Bosnian pals raise cash for helpline

A GROUP of Bosnian friends living on the Northside have raised over e2,000 for suicide awareness in Ireland.

Blanchardstown local Ernis Avdic, Swords resident Edo Alijagic and their pals, Mirel Basic, Jasmin Prnjavorac and Keith Walsh organised a recent charity event to raise money for 1Life suicide helpline.

Over 400 people from various nationalities attended the event, which took place in Balbriggan on December 15.

According to Edo (33), who has been in Ireland for 15 years and is an Irish citizen, the event was a great opportunity to give something back to Irish society.

“I came here as a refugee when I was a kid because of the war in Bosnia,

? he explained.

“I saw everything there, things no child should see or experience, and I was very grateful to be able to come and live in Ireland.

“I always wanted to be able to give something back to the people of Ireland and when I heard that the numbers of suicides is often higher than the number of people killed on the roads, then I knew that was the cause I wanted to help.

?

Edo, like his friends, very much considers Ireland

‘home’ and he in particular has no intention of returning to Bosnia to live.

“I’m engaged to an Irish woman so there’s no way I’m going anywhere,

? he joked.

Edo’s fiancée, Aoise O’Reilly, helped him to establish a Facebook page which was initially a forum for fellow car enthusiasts but has since become so much more.

“It was through the Facebook page that I’ve got to know so many other people and that is how we got the word out about the charity event,

? Edo said.

“Hundreds of people from various nationalities came from all over Ireland on the day to support us and the cause, which was really something special.

?

The Bosnian war took place between 1992 and 1995 and was characterised by bitter fighting, indiscriminate shelling of cities and towns, ethnic cleansing and genocide.

It’s estimated that as many as 110,000 people were killed during the conflict and over 2.2 million people displaced.

Ernis Avdic was among a group of 200 Bosnian families brought to Ireland in 1992 as part of Ireland’s refugee programme.

“The war was a horrible experience,

? the Blanchardstown resident told Northside People.

“I was living in fear and shocked every day by the things I saw.

“My mother, sister and I came here while my father had to stay in Bosnia to fight.

“I consider this my home and me and my Bosnian friends have integrated well in society – we’d want to have considering many of us are in Ireland longer than we were in Bosnia.

“I think Irish people already know that the Bosnians are good people.

?

He added:

“Hopefully our charity event not only raised money for suicide awareness but it helped to break a stereotype that foreign people are only in Ireland to take.

?