A REFUGEE, who came to Chelmsford 22 years ago, has told of his experiences fleeing war-torn Bosnia.

Safet Alic, 44, survived the bloody invasion of his town Kozarac, three brutal months in a Serbian prison camp and long-term hospital treatment for severe ill-health before ultimately reuniting with some of his family and finding safety in Chelmsford.

War broke out across the former Yugoslavia in 1990, and in 1992, when Safet was 21, Serb forces began to attack the civilian population in Bosnia.

Safet, who has lived in Chelmsford since 1993, said: “They came over with heavy artillery and took our town – killing people, burning houses, taking our stuff.

“The town was almost razed to the ground. They even killed my grandfather, who was 93.

“It was absolutely horrific and I consider myself very lucky to have survived.”

Safet was marched to a concentration camp in Omarska, notorious for being one of the most brutal camps, and separated from his parents and brother’s wife. Safet described his three months there as “hell on earth”.

Three months into his ordeal, British journalists came to the area to investigate the camps, causing his captors to move him. Soon, delegates from the International Red Cross arrived.

Safet said: “It was likeamiracle!

Their presence seemed to let the Serbs know they couldn’t get away with killing us any more, and it gave us hope.”

The Red Cross first took Safet and his brother to a Serbian hospital before flying them to Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, where they spent months recovering.

While in the hospital, Safet and his brother received great news.

Safet said: “We still had no idea what had become of most of our family, but one day we got word from my brother’s wife, who was safe in France with her daughter and our mother.

“That was fantastic, it was so emotional for us to hear from them.”

Now living happily with his wife, Mersida, and children, Amer and Hana, in the city, Safet said: “The community in Chelmsford embraced us and after surviving something so horrible, we had a happy ending.

“We were provided with accommodation to begin with, and we learned English as quickly as we could, took some college courses and found ourselves jobs.”

His mum, brother and sister-in-law are also close by.