Bright Bibles Bring Smiles to Refugee Faces

ZAGREB, Croatia — For the past year the Croatian Bible Society has been distributing Children’s Bibles to refugees and ‘returnees’ – people who have returned to their homes after the fighting in various parts of former Yugoslavia.

Distribution of Children’s Bibles to a Croatian refugee family from Kosovo

In Croatia, it was the Krajina region that took the brunt of the fighting, reports Damir Lipovsek, Bible Society Executive Secretary. And he has been organising Bible distribution to many of the worst-affected communities through the churches.

Depressing “We wanted to bring some hope to these people who have lost so much,” he said. “Families have started to return to their homes after five years of war only to find their houses devastated, sometimes destroyed. It is depressing travelling through this region to see so many houses badly damaged due to the fighting.”

“We wanted to bring some hope to these people who have lost so much”

In one example of this ongoing distribution, Mr Lipovsek accompanied the local parish priest, Father Ivica Sestak, distributing Children’s Bibles in the town of Petrinja, some 60 kms (36 miles) from Zagreb. Before the war the town had boasted 20,000 inhabitants.

At one point, they visited the Gusic family who had been re-housed. Sebastian Gusic, his wife and extended family originally lived in Kosovo, the poorest part of southern Serbia, and had to escape from there for their own safety several years ago.

Special gift

“As with all the children who receive these Children’s Bibles, the Gusic children were very pleased to have the gifts from the Croatian Bible Society. It is a special gift coming at this most difficult time of their lives,” said Mr Lipovsek. He explained that whether refugees or ‘returnees’, there were many families having to adjust to new surroundings and trying to rebuild their lives, without much to help them get started.

Nearly 1,000 Children’s Bibles have been distributed in this way. It is hoped that more will be made available to Croatian children through state schools and placed in school libraries. The distribution to the children of needy families will continue with the help of the local churches.

...and in Bosnia

Last year, the Bible Society in Croatia joined forces with Franciscans (a Roman Catholic order) from Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina to print 30,000 Rupcic edition New Testaments, of which 20,000 are now being made available to refugees through the Roman Catholic dioceses in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia, and through the Catholic humanitarian organisation Medugorje-Mir (Medugorje-peace) reports Damir Lipovsek, Croatian Bible Society Executive Secretary.

Mr Lipovsek said that the Franciscans are allocating quantities according to the number of refugees in a given area and the level of destruction and devastation suffered. “People who receive these New Testaments are very happy for this gift,” he said. “It is especially helpful during this time of suffering and spiritual darkness when the people are having to rebuild their lives and their communities following the ravages of war.”

Many of the refugees or ‘returnees’ are asking for more copies. Again the Bible is proving a popular source of encouragement and spiritual enlightenment, so much so that there never seem to be enough to meet the demand. The further 10,000 copies were divided equally between the Bible Society and the Franciscans for other distribution purposes. The Swiss Bible Society has funded the copies for refugees so that this distribution is free.

This page was last updated on Monday, 17th November 1997.