October 22, 2008, Washington, DC: A memorial quilt honoring those killed during the 1995 Srebrenica massacre brought its message of peace to the Bosnian diaspora in the United States recently, where it was featured at several cultural events in the New York area.

The quilt is made by the weavers of Bosnian Family (BOSFAM), a women’s group and Advocacy Project (AP) partner based in Tuzla, Bosnia. Each of its 80 panels carries the name of an individual massacre victim, some of whom are related to the weavers themselves. More than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were killed at Srebrenica, after the UN safe haven fell to Bosnian Serb forces July 11, 1995.

Peace Fellow Janet Rabin shows some of BOSFAM’s souvenir carpets at a recent community fair in Astoria.

AP Outreach Coordinator Alison Sluiter shared the quilt at events at the Bosnian Islamic Association of Utica (Oct. 12), Colgate University (Oct. 16) and the Islamic Cultural Center of Bosniaks of Syracuse (Oct. 16). Janet Rabin, an AP Peace Fellow who volunteered with a women’s peace group in Serbia, also took the quilt to a community fair in Astoria on Oct. 4. The fair was put together by Reconciliation and Culture Cooperative Network (RACCOON), a pan-Balkan group that promotes reconciliation between people from the former Yugoslavia.

The events raised awareness about the project and earned more than $340 for BOSFAM, through the sale of souvenir carpets and hand-woven socks.

“I thought it was such a great way for these women to commemorate their husbands and sons,” said Daniela Koci, a junior at Colgate University who helped to organize the event there. “A lot of students are really interested in The Advocacy Project and the quilt itself.”

One piece of the quilt will remain on display in Colgate’s library for several weeks. Ms Koci said she plans to work with student groups at Colgate to generate interest in the quilt and sponsor additional panels.

The memorial quilt has tripled in size over the past year as new sponsors have commissioned panels and it now comprises four separate pieces. One piece commemorates family members of the weavers, one is dedicated to murdered teachers from Srebrenica schools, and another honors lost relatives of members of the Bosnian diaspora in the United States.

The quilt has been shown in seven North American cities and attracted more than 80 sponsors from the Bosnian diaspora so far. BOSFAM’S weavers have offered to make quilt panels for any family that lost a relative at Srebrenica. Families can commission a new panel for $40, the cost of materials.