Fata Orlovic, the Bosniak returnee to the eastern Bosnian village Konjevic Polje said in an emotional response to the removal of illegally built church from her backyard that today is the worst day for her after the 20-year battle but also that she feels happy.

“Thank God everything is the way it should be, but I feel the worst today. I am not glad but I have to (do it), because everyone is fighting for what belongs to them, so am I,” said emotionally overwhelmed Orlovic.

“I have been exhausted for twenty years and it feels the worst today. I am not happy but at the same time I am happy that my backyard was set free,” she added and thanked the media representatives for their support.

The Serb Orthodox Church built in 1996, soon after the end of the 1992-95 war on Orlovic's land while she was displaced from the village, was removed on Saturday.

For years, the woman has been fighting a legal battle to have the illegally built building removed from her backyard. During this time, Fata Orlovic became sort of a symbol of resistance for Bosniak returnees living in this part of the country.

On October 1, 2019, the European Court of Human Rights ruled against the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and ordered the church removal.

Camil Durakovic, head of the Srebrenica Municipal Assembly, also a returnee to the eastern Bosnia, said Orlovic “gave a final lesson and lecture on persistence, incorruptibility and the fight for what belongs to her.”

Orlovic's daughter said this was sort of satisfaction for the entire family but also for Bosnia and Herzegovina as a whole.