Skelani
| Skelani | |
|---|---|
| Village | |
 Skelani
|
|
| Coordinates: 43°58′31″N 19°32′08″E / 43.97528°N 19.53556°E | |
| Country |
 Bosnia and Herzegovina
|
| Municipality | Srebrenica |
| Population (2013) | |
| • Total | 893 |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
Skelani is a village in the municipality of Srebrenica, in the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Altitude: 242 m
According to the 1991 census the population of the town was 1123 - 950 Muslims (84.59%), 160 Serbs (14.25%), 7 Yugoslavs (0.62%) and 6 Unknown/Others (0.53%)
The population of the commune was 4283 - 2847 Muslims (66.47%), 1311 Serbs (30.61%), 16 Yugoslavs (0.37%) and 109 Unknown/Others (2.54%)
Skelani is 50 km from the town of Srebrenica, via difficult roads through the Zeleni Jadar Mountains. The village is much closer to the town of Bajina Basta in Serbia, only 3 km away by bridge across the Drina River. Traditional lines of communication were disrupted by the Bosnian war, significantly affecting life in Skelani, which has been described by the Bosnian saying that when you live in isolation you end up “ni na nebu ni na zemlji” -‘neither in the sky nor on earth’.
Before the Yugoslav wars Skelani had very close links administratively and culturally with the Bajina Basta municipality. The nearest hospital to Skelani was in Bajina Basta and many children from Skelani were born and attended school there. Bajina Basta was a centre for employment and shopping for residents of Skelani. Telephone connections and power came via Bajina Basta.
In 1992 the village of Skelani had about 400 households and about 1,200 residents, predominantly Muslim. It was basically an agricultural community, with some livestock raising activity. Relations between Serbs and Muslims were described as good but tensions began to build up after the end of 1989. Branches of the SDA and SDS political parties were established.
When the war began Skelani was cut off from Srebrenica but also from its connections with Serbia. Since the war Skelani has remained isolated, cut off from access to many basic necessities. Instead of being able to go to Bajina Basta to hospital or go shopping residents have to travel to Srebrenica over still difficult roads. Time-consuming international border procedures, mistrust and prejudice make crossing the border into Serbia difficult.
The Sase Mine, in Skelani, a major producer of lead and zinc, was heavily damaged during the war. In 1998 the mine's production capacity was estimated at 6,500 t/yr of lead and 4,000 t/yr of zinc.
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