from the Bosnian community in Birmingham for their exceptional commitment to the construction and decoration of the “Bosnian House”.

Dr Azmi Waqar OBE, President of the organization “Remembering Srebrenica”, also gave a short greeting. He took the opportunity to thank the BH UK Network and the Network members for their cooperation and assistance in marking the anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica, thus contributing to ensuring that the most terrible crime on European soil since the Second World War is not forgotten. He had the opportunity to highlight the success of the Bosnian community in the United Kingdom, of which he is particularly proud.
Then, Dr. Anes Cerić, manager of the BH UK Network, addressed the audience and briefly presented the history and work of the BH UK Network, the umbrella organization for all BiH associations in the United Kingdom, and the process of building and renovating the Bosnian House, the headquarters of the BH UK Network.

Mirsad Solaković, BiH actor and writer, touched the audience emotionally with his speech. “I want to thank the British for giving us a second chance in life, for providing refuge in Great Britain where we put down roots. Also, it is important to point out the support of the government and the support of many organizations, first of all the Great Britain Lottery, which helped bring the Bosnian house to life. It is in these premises on weekends that children have the opportunity to be and feel Bosnian and Herzegovinan. That is why I can freely say that the Bosnian house belongs mostly to children, and to all future BiH generations,” said Solaković.

The ceremony was also attended by Meliha Bašić, Consul of the BiH Embassy in London. She addressed the guests with words of gratitude and pride. She emphasized the importance of the integration of BiH citizens in Great Britain, but also of traditional values ​​and culture that should be preserved from oblivion.

The next program was dedicated to teacher Azra Bašić, a long-time teacher in Bosnian supplementary schools in England, who, with her performance of the sevdalinka “Moj rodni kraj”, managed to bring all Bosnian citizens back to their native lands. The audience also enjoyed the touching poetic performance of the young Amina Mekić. The poem she wrote herself evoked deep emotions.
The special honour of unveiling the plaque went to Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth, the Government Minister for Religions. In his address, he emphasised the importance of such an event and that he was extremely proud and honoured to have been given the honour of ceremonially opening the national Bosnian centre “Bosnian House”, a house where we socialise every day, exchange experiences, go through good things together, provide support, and also learn together. “I am sure that Bosnian House, as at this official opening today, will go from strength to strength at the heart of the local community. A place where everyone can feel welcome, a place where the local Bosnian community receives the support they need and a place where Bosnian culture is truly celebrated. It has clearly been a great team effort to get to where you are today, and I hope you are all incredibly proud of what has been achieved with this wonderful centre called Bosnian House. This is a historic moment for the Bosnian community in the UK and I am delighted to have been able to share this special day with you. Thank you,” said Lord Bourne.

Guests had the opportunity to watch a documentary by the organization “Remembering Srebrenica” and listen to Alma Aganović, president of the West Midlands regional committee on behalf of the “Remembering Srebrenica” organization, who spoke about her experiences in Sarajevo during the war.

The beautiful event ended with the performance of the Folkloric group “Mladost Bosne” from Birmingham, which once again delighted everyone present. Dressed in national costumes, they embellished the program on several occasions with a mix of games, under the watchful eye of the proud choreographer Fahira Hasedžić.
Our relatively small community of Bosnians and Herzegovinians in Great Britain is growing day by day, and today we are extremely happy and proud because we proved first to ourselves, and then to others, that only through persistence, joint effort and work can we maintain our tradition, our identity, language and culture.

First of all, we would like to thank our dear donors, the media who provide us with unconditional attention, and certainly thanks also go to the people without whom all this would not be possible. We will not list them here, because there are many of us, and we will all find ourselves in these words. We sincerely thank the wonderful ladies who responded and contributed to the lunch and gathering taking place in a wonderful homely atmosphere.

Our dear, dear, dear people who have supported us from the very beginning, and all of you who contribute in any way to the work of the umbrella organization of BiH associations in the United Kingdom – Thank you!

Bosnia UK Network