Children born of rape come of age in Bosnia

During the Bosnian war of 1992-1995, a wave of babies were brought into the world through rape. The rapes were conducted by Serbian paramilitaries on Croatian and Muslim women. No one knows how many were brutalized by the Serbian military -- but estimates put the figure as high as tens of thousands. In the town of Tuzla, in northern Bosnia-Herzegovina, mothers would arrive at an orphanage to give birth, then quietly slip away -- leaving the babies behind. Those babies are now coming into their teens, and while some have found their relatives to take them in, many remain without identities, in a country where ethnicity matters.

The country is now having to acknowledge some of the horrific acts committed by all sides in the war. The war crimes in the Hague and the movie Grbavica, about Muslim girl who comes to the realization that she was born from rape, are causing public dialogue. There is hope -- but I can't help but think that the regions troubles are far from over. It's so easy people to slip back into old hatreds.

Read more in the Globe and Mail.

Also:

• Bosnia's rape babies: abandoned by their families, forgotten by the state
• Bosnian film about wartime rape
• Womb Warfare: resorting to rape and asymmetrical birthrates as weapons of war
• War Child: A harrowing testimony from children who are growing up as a result of rapes in the Bosnian war. Includes this video report.