Wednesday 13 December 2006

Britons rescue Bosnian steam train

A sprawling steel works nestling among the mountains of central Bosnia is not the obvious place to come shopping for steam trains.

But a group of British rail enthusiasts has spent more than $100,000 (£51,234) finding and buying an old locomotive, and is now shipping it back to England.

The engine they found is an imposing chunk of dirty black steel, weighing more than 40 tonnes.

It has spent the last half century at the Zenica steel works.
BBC:

Now isn't that a heart-warming story? ................ I think not! £51,234 is being spent on a chunk of dirty black steel in a country which has been torn apart by war, where orphans are living in terrible conditions, where charities are crying out for funds to deal with the problem of orphans and displaced persons, where it is now one of the top places for tourism and commerce, where £51,234 could have been put to much better use than cleaning up a chunk of dirty black steel.

GENOCIDE - BOSNIA
Human Rights Watch: Europe and Central Asia : Bosnia

War, poverty and the daily struggle for survival have deeply affected the traditional extended family structure. Children and young people cope with deeply traumatic experiences relating to the war and post war period. Family violence is a problem. Bosnia and Herzegovina has become a regional centre for trafficked women and girls.
SOS Children's Villages