Nukić: Barbara Hren gave Bosnia and Herzegovina the most valuable thing she had

SREBRENICA, (Patria) - The mother of the only Catholic buried in the Potočari Memorial Center was interred yesterday at the Catholic cemetery in Srebrenica.

Barbara Hren, mother of Rudolf and Ivan, who as members of the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina died in the Srebrenica genocide, died on Friday in the Tuzla retirement home at the age of 83.

Sadmir Nukić from the Srebrenica Camp Survivors Association told the Patria agency that Bosnia and Herzegovina has lost another heroine, who gave the state the most valuable thing she had, namely her two sons.

Barbara's younger son Ivan died in 1992 and was buried in the local cemetery in Srebrenica, while the older Rudolf was shot in Kozluk near Zvornik after being captured in Kamenica. He was buried in Potočari.

"The Hren family has a special place in the hearts of all Srebrenica residents. Rudolf's wife taught the Bosnian language at the local school during the war," says Nukić.

The Hren family came to Srebrenica from Vojvodina in 1960. Barbara's husband Aleksandar Hren died in 1976.