The 26 year-long search for a brother

Among those still searching for their loved ones is Remza Seta Hamzic, who is still waiting to hear what happened to her brother Omer.  

The siblings lived in the Serbian capital of Belgrade before the war and Omer worked for the police force. He would sometimes visit his native Visegrad in Bosnia.  

That day, May 29, 1992, he drove to Visegrad to save his family members as the skirmishes had already started in Bosnia, particularly in towns and villages on the border toward Serbia, like Visegrad.  

He never arrived. He never returned to Belgrade.  

On that day, the notorious and convicted war criminal Milan Lukic was stopping vehicles and busses with non-Serbs trying to flee Visegrad. Lukic was later convicted by the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague for murder, torture, assault, looting, destruction of property and the killing of at least 132 identified men, women and children.

This included locking up 59 Bosniak women, children and elderly people in a house and setting it on fire.

Omer is not among his listed victims but he remains missing as of that day too.

Lukic is in jail and he knows for how long. Life in prison. For the last 26 year already, however, Remza does not know how long she will be waiting. Maybe for the rest of her life as well.

In those days, Lukic was accompanied by Omer’s friends from school. Remza and her sister believe that the two know what happened to Omer and where he is.  

"Those were people that knew him - the Novakovics, the Indzics. Those are people who still live there, but we can’t do anything about that as individuals," Remza said.  

Today Remza lives in Sarajevo, while Omer’s wife and children live abroad. They all still hope.  

After the war ended, Remza never again visited Belgrade, where she spent her youth. Still, she does not hate.  

"I spent a beautiful youth there. I love Belgrade a lot, despite all. I never had the chance to go there again, but I would like to, although with some sadness. I still have friends there," she said.