Krajina Živi: The Project Documenting a Community That Refuses to Disappear
Krajina Živi ("Krajina Lives") is an initiative by 28. Jun — a Belgrade-based humanitarian organization dedicated to protecting Serbian cultural heritage and providing humanitarian and economic assistance to Serbs living in Croatia. Launched in June 2019, the project addresses what 28. Jun describes as "the most dire situation Serbs face in the Western Balkans." Friends of Krajina proudly amplifies and supports this vital work.
What began as an effort to document the villages, churches, cemeteries, and traditions of Krajina before they were lost to time has grown into a multi-faceted initiative combining oral history, photographic documentation, legal support for property returns, and economic assistance for those wishing to stay or return.
Field teams have visited villages across the former Krajina, recording testimonies from those who stayed, those who returned, and — through the diaspora network — those who were forced to leave. The resulting archive of photographs, video interviews, maps, and records is both a historical resource and a living tool for return.
"We document not to preserve a museum of what was," says the project team, "but to give people the information and the confidence to come back. When you see footage of your grandfather's village, your family's church still standing, you don't want to just look at it — you want to go."
Friends of Krajina directs beneficiaries to the Krajina Živi project and coordinates with 28. Jun to connect returning families with our housing, farming, and economic empowerment programs — creating a joined-up pathway from documentation and legal support to practical resettlement assistance on the ground.
